The Rambam outlines the mitzvah of discussing the exodus from Egypt, obligatory on the first night of Pesach:

משנה תורה - ספר זמנים - הלכות חמץ ומצה - פרק ז

מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁלַּתּוֹרָה לְסַפַּר בְּנִסִּים וְנִפְלָאוֹת שֶׁנַּעֲשׂוּ לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְּמִצְרַיִם, בְּלֵיל חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר בְּנִיסָן--שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר "זָכוֹר אֶת-הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר יְצָאתֶם" (שמות יג,ג), כְּמַה שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר "זָכוֹר אֶת-יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת" (שמות כ,ז).  וּמְנַיִן שֶׁבְּלֵיל חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר--תִּלְמֹד לוֹמַר "וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ, בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר:  בַּעֲבוּר זֶה" (שמות יג,ח), בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁיֵּשׁ מַצָּה וּמָרוֹר מֻנָּחִים לְפָנֶיךָ. וְאַף עַל פִּי שְׁאֵין לוֹ בֵּן, אַפִלּוּ חֲכָמִים גְּדוֹלִים--חַיָּבִים לְסַפַּר בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם; וְכָל הַמַּאֲרִיךְ בַּדְּבָרִים שֶׁאֵרְעוּ וְשֶׁהָיוּ, הֲרֵי זֶה מְשֻׁבָּח.

Rambam - Laws of Chametz and Matzah Chapter 7

1. It is a positive commandment of the Torah to relate the miracles and wonders wrought for our ancestors in Egypt on the night of the fifteenth of Nisan, as [Exodus 13:3] states: "Remember this day, on which you left Egypt," just as [Exodus 20:8] states: "Remember the Sabbath day."

From where [is it derived that this mitzvah is to be fulfilled on] the night of the fifteenth? The Torah teaches [Exodus 13:8]: "And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: 'It is because of this...' [implying that the mitzvah is to be fulfilled] when matzah and maror are placed before you. [The mitzvah applies] even though one does not have a son. Even great Sages are obligated to tell about the Exodus from Egypt. Whoever elaborates concerning the events which occurred and took place is worthy of praise.

It is interesting that the Rambam goes out of his way to include “great sages”. He does not need to tell us that “even great sages” need to keep Shabbat or wear Tefilin. But apparently one might have thought the the mitzvah of discussing the exodus from Egypt is a simple retelling of the basic story. If this was the case, perhaps the Sages who are certainly familiar with the basic story would be exempt. We must therefore conclude that the mitzvah extends beyond a mere retelling of facts. And to the extent one elaborates in discussing the exodus, it is a superior performance of the mitzvah. This approach to discussing the exodus is incorporated into the very text of the Hagadah:

משנה תורה - ספר זמנים - הלכות חמץ ומצה - נוסח ההגדה

ג  עֲבָדִים הָיִינוּ, לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרַיִם; וַיּוֹצִיאֵנוּ ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ מִשָּׁם, בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרוֹעַ נְטוּיָה.  וְאִלּוּ לֹא גָאַל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת אֲבוֹתֵינוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם, עֲדַיִן אָנוּ וּבָנֵינוּ וּבְנֵי בָנֵינוּ מְשֻׁעְבָּדִים הָיִינוּ לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרַיִם.  וְאַפִלּוּ כֻּלָּנוּ חֲכָמִים, כֻּלָּנוּ נְבוֹנִים, כֻּלָּנוּ יוֹדְעִים אֶת הַתּוֹרָה--מִצְוָה עָלֵינוּ לְסַפֶּר בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם; וְכָל הַמַּאֲרִיךְ בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם, הֲרֵי זֶה מְשֻׁבָּח.

ד  מַעֲשֶׂה בְּרִבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר וְרִבִּי יְהוֹשׁוּעַ וְרִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה וְרִבִּי עֲקִיבָה וְרִבִּי טַרְפוֹן, שֶׁהָיוּ מְסֻבִּין בִּבְנֵי בְרָק; וְהָיוּ מְסַפְּרִין בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם כָּל אוֹתוֹ הַלַּיְלָה, עַד שֶׁבָּאוּ תַּלְמִידֵיהֶם וְאָמְרוּ לָהֶם, רִבּוֹתֵינוּ, הִגִּיעַ זְמָן קִרְיַת שְׁמַע שֶׁלְּשַׁחְרִית.

Rambam - Laws of the Chametz and Matzah - Text of the Hagadah

We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt,1 but God, our Lord, brought us out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. If the Holy One, blessed be He, had not taken our ancestors out of Egypt, then we, our children, and our grandchildren, would still be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt. [Therefore,] even if we were all wise, all men of understanding, all elders, all well-versed in Torah, we would still be commanded to tell about the Exodus from Egypt, for whoever tells about it at length, behold, he is worthy of praise.

Once Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Akiva, and Rabbi Tarfon dined together [at the Seder] in Bnei Brak. They discussed the Exodus from Egypt throughout the entire night until their students came and told them: "Teachers, the time for reciting the Shemah in the morning has arrived."

The Ritva, in his commentary on the Hagadah, explains a connection between these two paragraphs. Following the method used throughout the Talmud, the halakhic formulation is illustrated with an account of specific events. A group of some of our greatest sages who certainly knew the basic storyline, nonetheless engaged in discussing the exodus the entire night. What were they discussing?

One approach is that they were discussing the laws of Pesach. Part of passing our tradition onto the next generation is not merely history but an active engagement in practice. This extends to the world of Halakha.

משנה תורה - ספר זמנים - הלכות חמץ ומצה - נוסח ההגדה

חָכָם, מַה הוּא אוֹמֵר--"מָה הָעֵדֹת, וְהַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים, אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ, אֶתְכֶם" (דברים ו,כ). אַף אַתָּה אֱמֹר לוֹ כְּהִלְכַּת הַפֶּסַח, ]עד[ אֵין מַפְטִירִין אַחַר הַפֶּסַח אֲפִיקִימוֹן.

Rambam - Laws of the Chametz and Matzah - Text of the Hagadah

The wise son, what does he say? "What are the testimonies, statutes, and laws that God, our Lord, has commanded you?"You should thus reply to him, [teaching him] the laws of Pesach [until the final concept]: one may not eat any dessert after the Paschal sacrifice.

The wise son asks, what are these different categories of mitzvot that we are engaged in this evening? The father responds with examples from the laws of Pesach. He teaches him Halakha –the corpus of Jewish law. The Vilna Gaon’s text of the Hagadah includes the word עד –until, he continues until the final law of the Afikoman, the end of the meal. According to this approach, there is plenty of Halakha that could fill an entire night of study.

Another approach is that the story of Pesach serves as a springboard to all areas of Torah. This is a night of passing on our entire Mesorah–tradition. It includes history, it includes Halakha, and it also includes our philosophy. We can learn and study about how Hashem interacts with the world and intervenes in human affairs. This study is also infinite and could easily occupy our studies until the early hours of the morning. An extension of this is discussed by the Rav:

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik - An Exalted Evening

Maggidim have a beautiful interpretation to this paragraph. They say this refers to the Pesah that preceded the outbreak of the insurrection on the part of Bar Kokhba against Rome. "They would talk of Yeziat Mizrayim," but it was not only the story of the past, what happened to Pharaoh and us so many thousand years ago; it was the story of the present and what was going to happen tomorrow. The study of the Exodus was supposed to guide them in their revolt.

“They would talk of Yeziat Mizrayim all the night.” It was a long night, and the Bar Kokhba revolt was planned at that Seder night. They studied Yeziat Mizrayim not only as an event of the past, but also as a clue and a key to the future. (p.40)

We are not only studying history, but we are analyzing and interpreting the timeless story of the Jewish people. It includes our political progression from slavery to freedom. And it includes our philosophical progression from idol worship to the service of Hashem. We extend the ancient story of our people into modern times. It contextualizes our own challenges and struggles, and provides us guidance in navigating the present and the future. We engage in this discussion incumbent upon every generation, וּבְכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר, חַיָּב אָדָם לְהַרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם, each generation is obligated to understand how the exodus from Egypt personally impacts them in their own time.

References

Maimonides, M., Touger, E., Kaplan, B., Abramson, Z., & Silverstein, S. (2007). Mishneh Torah. New York: Moznaim Pub. Retrieved from: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/682956/jewish/Mishneh-Torah.htm

Soloveitchik, J. D. & Genack, M. (2009). The seder night: An exalted evening : the Passover Haggadah : with a commentary based on the teachings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. New York, N.Y: OU Press.

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