The Four Questions of Freedom: I Question Therefore I Am Free

On  Passover, Jews celebrate the festival of freedom by conducting the "Seder". The Seder involves the recitation of the Haggadah which recounts the story of the Exodus along with various prayers, benedictions, eating Matza, drinking 4 cups of wine, and a festive meal. The Haggadah is an ancient text that is familiar to Jews of every stripe,denomination,and level of observance. With the exception of fasting on Yom Kippur, there is arguably no other Jewish ritual that is as widely celebrated amongst Jewish people as the Passover Seder and the recitation of the Haggadah. Perhaps the most well known aspect of the Haggadah is the introduction to the story of the Exodus with the famous 4 Questions. One would think that a celebration of the festival of freedom would start off with some profound reflection, or deep philosophical rumination, on the concept of Freedom. Perhaps even a deep, mystical, Kabbalistic insight. Instead we start off with the following seemingly simplistic and almost inane 4 questions about what and how we are eating.

 Why is this night different from all other nights?

1. On all other nights  we eat leavened and unleavened bread and on this night we only eat unleavened bread - Matza?

2. On all other nights we eat other vegetables yet on this night we eat bitter herbs?

3. On all other nights we do not dip our herbs/vegetables even once yet tonight we dip them twice?

4. On all other nights we eat our meal either reclining or sitting upright, yet tonight we eat only whilst reclining? 

Anyone who takes even a minimal amount of time to study a little bit of the classical and authentic commentaries on the Haggadah text, will know that there is indeed great depth,profundity, and meaning in the text and there is far more than meets the eye on a superficial level.

However perhaps we may suggest that a prerequisite to internalizing and celebrating Freedom in both the spiritual and physical sense is the requirement to question and to vocalize those questions out loud. The Halacha is quite clear that even if one is conducting a Seder in solitude,one must ask oneself these 4 questions and then proceed with the Exodus story. The message seems clear, that is, If one does not have the ability to ask questions, or fails to ask questions, one can not be and is not Free.

Asking questions implies the ability to sit back and formulate thoughts and ideas. The classic work Mesillat Yesharim by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato explains that Pharaoh wanted the Hebrew slaves to be working so hard that they would be so totally engulfed in their slavery to the extent that they would not have time to think and therefore be rendered docile and obedient. In a similar vain Rabbi Luzzato says if we get caught up in the vagaries of daily life without setting aside time for spiritual reflection, we too are rendered slaves to the physical and material aspects of our existence at the expense of our souls.

A slave obeys without questioning, and without thinking. A free man thinks and asks questions. A tyrant will do all they can to stifle thinking and questioning.The first lesson of the 4 questions is that we must ask questions in order to aspire to the concepts of Freedom and Redemption. 

Rabbi Luzzato writes that we tend to ignore the obvious because it is so obvious and we are so used to it. In the climb up the ladder of spirituality we can not ignore  that which is obvious and rudimentary. We must pay close attention to every detail and all minutiae of the seemingly mundane that affects our spirituality.

And so we begin the Exodus story of physical and spiritual redemption by paying attention and asking questions,simple questions about the obvious. Questions whose answer we may already know, yet ignore because of their obviousness. But we still must ask the questions. Later on in the Haggadah we have the parable of the 4 sons.We must  help out those who do not have the ability to ask questions. We must answer the questions of  those who are antagonistic in their questioning. We must develop an internal sense of the importance of questioning and answering, and seeking truth.

The forces of darkness in our contemporary times seek to stop questioning. Shut up and obey. Follow the AI it is smarter than you. Obey Pharaoh and fulfill your duty to him. Arbeit Macht Frei. Vaccines Macht Frei. Face Masks Macht Frei. Vaccine Passports Macht Frei. Boys are Girls. Girls are Boys. Carbon is bad. Genetic engineering of  your Genome is good. Putin is bad. Biden is good.If you say the wrong thing, or ask the wrong questions you should be de-platformed, de-banked, and de-personed. The underlying theme is do not question, just obey and follow. 

If you really want to be free start asking some simple questions.