Four Passover conversations with God

• Published date: 12 April 2024
• Author: MOSHE TARAGIN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Our annual Passover Seder affirms our commitment to Jewish family, a value which preserved us through an extended exile when we lacked national identity or political experience. The story we tell our family on Passover is about the concept of family in Judaism. Jewish history is a story of faith and family

Four Passover voices

The Torah outlines four different conversations about the Exodus. Based on these four outlines, our rabbis envisioned a dialogue with four different types of children: the wise, the wicked, the simple, and the confused child. Of course, no child, or for that matter no adult, neatly fits these profiles. We all possess characteristics of each child, and during Passover we conduct each of these four conversations in parallel.

A new chapter

This year, our story will include not only the events of 3,300 years ago but also the struggle of the past six months. We are currently authoring a fateful chapter in the book of Jewish history, and this year our Passover conversations will probe the connections between the ancient sections and the contemporary chapters of our story.

This "updated" Passover conversation will also be conducted through the classic four voices of Passover: the voice of the wise child, the voice of the rebellious child, the voice of the simple child, and voice of the confused child.

Our conversation with God

Alongside our dialogue with our children, we will also dialogue with our God, our collective Father, about the attacks of Oct. 7. In truth, we have all conducted these conversations in numerous different voices with God over the past six months. We have been speaking with God, praying to Him, and wondering about His decisions. Passover will only amplify those conversations, which have been ongoing since that dark day.

What are the four voices of this year's Passover conversation with God about the tragedy and its aftermath? How have we spoken with Him in the past about this critical chapter of Jewish history? How will we continue this conversation over the next month? What are the four voices of Passover 2024?

The conversation of wisdom

Much of our conversation with God has been centered upon analyzing this overwhelming tragedy. We have asked Him: How could this happen in our homeland? Didn't persecution of Jews end with our return to Israel? What messages was He sending us by allowing this pogrom? What are the long-term ramifications for our people and for our sense of peoplehood?

We have ruminated over these...