Our job at the Seder is to keep everyone engaged, intrigued, and inspired. Although this is especially true for any children present, it applies as well to adults of any age, including ourselves. This is a difficult task that we should approach intentionally and thoughtfully. Thankfully, the compilers of the Haggadah structured the text and rituals in such a way to afford us many opportunities for retention of attention.1 What follows are three different components of the Seder that provide opportunities for increased engagement, with supplemental insights from the psychological and educational literature.

Order

The Haggadah is a highly structured text. There is a specific order for when and where we are supposed to recite and perform the different rituals. We emphasize this structure by chanting the order of the Haggadah even before we officially commence the first rung of “Kadesh.” The commentators offer several explanations for this tradition, including: that the recitation of the order serves as a memory device to help prevent mistakes (Machzor Vitri); it serves as a preparatory function to put one in the right mindset (hazmanah) for the upcoming spiritual undertaking (Va-Yaged Moshe); and that it functions as a way to create a sense of permanence (keviut) that is required (Yismach Av). Perhaps reciting the order in the beginning serves a pedagogic function as well. Teachers are encouraged to set an agenda and review it at the beginning of a class. The structure and clear expectations frame the upcoming learning, provide a sense of comfort and security for the learner, and help build motivation.2 The same is true in the therapeutic context, and is why setting the agenda at the beginning of a psychotherapy session is a key component of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).3 Likewise, chanting the order of the Seder before officially beginning helps set the agenda and provide a clear framework for what is to come, serving as one strategy to help participants effectively engage in the learning experience. 

Curiosity 

While order is essential, too much order can become predictable and boring. To maintain interest, we highlight the change from the ordinary in order to spark curiosity. The Talmud in Pesachim relates several practices that were done just to pique the interest of the children and encourage questions. These practices include giving out nuts to the children (109a, according to Rambam), lifting the matzot (109a, according to Rashi), dipping the vegetables twice (114b), removing the food earlier than expected (115b), and pouring the second cup of wine (115b, according to Rashi).4

Psychological research on curiosity indicates that greater curiosity leads to higher life satisfaction and an increased sense of meaning in life.5 In addition, curiosity is associated with enhanced memory,6 and better job7 and academic performance.8 In the classroom, it is important for teachers to promote curiosity by fostering an environment where questions are encouraged and students feel safe taking risks, making mistakes and not knowing.9 This should ideally be embedded into the family culture as well, particularly at the Seder. The traditional question prompts from the Talmud that promote curiosity can also become predictable and routine, such that other opportunities for questions and exploration should be provided. While fostering a sense of psychological safety — where everyone feels comfortable being vulnerable displaying lack of knowledge — is not always easy; it should be an area of focus on the Seder night. 

Additionally, questions are not only a reflection of the learner’s curiosity but can be used strategically by educators to further promote curiosity. While this isn’t a natural skill for all, thinking through critical points in the Seder to ask pointed and poignant questions to promote exploration and discussion can enhance inquisitiveness and interest at the seder.10

Experiential 

Instead of a more traditional lecture-based learning style, the Seder provides an educational framework that is vibrant and multifaceted. While we are presented with a mix of stories and classic text-based learning and analysis, we are also told that these must be done in the presence of live props. We need the Pesach, matzah, and marror to be present and seen as we discuss the ideas. Eating also forms an essential part of the learning experience. The symbolism and tastes of the food influence what we are supposed to be learning. Even our body posture is regulated to try and instill a sense of freedom. The Seder is not just a cognitive endeavor, but a fully experiential and embodied learning experience.11 As is famously indicated in the Rambam’s formulation of “chayav adam le-harot et etzmo,” we are obligated to act in a way that reflects as if we ourselves are leaving Egypt. There are various added customs that expressly relate to this idea including walking around with matzah on our backs, as if we were leaving Egypt. Also fundamental to the Seder are the songs and traditional tunes that help express the more creative and artistic elements of our personalities. While not as common, many Haggadot depict beautiful imagery to help inspire the more aesthetic aspects. In all, these characteristics of the Seder also function to make the learning experience dynamic and stimulating.  

In all, it is clear from these multidimensional aspects that the Seder offers many opportunities for inspiration and engagement. This is evident starting with the opening framing and agenda setting, continuing with the intermittent changes to capture the curiosity of the children, and concluding with the embodied and experiential aspects of the learning process. These multifaceted experiences are important for two reasons. First, they provide numerous hooks and a plethora of options for different learners and diverse personalities so that everyone will hopefully be captivated by some aspect of the Seder. Second, the Seder serves as a paradigm for an ideal educational experience, where everyone, despite how they usually like to learn, is exposed to, and encouraged to engage with, a fully immersive and multimodal learning environment. 

Endnotes

1. For a fascinating analysis of how the different sections of the Haggadah address the needs of different learners, see the introduction of Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon’s Shirat Miriam: Haggadah MiMekorah.

2. See Diep, A. N., Zhu, C., Cocquyt, C., de Greef, M., Vo, M. H., & Vanwing, T. (2019). Adult Learners’ Needs in Online and Blended Learning. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 59(2), 223–253; Lewis, N. (2015). Daily agendas: The key to organizing the classroom. Journal on Best Teaching Practices, 2(1), 7-9, and sources cited within.

3. See Beck, J. S. (2020). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond. Guilford Publications.

4. For an extensive analysis, see Haggadah Shel Pesach: Metivta, pp. 371-379

5. Kashdan, T. B., & Steger, M. F. (2007). Curiosity and pathways to well-being and meaning in life: Traits, states, and everyday behaviors. Motivation and Emotion, 31(3), 159–173.

6. Gruber, M. J., Gelman, B. D., & Ranganath, C. (2014). States of curiosity modulate hippocampus-dependent learning via the dopaminergic circuit. Neuron, 84(2), 486–496. 

7. Kashdan, T. B., Goodman, F. R., Disabato, D. J., McKnight, P. E., Kelso, K., & Naughton, C. (2020). Curiosity has comprehensive benefits in the workplace: Developing and validating a multidimensional workplace curiosity scale in United States and German employees. Personality and Individual Differences, 155, 109717. 

8. Von Stumm, S., Hell, B., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2011). The hungry mind: Intellectual curiosity is the third pillar of academic performance. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(6), 574–588.

9. Jirout, J., Vitiello, V., and Zumbrunn, S. (2018). “Curiosity in Schools,” in The New Science of Curiosity. ed. G. Gordon (Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers)

10. To this end, Dr. Erica Brown’s Seder Talk is an invaluable tool to helping us towards this goal.

11. For more on experiential learning, see Kolb, D. A. (2014). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. FT press. For more on embodied cognition and learning, see Macedonia, M. (2019). Embodied learning: Why at school the mind needs the body. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 2098; Shapiro, L., & Stolz, S. A. (2019). Embodied cognition and its significance for education. Theory and Research in Education, 17(1), 19-39.