The Four Children Metaphor

Haggadah Section: -- Four Children

Traditionally, the four children include a wise one, a wicked (or rebellious) one, a simple one, and an uninformed one. The wise child may ask, "Explain all this to me - what are my responsibilities and where can I begin?" The wicked (or rebellious) child may retort with attitude, "Seriously, what does this ridiculous stuff have to do with me anyway?" while the third is silent - requiring the adults to be proactive in providing an explanation of what is happening around him or her. The fourth child does not have enough knowledge to even ask a question.

Some say that The Four Children is a metaphor for four different attitudes toward tradition and toward being active or passive in the face of injustice. Some say it is about the stages of life. In the spirit of telling the story of Exodus and different attitudes that one might take to one's community or global responsibilities, think about your relationship to your tradition and the place from which you come from and the events taking place there

  • Do you understand what is going on?
  • Do you feel any obligation to do anything about it?
  • What would you do if you could?
  • What would you say if youused your platform of freedom tospeak out about it?

As we join together at this wonderful Seder Table, we bring many different thoughts, beliefs, lifestyles, experiences, cultures, and faiths. And wewouldn't want it any other way!

Source:  
Adaptation from Marc Fertik 2015 Haggadah

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