Four questions are the minimal number of questions to ask at a Passover seder. This is a night of multiple questions and multiple answers. I wouldn’t surprise your seder guests by asking the questions below for the first time at the seder table. My recommendation is to send them out prior to the seder and seek volunteers to write and hopefully deliver a reasoned response to any of these questions during the seder. The seder should be ground zero for civil dialogue—that should be a stated objective known to all the guests—in marked contrast to the toxic exchanges that these days all too often pass for public debate. The questions are meant to generate respectful exchanges, not heated debate. Here are four to do just that:

October 7 was a turning point for the international Jewish community in many ways, both in a burst of support for Israel and in a discomfort with the lengths to which Israel went in its military response. How has October 7 changed your understanding of what it means to be a Jew in the 21st century?

The pharaoh of Egypt was understood to be a god, and thus the sole religious arbiter of Egyptian society. The God of Israel opposed that kind of hubris and brought Pharoah down through force of plague while liberating the Israelites. Is diplomacy possible with extreme religious authorities or are plagues, that is military force, the only way to reign them in?

Israel is soon to be 78 years old. According to the Torah, it is a land that God has promised to the Jewish people. Building and maintaining a nation is a typically messy business. Has the building and maintaining of a national homeland for the Jewish people been worth the cost?

Jews are rarely on the same page about anything, but ironically, antisemitism is a powerful tool in creating a common denominator among all Jews of diverse backgrounds—no Jew approves of it. But to stake our unity on an external force of hatred is no way to keep a group together. What are some Jewish actions or activities that we can do, and that we believe many more of us should do, in order to create a positive dynamic of Jewish cohesiveness?

All of these questions are related to the seder as the seder itself is an exercise in wondering what exactly it means to be a member of this tribal entity “Jews.” The seder, at its best, should move us to explore our own Jewish identity, a task that has a beginning, but most likely, no end. There is no answer key to these questions, as the task at hand is not to impose anyone’s answer on anyone else, only to explore where we are right now, this year. Next year, who knows how we will change or where we will be? For all we know, next year, we may be in Jerusalem.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)