At Passover each year, we read the story of our ancestors’ pursuit of liberation from oppression. When confronting this history, how do we answer our children when they ask us how to pursue justice in our time?

WHAT DOES THE ACTIVIST CHILD ASK?

“The Torah tells me, ‘Justice, justice you shall pursue,’ but how can I pursue justice?” Empower this child always to seek pathways to advocate for the vulnerable. Help those with no voice speak up for themselves.  Speak up for the rights of the those who do not have your privilege. Speak up, judge righteously, champion the poor and those in need.

WHAT DOES THE SKEPTICAL CHILD ASK?

“How can I solve problems of such enormity?” Encourage this child by explaining that they need not solve the problems, they must only do what they are capable of doing. As we read in Pirke Avot, “It is not your responsibility to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.”

WHAT DOES THE INDIFFERENT CHILD SAY?

“It’s not my responsibility.”Persuade this child that responsibility cannot be shirked. As Abraham Joshua Heschel writes, “The opposite of good is not evil, the opposite of good is indifference. In a free society where terrible wrongs exist, some are guilty, but all are responsible.”

AND THE UNINFORMED CHILD WHO DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO ASK...

Prompt this child to see themselves as an inheritor of our people’s legacy. As it says in Deuteronomy, “You must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”At this season of liberation, join us in working for the liberation of all people. Let us respond to our children’s questions with action and justice.


haggadah Section: -- Four Children