Page 19 - RMBA Upper School Haggadah 2018

collabora on to do projects or worksheets. At the seder we use something that is used in
everyday life, to enhance the seder experience.
What’s With All the Questions? - Eliana Ruben (11th Grade)
If a person goes through the Pesach Seder, one thing is sure to stand out to them: the Seder is
set up in a way that forces people to ques on everything. “Why do we dip the Karpas into the
saltwater?” “ Why do we leave a cup out for Eliyahu?” There is a whole song dedicated to asking
ques ons: Ma Nishtana. This, ironically enough, raises a ques on: why are we asking all these
ques ons?
Most Jewish holidays either celebrate the me of year, or we are thanking Hashem that we
survived whatever na on tried to kill us this month. It is very straigh orward. So why is Pesach
any different? The answer is embedded in our culture. Mendel Kalmenson explains that in
Judaism, we encourage children to ask ques ons. Ques oning prompts learning, and of course
we want our children to fully grasp and understand the meaning of Pesach. Also, when children
are curious about something, they pay closer a en on to it, and we want all eyes on the
Passover story during the seder. Pesach is meant to be a unique and intriguing learning
experience for children. We want children to take it upon themselves to learn and understand
why we are doing what we are doing during this holiday. As Kalmenson points out, Pesach is a
word formed from the words Peh (meaning mouth) and Sach (speak). We want out kids to be
able to ask ques ons in order to grow and learn.
Why Do We Say Ma Nishtana Only On Pesach? - Ezra Miller (7th grade)
Why do we say what is unique and special about this night on Pesach? A er all, on many
different holidays we do something special. On Chanukah, we light the Chanukiah, eat jelly
donuts, and get presents and gelt. On Sukkot, we eat in the sukkah, shake the lulav and etrog.
But on these holidays we do not say what makes it different than other days. So why only on
Pesach?
The reason is that in the story of Pesach, Hashem treated us like we were special. He took us
out of Egypt, split the sea, and He did the ten plagues, etc… But why don’t we just say that? The
reason for that is we can’t praise Hashem enough. If we add in our own prayers, it’s actually
insul ng. It’s like saying to the richest man in the world “wow you’re so rich, you bought a big
couch!” Thus, we only say what is instructed for us to say (Rabbi Yosef Soloveitchik, mi yimalel,
shir hamaalot). Because of that, the people who made the Haggada didn’t directly praise
Hashem for trea ng us like we were special and unique. Instead, they hinted to us that by
saying things that are special and unique about the seder night. From this you should see that
Hashem can’t be praised enough for what He did for us and the whole universe.

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