There is a deeper meaning behind explaining the story of the four children at passover. For this holiday, we tell the most important Jewish narrative that we have, which is that our ancestors were enslaved, and that we were lucky that God gave us our freedom so that we could freely and Jewishly. This holiday is a great time to confirm our Jewish identities. We include the story of the four sons at the seder, because these are the four Jewish identities we can choose for ourselves.

The wise child asks: "What is the meaning of the rules, laws, and customs which the Eternal Our God has commanded us?"

The first child has a Jewish background, something about being Jewish and wants to learn and do more Jewish things.To him/her, you explain all the laws of passover, to the very last detail about the Afikomen. We are all wise children, because we came to this seder tonight!

The contrary child asks: "What is the meaning of this service to you?"

The second child has a Jewish background, knows something about being Jewish and is against the pointlessness that makes up a lot of Jewish laws, customs, activities. By focusing on himself, he actually loses the point: That the jewish religion is only not about him believing in God and God’s commandments, but a huge part is about learning the history, practicing Jewish values as a community, and then teaching to the next generation. We made it this far. To him/her, you explain: "We conduct the seder and follow Jewish laws because of what the Eternal did for me when I came forth from Egypt. If you had been there, you would not have been redeemed."

The simple child asks: "What are we doing right now?"

The third child does not have a Jewish background, doesn’t know much about it but they want to learn! So when they ask a general question, you can give a more general simplified answer. To him/her you explain: "With a strong had the Eternal brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage."

The fourth child doesn’t know how to ask a question. He/she doesn’t say anything.

He never had a jewish background, doesn’t know anything about what it means to be Jewish. But unlike the simple child, he doesn’t think it’s interesting enough to learn. To him/her you say: "Thank you for joining us today. We are here conducting the passover seder because of what the Eternal One did for me when I came forth out of Egypt."


haggadah Section: -- Four Children