The following is an essay my 13 year old son wrote for his D’var Torah he handed in this week in his eighth grade class. I really liked it and thought you would all enjoy reading a child’s perspective on his own experience of what Passover means to him.
What Seder Means To Me: By, Mordy Tombosky
The whole reason we have a Seder is so a child will ask, “What is this for?”
We do everything possible so that the child’s mind will open and we will get him to ask questions. And so, the Seder opens up with the Mah-nishtanah. A child that doesn’t ask questions sometimes doesn’t understand what they are learning. Or it could be that he’s not interested. It could also mean that he couldn’t care less. If someone is concerned and really wants to know, then he will ask questions. Questions help us grow to understand more. If we want to find the truth, we must learn to ask the right questions. But, we also need to make sure the question makes sense. The sooner we have a better understanding of some things, our appreciation for Hashem is greater. And then we understand the miracles Hashem did for us in Egypt. We must continually search deeper and deeper for the better meaning. This way our appreciation for Hashem will grow greater and stronger.
It says: “The more a person discusses the story of Yetzias Mitzrayim (Going out of Egypt), the more praiseworthy he is.” The way I can incorporate this in my own life is to ask questions. If I never ask questions, then I’ll never learn anything. When I was in second grade, I thought it was rude to ask questions. Then one day my teacher asked me, “Why don’t you ask me any questions?” I said, “Really? Isn’t that interrupting you?” He just smiled and said “No, not at all.” It was then that I realized we don’t avoid questions, but rather we encourage them. So next time you feel shy about asking a question for whatever reason, ask it, and you may learn something you never knew.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.