Shalom and Mo'adim L'Simcha (a happy Festival season to you!),
I hope everyone reading this has enjoyed your Passover sedarim and is looking ahead to a week filled with reflection on the meaning of the Festival week.
The Talmudic tractate Pesachim provides us with a comprehensive overview of our Passover observance. Specifically, this Talmudic tractate elucidates the Seder ritual and the necessity of asking the Four Questions as the starting point of telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt. It is clear from the Talmud that it is considered desirable to have (a) child(ren) present in order to ask the questions, so that the adults around the table can answer and thereby explain the story. However, the Rabbis point out, if no child(ren) is/are present, the adults around the table are still obligated to ask the questions even if they know the answers! In other words, it's not enough to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The "ikar," or essence, of the observance is to ask questions and initiate a discussion. Even if all of the participants around the Seder table are rabbis, we must first ask the questions.
So much of what Judaism deems a meaningful life has more to do with asking hard questions than receiving easy answers.
What questions keep you up at night?
What are the most significant questions you have ever asked, and what did you discover upon asking them?
What questions would you wish for your rabbi(s) to engage with you?
I would welcome your comments--and we need those comments/questions this week!--in two locations: in the "comments" field below this posting, and in the "Ask The Rabbi" module along the left-hand margin of this blog site. The unique advantage of the left-hand "Ask The Rabbi" module is that you can opt to remain anonymous. I will receive your questions and answer, in time, to the best of my ability. Answers will be posted here:
May this season of questions yield fruitful discussion!
Have a sweet and meaningful Pesach.
Rabbi Jonathan Blake
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