From the Passover Haggadah

מַה נִּשְׁתַּנָּה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל הַלֵּילוֹת

How is this night different from all other nights?

As the anchor to all the other holidays in the Jewish calendar, Passover marks the very origin of Jewish peoplehood. At the seder we share the story of the exodus. We reconnect to the near countless generations of Jews who on this very night gathered to remember and celebrate our history, and to find the strength and faith to continue our story. This is possible so long as we understand the purpose of this special meal, and probe the question as to why we’re having a seder at all.

Funny then that the four questions do not ask this question at all. Instead of why this night is different, the four questions ask how this night is different. The questions note that we eat maror, matza, we recline when we eat, and dip vegetables in salt water, but they merely direct those at the seder to notice these changes without explaining why we do these rituals.

This is the brilliance of the Haggadah. The seder is meant to assist each participant not to merely know why we’re there, but to internalize and embody its meaning.  A good teacher knows that when you just give the answer to a student they are less likely to internalize it than when they discover it for themselves. And like a good teacher, the Haggadah begins not with why but how in order to direct our attention to those aspects of the meal that we ought to be curious about. Each person is then challenged to discover the why over the course of the ritual meal. In this way the seder does not merely transmit our history from one generation to the next. It enables each participant to become part of it, empowering them to continue the story.