The Four Children- Teaching the Next Generation
At Passover each year, we read the story of our ancestors’ pursuit of liberation from
oppression. When confronting this history, how do we answer our children when
they ask us how to pursue justice in our time?
What does the activist child ask?
“The Torah tells me, ‘Justice, justice you shall pursue,’ but how can I pursue justice?”
Empower her always to seek pathways to advocate for the vulnerable. As Proverbs
teaches, “Speak up for the mute, for the rights of the unfortunate. Speak up, judge
righteously, champion the poor and the needy.”
What does the skeptical child ask?
“How can I solve problems of such enormity?”
Encourage him by explaining that he need not solve the problems, he must only do
what he is capable of doing. As we read in Pirkei Avot—The Ethics of Our Ancestors,
“It is not your responsibility to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist
from it.”
What does the indifferent child say?
“It’s not my responsibility.”
Persuade her that responsibility cannot be shirked. As Rabbi Abraham Joshua
Heschel writes, “The opposite of good is not evil; the opposite of good is
indifference. In a free society where terrible wrongs exist, some are guilty, but all
are responsible.”
And the uninformed child who does not know how to ask ...
Prompt him to see himself as an inheritor of our people’s legacy. As it says in
Deuteronomy, “You must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land
of Egypt.”
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Passover Guide
Hosting your first Passover Seder? Not sure what food to serve? Curious to
know more about the holiday? Explore our Passover 101 Guide for answers
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