G-d then told the Jews that they must celebrate the anniversary of the Exodus every year as the holiday of Passover. A central feature of this celebration would be the retelling of the story of the Exodus to the children.
For the Children
וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר וגו':
(שמות יג:ח)
You must tell your child on that day.
Exodus 13:8
Interestingly, the commandment to retell the story of the
Exodus – which is the source for the annual Passover Seder – is given
in the context of describing “the child who does not know how to ask,” the most
immature of all the four types of children to whom we must tailor our
description of the Exodus. This teaches us that our duty to retell the Exodus
applies mainly
to this uninitiated child. We must find the words to inspire even this type of
child with gratitude to G‑d for liberating us from Egypt and from all past,
present, future, personal, and collective Egypts.
This is so because the Exodus from Egypt was absolute: not one
Jew remained in Egypt. Since the Exodus was so all-encompassing, the
transmission of its message must also encompass each and every individual that
can possibly understand it, even if this takes extraordinary effort.
By ensuring that even “the child who does not know how to ask”
understands the meaning of the Exodus, we ensure that the other children will
understand it, too, much as lifting up the bottom of any structure
automatically raises the rest of the structure, as well.1
