Montclair High School Students Walkout To End Gun Violence. Photo courtesy Baristanet.com
Passover
Our Passover haggadah, the traditional order of our telling of our liberation from Egypt, expands on the Biblical command to tell this story to our children. The Rabbis noticed that the Torah mentions this command four times, and so the Rabbis suggest that this refers to four different types of children. Three of these types – the wise, wicked, and simple children – initiate our storytelling by asking us questions. And then there is the fourth – the one who does not know how to ask – and we are told that we should not wait for that child to learn how to ask. “You open up to them,” says the haggadah. We must tell the story without prompting. We have a story to tell. We have wisdom to impart. We have a rich tradition of precious values that we must hand down.
As Pesach approaches I cannot but think about our contemporary American situation, in which this classic relationship between the grownups – the ones with the wisdom and the answers – and the children – who are the ones seeking wisdom and answers – has been upended. After the tragic and horrible mass shooting at Parkland, the children are asking us questions. But their questions are not eliciting answers. Their questions are a challenge to us for our failure to act as responsible adults who care enough about our next generation to make sure they are safe and able to grow.
Of the four children, they are the children who did not know how to ask until now. But we did not open up our hearts and minds beforehand and give them teachings that would fix this terribly damaged society.
And they are the simple and pure children, whose question knows no complicated excuses and diversions. After they bury their friends, whether first-born or last-born, they ask and cry out: “What is this!?” And we have no answer.
And they are the wise children. Their questions emerge out of a youthful but deep wisdom. Why have we waited so long to formulate answers to their cry for safety? But we have squandered our own gifts of intelligence and maturity and avoided making the choices that could have lessened the madness in our world years ago. Why? We have no answer.
The most problematic child is the wicked one. The haggadah can imagine a wicked person who rejects and despises the beautiful tradition being offered to them. But our situation is reversed. If there is wickedness around us, it is not evinced by our children rejecting our ways. We have become what the haggadah never contemplated: we have become “the wicked adult, the wicked parent” for rejecting the opportunity, again and again, to take considered steps to make our country a safer place. We have become the hardhearted and wicked parents who reject the appeals of our innocent children.
The night of the seder is called “Leyl Shimurim – the Night of Safety.” But we have abdicated our responsibility to create a safer world. The holiday of Passover is called the Festival of Freedom, but we have fetishized a notion of freedom that takes away lives rather than enhancing lives.
On Passover we have been commanded to “tell our children.” But this Passover we have come to a time when the command is to “listen to our children.” As they continue to ask their questions, what will we answer?
Hag Same`ah!
Rabbi David Greenstein
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great dvar torah, david. wishing you, zelda and your son a liberating and sweet pesach! best, vicki