Passover. A wonderful time for family and community. We gather around the festive Seder table to relive the exodus out of Egypt.
And the highlight of the Seder is when the children ask the four questions.
We've heard them dozens of times, we sing the tune "Mah Nishtana - why is tonight different than all other nights?".
What, may I ask, are the answers to those questions? Now that's a good question. It seems like we set the stage for a dramatic scene, and then leave the show early. In the whole "shpiel" of the Haggadah (read at the Seder, retelling the story of Passover), we don't really address the questions directly. Why?
Passover is meant to be a night of questions. A night when curiosity and inquisitiveness
are encouraged. When I was a child, my father would reward us for each question that we asked throughout the Seder. To set the tone, my mother would spin a walnut like a dreidel, inevitably eliciting the question "why are you doing that, Mom?" The answer? "So that you should ask questions."
Slaves are not allowed a mind of their own. They don't have free will. They don't have the luxury of asking questions.
At the Seder, when we celebrate freedom and liberty, we highlight our ability to probe, to investigate, to explore. Not to simply take things at face value, but to do what Jews have done throughout the ages; challenge. Delve a little deeper, discover the "behind the scenes", revealing the beauty of our traditions.
If there's something you always wondered about, a particular tradition that never made sense to you, a Jewish custom that puzzled you, send those questions over and let's discuss. Perhaps there's a great answer, or maybe it's simply a great question.
This Passover, ask!
Wishing you and your family a happy and liberating Passover,
Rabbi Dovid and Devorah Bush
ב"ה