The Passover seder is the most observed ritual on the Jewish calendar. The seder is a series of fifteen rituals that commemorate and reenact the exodus from Egypt. It is a special evening that cannot be described, it needs to be experienced.

A central theme of the evening is the involvement of the children and engaging them in the retelling of the story.

As a parent, I cannot think of anything more joyous and satisfying than watching my children grow in their connection to their faith and in their relationship with God.

Giving your child deep roots by connecting them to their past helps build a strong foundation from which they will hopefully never leave.

At some point, your children will ask “What is this service to you?” They are curious and they don’t want to accept things just because you do. They ask questions that you must confront and answer.

Judaism has always valued questions. We are encouraged to ask from the youngest age and to keep asking as we get older. Pursuing knowledge begins with asking questions.

If you ignore or deny children the ability to ask questions, they will nevertheless ask them and seek answers elsewhere.

Towards the beginning of the Passover seder the youngest child asks “The Four Questions” which sets up the evening as a night of dialogue. We initiate the youngest children into our faith by encouraging them to ask and this becomes a lifelong pursuit—the search for answers.

I am told that the Eskimos have a variety of names for “snow.” People who live in the desert have many different words for “camel.” The Jewish people have many different words for “question.”

In teaching children to ask, we honor one of God’s greatest gifts to humanity—the ability to think, reason and discern.