Background OK, so the four questions are not really questions. What exactly are they? And if the purpose of the Haggadah is to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt why do I need to explain why our customs are different on this night from all other nights? Rabbi Lorberbaum explains that at the heart of the Seder is an attempt to understand our way of life. We begin the telling not in the past but right here at the Seder Table in the present exploring the significance of our way of life. This will lead us to the past and help us understand who we are today. The questions in the Mah Nishtana, then, highlight the importance of the way we remember the Exodus today as Jews and how we tell the story through the commandments, customs and practices both divine and rabbinic. Mah Nishtana. Why were the sages so insistent on one asking questions of another? The Braita says, “If he has no wife (and there is no one else to ask), then let him ask himself.” The whole point of the telling of the story of the Exodus (“And you shall tell it to your child on that day, ‘It is because of this which God did for me when I went forth from Egypt.’”) is not merely the telling of the story but the explanation of the Mitzvot associated with the Exodus from Egypt. This is implied in Exodus by the words Ba’avur zeh, “It is because of this” referring to the Matzah and Maror. Discussing the Mitzvot takes place in a dialogue with others, through questions and answers, and inquiry and discussion. Why do the four questions single out these particular differences in the Seder and not others such as the four cups of wine? The four statements neatly divide into two groups the first two statements about Matzah and Maror have to do with those commandments associated with Passover that are divine commandments taken from the Torah, and the second two statements have to do with rabbinic commandments which appear at the beginning of the Seder. They are dipping and leaning. In this way the Mah Nishtana reminds us that we must be exacting in observing and explaining both the commandments whose source is in the Torah and those which are derived from Rabbinic literature.