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Why does the Seder revolve around children asking questions rather than simply teaching them? The shiur develops the idea that Makas Bechoros established Klal Yisrael as Hashem (ה׳)'s children, not merely His servants. The Seder's child-centered rituals are designed to instill the feeling of being a ben — that we are cherished children of the Melech, not just His subjects.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a fundamental question: Why does the mitzvah (מצוה) of Sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim emphasize derech she'eilah u'teshuvah (the way of question and answer)? In Hilchos Talmud (תלמוד) Torah (תורה), there is no requirement to teach through questions. Moreover, she'eilah u'teshuvah is actually a counterproductive learning method for beginners — intelligent questions (she'eilas chacham) can only be asked by someone who already has substantial knowledge. A child asking "Why are you moving the table?" is not asking from wisdom but from ignorance. Yet the Seder is structured entirely around encouraging children to ask questions, with numerous customs (karpas, leaning, removing the Seder plate) instituted specifically to prompt questions. Why build an educational experience around questions that aren't even intelligent? The answer emerges from examining the pasuk in Parshas Bo. Before Moshe returns to Mitzrayim, Hashem (ה׳) instructs him: "V'amarta el Pharaoh koh amar Hashem b'ni b'chori Yisrael" — say to Pharaoh, thus says Hashem, Israel is My son, My firstborn. "Shalach es b'ni v'yaavdeni" — send out My son to serve Me. "Va'tima'ein l'shalcho hinei anochi horeg es bincha b'chorecha" — and if you refuse to send him out, I will kill your firstborn son. This sequence reveals that Makas Bechoros was not merely a punishment or a means of liberation, but a demonstration that we are Hashem's children. It was quid pro quo: just as Pharaoh refused to release God's son, God would strike Pharaoh's son. This establishes a fundamental identity — we are not merely servants freed from slavery, but children of the King.
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Shemos (Bo) 4:22-23; Pesach Seder
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