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Rabbi Gordon's Monthly Message

Four Questions?

The “four questions” have assumed a special place in the Jewish psyche.  For many, the content of the questions, let alone the answers to them, became secondary to the grand performance of the child(ren).   The young child had been told for weeks that he/she would be singing “the four questions,” especially if this was his/her first public demonstration of Hebrew reading ability and successful learning of the melody.  And regardless of how good he/she was, the child would bask in the delight and even applause of family and family friends.  Indeed, aside from the culinary delights of special Pesach foods, among some, the four questions was, in effect, the seder itself. 

The questions themselves, once you have mastered the outlines of the story, are not particularly compelling.  “Why is this night different than all another nights” – specifically why do we eat matzah, bitter herbs, dip twice, and recline?  The answer can take less than a minute:  Many years ago we were enslaved by Pharaoh in Egypt, but then we became free.  We left so hurriedly that the bread did not have time to rise and it remained matzah, so we eat it to remind us of those events; similarly, times were bitter so we eat bitter herbs, and we dip twice in the charoset that symbolizes the mortar of the bricks we made, but as we did become free, we recline symbolizing freedom.  “Seder ‘s done; let’s eat!”

The truth is, there is much more to it.  And the retelling should raise provocative questions, some answers, and even more new questions.  So four questions may turn into forty questions or more. 

The seder should be a stimulating experience, so how about a few new questions?  Giving people the opportunity to talk through these answers, may add a freshness to your seder:

1.       What is a seder, really?  What is its purpose?

2.       If the maggid (narrative) section is a retelling of the exodus events, why don’t we merely read from the book of Exodus?  How is the maggid section different from the book of Exodus?

3.       The Torah features both God and Moses.  Is this true for the maggid section?  Why or why not?

4.       What are the benefits and drawbacks of making the seder a themed seder – a seder about oppressed peoples, a woman’s seder, a kid’s seder?

5.       “The four children” section is a section on education.   What lessons can we learn and what questions does it raise?

6.       Which element of the seder is the most important one?  Which element best expresses the meaning of the night?

7.       How can we make this seder more meaningful next time?

By all means, ask the four questions and kvell when the children chant them.   (Halachah requires that the four questions be asked, even when there are no children at the seder, even if one is alone.)   But the “four questions” need not be the only questions, and know that the performance and the scrumptious meal are not the only nutrition that the seder can provide. 

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