I

t is no accident that
Parshat Bo, the section
that deals with the
culminating plagues and
the exodus, should turn
three times to the subject
of children and the duty of
parents to educate them. As
Jews, we believe
that to defend
a country you
need an army,
but to defend a
civilization you
need education.
Freedom is lost
when it is taken
for granted. Unless parents
hand on their memories and
ideals to the next generation
— the story of how they
won their freedom and the
battles they had to fight along
the way — the long journey
falters and we lose our way.
What is fascinating,

though, is the way the Torah
emphasizes the fact that
children must ask questions.
Two of the three passages in
our parshah speak of this:

“And when your children
ask you, ‘What does this
ceremony mean to you?’ then
tell them, ‘It is the Passover
sacrifice to the Lord, who
passed over the houses of
the Israelites in Egypt and
spared our homes when He
struck down the Egyptians.’”
(Exodus, 12:26-27)

“In days to come, when
your son asks you, ‘What
does this mean?’ say to him,
‘With a mighty hand the
Lord brought us out of Egypt,
out of the land of slavery.’”
(Exodus 13:14)

There is another passage
later in the Torah that also
speaks of a child’s question:
“In the future, when your

son asks you, ‘What is the
meaning of the stipulations,
decrees and laws the Lord
our God has commanded
you?’ tell him: ‘We were
slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt,
but the Lord brought us
out of Egypt with a mighty
hand.’” (Deut. 6:20-21)
The other passage in
today’s parshah, the only
one that does not mention
a question: “On that day tell
your son, ‘I do this because
of what the Lord did for me
when I came out of Egypt.’”
(Exodux 13:8)
These four passages have
become famous because
they are in the Pesach
Haggadah. They are the
four children: one wise,
one wicked or rebellious,
one simple and “one who
does not know how to ask.”
Reading them together, the

Sages came to the conclusion
that [1] children should ask
questions, [2] the Pesach
narrative must be constructed
in response to, and begin
with, questions asked by a
child, [3] it is the duty of a
parent to encourage his or
her children to ask questions,
and the child who does not
yet know how to ask should
be taught to ask.
There is nothing natural
about this at all. To the
contrary, it goes dramatically
against the grain of history.
Most traditional cultures see
it as the task of a parent or
teacher to instruct, guide or
command. The task of the
child is to obey. “Children
should be seen, not heard,”
goes the old English proverb.
“Children, be obedient to
your parents in all things,
for this is well-pleasing to

Rabbi Lord
Jonathan
Sacks

The Necessity of
Asking Questions

SPIRIT
A WORD OF TORAH

38 | JANUARY 18 • 2024