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Teach Your Children Well ‐ Rabbi Aaron Levitt (Judaic Studies Principal)

We are about to begin the Pesach Seder with all its beautiful traditions and meaningful symbols. Take a moment
to look around the table and appreciate each individual. We are each unique and different, and yet we have both
a shared history and destiny that unites us and brings us together on this special night.

That is often how I feel as a teacher before my lesson begins. What a privilege it is to earn a living by teaching
Torah and sharing the beauty of Judaism with the next generation. I look around the room and see each student
for the person they are and the journey they are on. And I ask myself “how can I make this lesson engaging and
meaningful for each of my students in the way that they need?” That is both the challenge and the joy of teach-
ing.

You know, from the child's perspective there are the teachers and there are the parents. But in Judaism there re-
ally isn't such a distinction. In many places in the Torah we see teachers described as parents. For example,
Rashi tells us (Devarim 6:7) on the famous words from the Shema, “Veshinantam Levanecha - and you shall
teach your children” - ‘Eilu HaTalmidim - this refers to the students.’ And the Talmud (Sanhedrin 19b) teaches
that Aharon’s sons are called “the sons of Moshe and Aharon” because Moshe taught them, which shows that
whoever teaches Torah is considered a parent. Because to really impact a child it is not enough to be an expert in
the subject matter. You have to love the child and know them like a parent does.

But it goes the other way as well. Seder night reminds us that parents are the ultimate teachers. The whole Hag-
gadah is based on the Pasuk “VeHigadeta L’Vincha… - And you shall tell your child on that day ‘for this reason
God did all this for me when He took me out of Egypt.’” And almost every paragraph of the Haggadah mentions
either Parents, Teachers, Students, or Children. We do many unusual things during the Seder “so that the chil-
dren will ask.” We read about the Four Children and the unique way the parent is supposed to educate each one.
And we are told that when the child cannot ask “At Petach Lo - you open it for him,” meaning that we are to do
something to trigger his or her curiosity and interest.

Just as teachers sometimes need to think like parents, parents need to sometimes think like teachers. And the 1st
thing every good teacher needs is a lesson plan. After all, we expect our children to sit and read text for hours
before they finally get to eat anything other than bitter herbs and cardboard matzah! So we need to plan. What
are the big ideas I want to teach? How do the children at my Seder each learn best? What can I do to make it en-
gaging for them so that they will be active participants and so that the lesson will make a lasting impression?
How will I assess whether learning took place?

This Haggadah is an amazing text. But it takes a master teacher to make the text come alive, feel relevant and
interesting, and have a lasting impact long after the lesson. Maybe you can bring props to the table and act out
parts of the story. Maybe you can give clues and have contests to see who can find the answer in the text. Maybe
you can throw out a moral dilemma from the story and invite two people at the table to each choose a famous
personality from Jewish History and debate the issue. There is no end to the fun and creativity you can have
(even while still making sure that everyone is fed and happy). It just takes a little planning.

I hope you enjoy the Divrei Torah that our wonderful students, I mean children, have written. This is the 4th
year in a row that we have published such a Haggadah and it is a labor of love. And I bless each of us that this
seder will be the best one we ever had. If we think like both parents and teachers I guarantee that it will be a les-
son our children will hold onto for the rest of their lives.

Chag Sameach!!!

Simcha Levitt—4th grade