Page 30 - RMBA Upper School Haggadah 2018

The Lesson Of The 4th Son - Noa Gralnik (7th Grade)
When we were younger we would learn that the fourth son could not ask a ques on and
because of this he stayed quiet throughout the Seder, but was the 4th son unable to ask a
ques on or was he just unwilling?
There are a few different answers to this ques on. The first answer to the ques on is answered
by Rashi. Rashi says that the 4th child had a ques on that he could have asked but didn’t have
enough confidence to actually ask it. He was scared he would look like a fool and ruin the seder.
The Haggadah is teaching us that we have to be nice and sensi ve to people like this un l they
are ready to share their ques ons or thoughts.
The second possible answer is that the reason he didn’t know how to ask was because of his
lack of Jewish educa on. Because of this he might be a li le slow and doesn’t know how to ask
a ques on because he doesn’t know what is going on.
The third answer is that he is like the second child, the evil one. He has a Jewish educa on but
finds it irrelevant to ask a ques on because he doesn’t care about Judaism like his ancestors.
The fourth answer is that the child was just independent and didn’t care to ask for help or to ask
ques ons. Instead he would just try to find the answer on his own.
The fi h and final answer is that he held himself in a posi on that he was too proud to ask
ques ons because if he did it would ruin his reputa on.
The lesson we learn from this is that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover. Just because you
think something is going to turn out one way doesn’t mean it will and some mes when people
do this it turns out that it ruins the experience or thing for themselves.
Women And The Pesach Story - Ashley Taibel (7th Grade)
The Pesach story has many grand tales of Moshe standing up to Pharaoh that we are taught
from the me we are children. As we recall these stories it is vital to explain the role women
played during this important moment in Jewish history.
The first step is iden fying the women who played significant roles. Shifra and Puah are
midwives asked by Pharaoh to kill the Jewish baby boys, but they rebel by failing to report their
births. Yocheved, Moshe’s mother, hides him for three months and then places him in a basket
in the Nile hoping he will be saved. Batya, Pharaoh’s daughter, bravely ignores her father’s
decree and takes Moses from his basket as her own. Moses’ sister, Miriam, watches over Moses
when he is placed in the Nile un l he is found by Batya. She also arranges for Yocheved to be
Moses’ wet nurse. Miriam inspired the Jewish women to have faith as they le Egypt. The

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