FOUR CHILDREN, REGARDLESS OF AGE 

The Haggadah tells of four children: the Chacham, the wise one; the Rasha, the wicked one; the Tam, the straightforward one; and finally, the one who doesn't know what to ask. 

The Wise One/ The Chacham says: How do I become an anti-racist?

To that one we say: Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.1 Educate yourself about your own role in the mechanics of racism and how you can make choices to disrupt the structures and systems of injustice rather than perpetuating them.

The Wicked One/ The Rasha says: I’m not a racist, so racial justice is not about me.

To that one we say: You are complicit in a white America that slammed the door shut on the opportunity for the fundamental transformation of the civil rights movement.2 You may not be guilty but you are responsible.3
 

 The Straightforward One / The Tam says: How do I even begin to confront racism?

To that one we say: Repentance means a new insight, a new spirit. It also means a course of action.3 Choose a place to begin, and that will be good enough for a start.

To the One Who Does Not Know What to Ask we say: We, too, are either ministers of the sacred or slaves of evil.4 Your liberation is bound up with mine; let us work together.5

Citations

¹ https://www.oprah.com/oprahs-lifeclass/the-powerful-lesson-maya-angelou-taught-oprah-video

2 https://time.com/5859214/james-baldwin-racism/

3https://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/heschel-religion-and-race-speech-text/

4 https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/centers/boisi/pdf/f10/Heschel_Insecurity_of_Freedom_excerpt.pdf

5 https://lillanetwork.wordpress.com/about/ 


haggadah Section: -- Four Children