The Haggadah speaks of four children. Each asks his own question. Each receives his own response. Education, the Sages taught, is not something that can be mass-produced like a Model-T.
The first child, the wise child, is troubled by the abundance of rituals and minutiae in Judaism. For the intelligent and percipient, everything should be rational and reasonable. What meaning can there be in these myriad details and rules?
"What is the meaning of the testimonies, statutes, and laws which the Eternal our God has commanded us?" In one short sentence, he has challenged the very foundations of a ritually-rich religion. Why do we need all of these details and halachot? Why isn't it enough to be satisfied with the overall teachings, the basic tenets of the Torah?
The response of the Haggadah is peculiar, ostensibly unrelated to the question: "You shall explain to him the laws of Passover: one does not eat any dessert after the paschal offering." Are we to explain to him all the laws of Passover? Or just this one rule about not eating after the paschal offering (nowadays, the afikoman-matza), eaten at the end of the meal? What is the significance of this particular halacha?
My 6-year-old daughter was full of excitement watching us unpack the Passover dishes. Pots and pans that she remembered from last year were back once again. Then we uncovered a small piece of green velvet-cloth that fits over a finger. Once upon a time, it sported two plastic eyes and even a little red tongue. Our eldest brought it home from kindergarten one year, and ever since it has graced our Seder table, making a special appearance during the section about the plague of frogs. I wondered whether my daughter would remember this unrecognizable lump of cloth, on show for a only few minutes once a year. I needn't have worried. Her face immediately lit up when she saw the ?frog?.
The details and minute laws of mitzvot serve an important function. They create an atmosphere, enhancing the mitzvah-experience. They deepen the impression the mitzvah makes on the soul. The very involvement in all aspects of mitzvot leads to greater love of God, the ultimate source for the Torah's mitzvot.
Therefore, to the rational, intellectual child, we point out the rule about not eating after the afikoman-matza. Why is the matza the last food we eat on Seder night? We want the experience of Passover to make a lasting impression. We want the taste of matza to remain in our mouths for as long as possible. So we eat the afikoman at the very end of the meal - after dessert.
The detailed laws surrounding each mitzvah etch the experience of that mitzvah onto our souls. Like the matza on Passover, we want the ?taste? of the mitzvah to stay with us as long as possible. Just as our own personal additions to Passover customs - such as formless pieces of green velvet - may serve to conjure up memories of frolicking frogs and past Passovers.
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Chanan Morrison, of Mitzpeh Yericho, runs a website (RavKook.n3.net) dedicated to presenting the Torah commentary of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael, to the English-speaking community.
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Spend Passover with Arutz Sheva at a resort in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Kfar Pines (near Hadera). Click here for info.
The first child, the wise child, is troubled by the abundance of rituals and minutiae in Judaism. For the intelligent and percipient, everything should be rational and reasonable. What meaning can there be in these myriad details and rules?
"What is the meaning of the testimonies, statutes, and laws which the Eternal our God has commanded us?" In one short sentence, he has challenged the very foundations of a ritually-rich religion. Why do we need all of these details and halachot? Why isn't it enough to be satisfied with the overall teachings, the basic tenets of the Torah?
The response of the Haggadah is peculiar, ostensibly unrelated to the question: "You shall explain to him the laws of Passover: one does not eat any dessert after the paschal offering." Are we to explain to him all the laws of Passover? Or just this one rule about not eating after the paschal offering (nowadays, the afikoman-matza), eaten at the end of the meal? What is the significance of this particular halacha?
My 6-year-old daughter was full of excitement watching us unpack the Passover dishes. Pots and pans that she remembered from last year were back once again. Then we uncovered a small piece of green velvet-cloth that fits over a finger. Once upon a time, it sported two plastic eyes and even a little red tongue. Our eldest brought it home from kindergarten one year, and ever since it has graced our Seder table, making a special appearance during the section about the plague of frogs. I wondered whether my daughter would remember this unrecognizable lump of cloth, on show for a only few minutes once a year. I needn't have worried. Her face immediately lit up when she saw the ?frog?.
The details and minute laws of mitzvot serve an important function. They create an atmosphere, enhancing the mitzvah-experience. They deepen the impression the mitzvah makes on the soul. The very involvement in all aspects of mitzvot leads to greater love of God, the ultimate source for the Torah's mitzvot.
Therefore, to the rational, intellectual child, we point out the rule about not eating after the afikoman-matza. Why is the matza the last food we eat on Seder night? We want the experience of Passover to make a lasting impression. We want the taste of matza to remain in our mouths for as long as possible. So we eat the afikoman at the very end of the meal - after dessert.
The detailed laws surrounding each mitzvah etch the experience of that mitzvah onto our souls. Like the matza on Passover, we want the ?taste? of the mitzvah to stay with us as long as possible. Just as our own personal additions to Passover customs - such as formless pieces of green velvet - may serve to conjure up memories of frolicking frogs and past Passovers.
--------------------------------------------------------
Chanan Morrison, of Mitzpeh Yericho, runs a website (RavKook.n3.net) dedicated to presenting the Torah commentary of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael, to the English-speaking community.
************
Spend Passover with Arutz Sheva at a resort in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Kfar Pines (near Hadera). Click here for info.