Seder Night: The Ultimate Classroom
From the child’s perspective there are teachers and there are parents. But in Judaism there really isn’t such a distinction. In many places in the Torah, we see teachers described as parents. For example, Rashi tells us (Devarim 6:7) on the famous words from the Shema, “וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ – and you shall teach your children” – ‘Eilu HaTalmidim – this refers to the students.’ The Talmud (Sanhedrin 19b) teaches that Aharon’s sons are called “the sons of Moshe and Aharon” because Moshe taught them, which shows that whoever teaches Torah is considered a parent. And Elisha the prophet refers to his teacher, Eliyahu HaNavi, as “אָבִי אָבִי רֶכֶב יִשְׂרָאֵל – my father, my father, chariot of Israel (Melachim Bet 2:12).” Because to really impact a child it is not enough to be an expert in the subject matter. You have to love the child and know them like a parent does.
But it goes the other way as well. Seder night reminds us that parents are the ultimate teachers. The whole Haggadah is based on the Pasuk “וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ… – And you shall tell your child on that day ‘for this reason God did all this for me when He took me out of Egypt (Shemot 13:8).’” And almost every paragraph of the Haggadah mentions either Parents, Teachers, Students, or Children. We do many unusual things during the Seder “so that the children will ask.” We read about the Four Children and the unique way the parent is supposed to educate each one. And we are told that when the child cannot ask “אַתְּ פְּתַח לוֹ – you open it for him,” meaning that we are to do something to trigger his or her curiosity and interest.
Just as teachers sometimes need to think like parents, parents sometimes need to think like teachers. And the 1st thing every good teacher needs is a lesson plan. After all, we expect our children to sit and read text for hours before they finally get to eat anything other than bitter herbs and cardboard matzah! So we need to plan. What are the big ideas we want to teach? How do each of the children at our Seder learn best? What can we do to make it engaging for them so that they will be active participants and so that the lesson will make a lasting impression? How will we assess whether learning took place?
Seder night is a lesson for the ages. As we commemorate the past we also pass on our legacy to the future. Our parents taught us, and our children will continue passing along our tradition. Wishing each of us a Chag Kasher V’Sameach!
