The Four Children

The Torah speaks of four kinds of children: one wise, one wicked, one simple, and one who does not yet know how to ask.

The Wise One says: “What is the meaning of the rules, laws and practices which God has commanded us to observe?”

You shall tell him the story of the Exodus and shall teach him Torah, midrash and commentary, down to the last detail.

The Wicked One says: “What is the meaning of this service to you?”

You shall tell her “I do this because of the wonderful things which God did for me when

God brought me out of Egypt.” You shall say “for me,” not “for us,” because in asking what the service means “to you” she has made it clear that she does not consider herself a part of the community for whom the ritual has meaning.

The Simple One asks, “What is this?”

You shall tell him of the deliverance from the house of bondage.

The One Who Does Not Know How To Question, for her you must open the way.

haggadah Section: -- Four Children

Featured clips

Karpas

Eat a Green Vegetable

by Jewish Guy

We eat a green vegetable dipped in salt water. The green vegetable represents rebirth, renewal and growth; the salt water represents the tears of enslavement. בָרוּךְ אַתָה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ רוחַ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְרִי הָאֲדָמָה Baruch atah, Adonai, eloheinu ruach ha’olam, borei p’ri ha’adamah. Blessed are you, Adonai, Breath of Life, creator of the fruit of the earth.

Rachtzah

Washing the Hands

by Jewish Guy

Before eating, we wash our hands, thanking God for the commandment which impels us to mindfulness. What does washing our hands tell us? That we can become clean; that our bodies are sacred and deserving of care. We wash our hands not to absolve ourselves of responsibility, but to affirm the need to make our hands holy. At this season of freedom and rebirth, we consecrate our hands to the task of building freedom for all who suffer. בָרוּךְ אַתָה יְיָ...

Tzafun

Afikoman

by Jewish Guy

[Find the afikoman and distribute it to all who are seated at the table.] When the Temple still stood in Jerusalem, it was customary to make an offering of a paschal lamb at this season. Now we eat the afikoman in memory of the offering. Tzafun means “hidden,” and the afikoman is usually hidden for children to find. Why end the meal thus? Because we want the dinner to end with the taste of slavery/freedom in our mouths—thus the taste of...

Shulchan Oreich

The Festive Meal

by Jewish Guy

[eat]

Maror

Bitter Herb

by Jewish Guy

Why do we eat maror? Maror represents the bitterness of bondage. Why do we eat haroset? It symbolizes the mortar for the bricks our ancestors laid in Egypt. Though it represents slave labor, haroset is sweet, reminding us that sometimes constriction or enslavement can be masked in familiar sweetness. Eating the two together, we remind ourselves to be mindful of life with all its sweetness and bitterness, and to seek balance between the two. בָרוּךְ אַתָה יְיַָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶר...

Hallel

Praise

by Jewish Guy

When Israel went forth from Mitzrayim, The house of Jacob from a people of strange speech, Judah became God’s holy one, Israel, God’s dominion. The sea saw them and fled, The Jordan ran backward, Mountains skipped like rams, Hills like sheep. What alarmed you, O sea, that you fled, Jordan, that you ran backward, Mountains, that you skipped like rams, Hills, like sheep? Tremble, O earth, at the presence of Adonai, At the presence of the God of Jacob, Who turned...

Maggid - Beginning

A Story About Stories

by Jewish Guy

When the founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov, saw misfortune threatening the Jews, it was his custom to go into a certain part of the forest to meditate. There he would light a special fire, say a special prayer, and the trouble would be averted. Later, when his disciple, the Rabbi Maggid of Mezritch, had occasion for the same reason to intercede with heaven, he would go to the same place in the forest and say: "Master of the Universe,...

Yachatz

Break the Middle Matzah

by Jewish Guy

[Open the door as a sign of hospitality; lift up matzah for all to see.] Are all who are hungry truly able to eat anywhere, let alone with us? How many of us would really invite a hungry stranger into our house today? How can we correct the systemic problems that create hunger, poverty, and oppression? (Rabbah Emily Aviv Kapor). The Bread of Affliction This is the bread of affliction which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all...

Bareich

Bless the Meal

by Jewish Guy

Psalm 126: A Psalm of Ascents When God returned us to Zion we were as dreamers. Then we were full of mirth, and our tongues were full of gladness. They said among the nations, "magnified is God, who has done these things." We will magnify God, who has done this for us! And we were joyful. Turn our captivity, O God, like dry streams in the Negev. We had planted seeds in tears, but our harvest was gladness. We went forth...

-- Exodus Story

The Exodus: A Story In Seven Short Chapters

by Jewish Guy

1. Once upon a time our people went into exile in the land of Egypt. During a famine our ancestor Jacob and his family fled to Egypt where food was plentiful. His son Joseph had risen to high position in Pharaoh’s court, and our people were well-respected and well-regarded, secure in the power structure of the time. 2. Generations passed and our people remained in Egypt. In time, a new Pharaoh ascended to the throne. He found our difference threatening, and...

Introduction

Opening Prayer

by Jewish Guy

Long ago at this season, our people set out on a journey. On such a night as this, Israel went from degradation to joy. We give thanks for the liberation of days gone by. And we pray for all who are still bound. Eternal God, may all who hunger come to rejoice in a new Passover. Let all the human family sit at your table, drink the wine of deliverance, eat the bread of freedom: Freedom from bondage and Freedom from...

Urchatz

Washing the Hands

by Jewish Guy

This symbolic hand-washing recalls Miriam's Well. This well followed Miriam, sister of Moses, through the desert. Filled with waters of life, the well was a source of strength and renewal to all who drew from it. One drink from its waters was said to alert the heart, mind and soul, and make the meaning of Torah more clear. When we wash hands again later, we will say blessings to sanctify that act. This hand washing is purely symbolic, and therefore the...

Motzi-Matzah

Bless and Eat

by Jewish Guy

Why do we eat matzah? Because during the Exodus, our ancestors had no time to wait for dough to rise. So they improvised flat cakes without yeast, which could be baked and consumed in haste. The matzah reminds us that when the chance for liberation comes, we must seize it even if we do not feel ready—indeed, if we wait until we feel fully ready, we may never act at all. בְָרוּךְ אַתָה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַמּוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ...

Koreich

The Hillel Sandwich

by Jewish Guy

The sage Hillel originated the tradition of eating matzah and maror together, combining the bread of liberation with a remembrance of the bitterness of slavery. [Everyone eats a Hillel Sandwich: maror between two pieces of matzah.]

-- Cup #2 & Dayenu

Conclusion of Maggid

by Jewish Guy

Dayenu: It Would Have Been Enough What does this mean, "It would have been enough"? Surely no one of these would indeed have been enough for us. Dayenu means to celebrate each step toward freedom as if it were enough, then to start out on the next step. It means that if we reject each step because it is not the whole liberation, we will never be able to achieve the whole liberation. It means to sing each verse as if...

Nirtzah

Conclusion

by Jewish Guy

Tonight we have acknowledged our ancestors. We vow that we will not allow their stories, their experiences, their wisdom to fade. These are our legacy, which we will study and teach to our friends and children. The task of liberation is long, and it is work we ourselves must do. As it is written in Pirke Avot, a collection of rabbinic wisdom: “It is not incumbent upon us to finish the task, but neither may we refrain from beginning it.” Next...

-- Four Questions

The Questions

by Jewish Guy

[It is traditional for the youngest person at a seder to ask four questions. (It’s actually one question with four answers.) We know the question, and we know the answers, but we ask anyway because there is always something to learn. No matter how “wise” we become, we must remember to question.] [The youngest child chants the Four Questions:] מַה נִּשְׁתַנָּה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶה מִכָּל הַלֵּילוֹת? שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוֹ אוֹכְלִין חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה. הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶה כֻּלּוֹ מַצָּה: שֶבְכָל הַלֵילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין שְאָר יְרָקוֹת...

-- Four Children

by Jewish Guy

Four times the Torah bids us tell our children about the Exodus from Egypt. Four times the Torah repeats: “And you shall tell your child on that day” From this, our tradition infers four kinds of children... The Torah speaks of four kinds of children: one wise, one wicked, one simple, and one who does not yet know how to ask. The Wise One says: “What is the meaning of the rules, laws and practices which God has commanded us to...

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Shulchan Oreich

The Festive Meal

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[eat]

Kadesh

Sanctifying the Day

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May the light of the candles we kindle together tonight bring radiance to all who live in darkness. May this season, marking the deliverance of our people from Pharaoh, rouse us against anyone who keeps others in servitude. In gratitude for the freedom we enjoy, may we strive to bring about the liberation of all people everywhere. Lighting these candles, we create the sacred space of the Festival of Freedom; we sanctify the coming-together of our friends and family. בָרוּךְ אַתָה...

Urchatz

Washing the Hands

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