There is a parable told by Rabbi Hiyya that says that there are four types of children, the wise one, who asks  "What are the rituals of Passover ", this child wants to learn how to observe Passover, and is not fearful of coming off as dumb. It is said that the wicked child asks, " what does this service mean to you ", to  you,  but not to them. The assumed wickedness comes from their suggestion that the tradition of Passover and the history of suffering of Jews is not part of their life, but of others. The simple child asks,  "What is Passover. " The fourth child is the one that does not know how to ask.

All this said, it is worth challenging the idea that asking "what does this service mean to you" makes a child wicked. This question relies on traditional ideolgoies that children ought to accept and fully buy into beliefs because someone older tells them. As we know from young people such as Greta Thunberg and Malala, sometimes it takes the courage of a young person to say they don't agree for the people older than them to see what may actually be right or wrong. If this "wicked" child asks "What does this service mean to you?" and the adult doesn't even have an answer, perhaps they are just revealing a gap in understanding across generations, one that is valuable to shine light upon.

"What does this service mean to you" does not show an exclusionary perspective, but a curious one. The adult now has the chance to invite the child into their values, and that child may find peace and understanding within that answer, or they may seek another one. The four children represent different parts of all of us, regardless of age. The curious, the critical, the unknowing, and the scared. At the Passover table, there is a place for everyone.


haggadah Section: -- Four Children