Ceremony and Celebration Family Edition, The Hagim, Pesah, Avadim Hayinu, Further Thoughts
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To be a Jew is to know that over and above history is the task of memory. As Jacob Neusner eloquently wrote: “Civilisation hangs suspended, from generation to generation, by the gossamer strand of memory. If only one cohort of mothers and fathers fails to convey to its children what it has learnt from its parents, then the great chain of learning and wisdom snaps. If the guardians of human knowledge stumble only one time, in their fall collapses the whole edifice of knowledge and understanding” (Neusner on Judaism: Religion and Theology). More than any other faith, Judaism made this a matter of religious obligation. Pesaḥ is where the past does not die, but lives in the chapter we write in our own lives, and in the story we tell our children.
“History and Memory,” The Jonathan Sacks Haggada
☛ REFLECT Why do you think education has become so important in Judaism, and what impact has that had on Jewish history?
QUESTIONS TO ASK AT YOUR SEDER
- Why does the Haggada say, “Wewere slaves in Egypt”? Were you a slave in Egypt?
- Do you like long stories? Why do you think the Haggada tells us that the longer we make this story, the better?
- Why does the Haggada have to point out that old and wise people still have to do this mitzva?