Ma Nishtana - The Four Questions

It is traditional for the youngest person (or young at heart) at a seder to ask four questions. (It’s actually one question with four answers.) We know the question, and we know the answers, but we ask anyway because there is always something to learn. No matter how “wise” we become, we must remember to question. 

? מַה נִּשְּׁתַּנָה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל הַלֵּילוֹת
שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה
: הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה כּוּלוֹ מַצָּה
שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין שְׁאָר יְרָקוֹת,
 : הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מָרוֹר
שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אֵין אֶנוּ מַטְבִּילִין אֲפִילוּ פַּעַם אֶחָת
: הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה שְׁתֵּי פְעָמִים.
שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין בֵּין יוֹשְׁבִין וּבֵין מְסֻבִּין
 : הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻּלָנו מְסֻבִּין

Mah nishtanah halaila hazeh mikol halaylot?
Shebakhol halaylot anu okhleen khamaytz u’matzah, halaila hazeh kulo matzah.
Shebakhol halaylot anu okhleen sh’ahr y’rakot, halaila hazeh maror.
Shebakhol halaylot ayn anu matbeeleen afeelu pa’am akhat, halaila hazeh sh’tay f’ameem.
Shebakhol halaylot anu okh’leen beyn yoshveen u’vayn m’subeen, halaila hazeh kulanu m’subeen.


Why is tonight different from all other nights? 

1. On all other nights we may eat either leavened bread or matzah; tonight, only matzah (that we may recall the unleavened bread our ancestors baked in haste). 

2. On all other nights we may eat a variety of herbs; tonight, we eat bitter herbs (that we may recall the suffering of slavery). 

3. On all other nights we needn’t dip our food in condiments even once; tonight we dip twice (in saltwater to remember our tears when we were enslaved, and in haroset to remember the mortar and the bricks which we made). 

4. On all other nights we may eat sitting up or reclining; tonight, we recline (to remind ourselves to savor our liberation). 

Source: The Velveteen Rabbi's Haggadah for Pesach, page 22


haggadah Section: -- Four Questions