How vs Why. What kind of questions should we be asking Seder Night

(4) They pour a second cup [of wine] for him. And here the son questions his father. And if the son has insufficient understanding [to question], his father teaches him [to ask]: Why is this night different from all [other] nights? On all [other] nights, we eat leavened and unleavened bread, [but] on this night, [we eat] only unleavened bread. On all [other] nights, we eat all kinds of vegetables, [but] on this night, [we eat only] bitter herbs. On all [other] nights, we eat meat roasted, stewed or boiled, [but] on this night, [we eat] only roasted [meat]. On all [other] nights, we dip [vegetables] once, [but] on this night, we dip [vegetables] twice. And according to the son's intelligence, his father instructs him. He begins [answering the questions] with [the account of Israel’s] shame and concludes with [Israel’s] glory, and expounds from “My father was a wandering Aramean” until he completes the whole passage.

(5) Rabban Gamliel used to say: Whoever does not mentioned these three things on Passover does not discharge his duty, and these are they: the Passover-offering, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. [The] Passover-offering [is offered] because the Omnipresent One passed over the houses of our ancestors in Egypt. Unleavened bread [is eaten] because our ancestors were redeemed from Egypt. [The] bitter herb is [eaten] because the Egyptians embittered the lives of our ancestors in Egypt. In every generation a person must regard himself as though he personally had gone out of Egypt, as it is said: “And you shall tell your son in that day, saying: ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt.’” Therefore it is our duty to thank, praise, laud, glorify, exalt, honor, bless, extol, and adore Him Who performed all these miracles for our ancestors and us; He brought us forth from bondage into freedom, from sorrow into joy, from mourning into festivity, from darkness into great light, and from servitude into redemption. Therefore let us say before Him, Hallelujah!

(1) (Exodus 13:14) "And it shall be if your son asks you tomorrow": "tomorrow" may indicate" in the present," and it may indicate "in time to come." (Exodus 17:9) "Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill" — in the present. (Joshua 22:24) "Tomorrow your children might say to our children" — in time to come. (It is written, Devarim 6:20) "If your son asks you tomorrow (i.e., in the time to come): What are the testimonies and the statutes, etc.": There are four sons: a wise son, a wicked son, a simple son, and one who does not know how to ask. What does the wise son say? "What are the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments that the L-rd our G-d commanded us?" — you, likewise, "open" to him in the halachoth of Pesach — "ein maftirin achar hapesach afikoman." What does the wicked son say? (Exodus 12:26) "What is this (Pesach) service to you?" "to you" and not to him. Because he disassociated himself from the congregation and denied the foundation (of the faith), you, likewise, blunt his teeth and tell him (Ibid. 13;8) "Because of this (the mitzvoth) the L-rd wrought for me when I went out of Egypt." For me and not for you. Had you been there, you would not have been redeemed. What does the simple son say? (Ibid. 14) "What is this?" And you shall tell him (Ibid.) "With might of hand did the L-rd take us out of Egypt from the house of bondage." And he who does not know how to ask, you open for him, as it is written (Ibid. 8) "And you shall tell your son on that day, etc." Variantly: "What are the testimonies and the statutes, etc.": R. Eliezer says: Whence is it derived that if there were a company of sages or of disciples they must occupy themselves with the halachoth of Pesach until midnight? From "What are the testimonies, etc."

(8) We may not eat an afikoman [a dessert or other foods eaten after the meal] after [we are finished eating] the Pesach sacrifice; for example nuts, dates and roasted wheat. A man is obligated to be involved with the laws of Pesach the whole night, even if it [is only a discussion] between him and his son, even if it is between him and himself, even if it is between him and his student. It happened that Rabban Gamliel and the Elders were [once] reclining in the house of Beitos ben Zunin in Lud, and they were involved with the laws of Pesach the whole night until the call of the rooster. [Their students] raised the covering of the window from in front of them, and they [then] convened and went to the house of study. What is the blessing on the Pesach sacrifice? Blessed [...] who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us on the eating of the Pesach sacrifice. What is the blessing on the [other] offerings? Blessed [...] who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us on the eating of the offering.

(1) According to a biblical positive command, we must tell on the night preceding the fifteenth day of Nisan all about the miracles and wonders that were performed for our forefathers in Egypt.— — Even great scholars are required to tell about the exodus from Egypt. Anyone who relates at length about the events that occurred deserves praise.

(2) It is one's duty to inform the children even if they ask no questions, as it is written: "You shall tell your son" (Exodus 13:8). The father should instruct his son according to the child's understanding. For example, he should say to one small or foolish: "My son, all of us were slaves in Egypt, like this maidservant or like this manservant, and on this night God redeemed and liberated us." If the son is grown up and intelligent, he should inform him about everything that happened to us in Egypt, and about the miracles that were wrought for us by our teacher Moses; all in accordance with the son's understanding.

(3) On the first night of Pesaḥ, one should introduce some change at the table, so that the children who will notice it may ask, saying: "Why is this night different from all other nights?" And he in turn will reply: "This is what happened." In what manner, for example, should he introduce a change? He may distribute parched grain or nuts to the children; remove the table from its usual place; snatch the unleavened bread from hand to hand, and so on. If he has no son, his wife should ask the questions; if he has no wife, they should ask one another: "Why is this night different?"—even if they are all scholars. If one is alone, he should ask himself: "Why is this night different?"

(4) And it's necessary to start with degradation and to finish with praise. How? Start by telling that in the beginning our ancestors, in the days of Terach and before him, were heretics and they followed foolishness, and they chased after idol worship. And finish with the truth that God brought us close to Him and set us apart from the nations and brought us close to His oneness. And thus start with telling that we were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and all of the bad things that he did to us and finish with the miracles and wonders that were done for us in our freedom. And that's why you drash from (Deut 26:5) 'My father was a wandering Aramean...' through that whole section. And anybody who adds and lengthens the drash of this section, that is praiseworthy.

(1) The commandment to recount the exodus from Egypt: To tell about the exodus from Egypt on the night of the fifteenth of Nissan (the first night of Pesach) - each person according to his own power of expression - to laud and to praise God, may He be blessed, for all the miracles He performed for us there, as it is stated (Exodus 13:8), "And you shall tell your son." [Although the verse doesn't specify when this should be done,] the Sages have already explained (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 13:8) that this commandment of retelling is on the night of the fifteenth of Nissan - which is the time of the eating of the matsah. And that which the verse states, "[and you shall tell] your son," [does not mean] exclusively one's son; but rather even with any creature (Pesachim 116a).

(2) The content of the commandment is that one mentions the miracles and the [related] matters that happened to our forefathers during the exodus from Egypt, and how the Almighty, may He be blessed, exacted our revenge from [the Egyptians]. And even one who is by himself - if no other people are present - is obligated to verbally express these matters, so that his heart will be inspired in this matter; for the heart is inspired through verbal expression (see Sefer HaMitzvot LaRambam, Mitzvot Ase 157).

(4) The laws of the commandment - for example, the Order (Seder) that Israel is obligated to do on this night in the matter of their meal; the cups of wine, their measurements, their pouring and their order; and the rest of their details - are [all] elucidated at the end of Pesachim (See Tur, Orach Chaim 469-482). And behold, my son, I will write for you the Seder in short - exactly as I have heard it from the sages of the generation: In the beginning, we bring water and wash one hand for the sake of the cup of Kiddush which needs to be held. And this is how it is in Berakhot 43a in the Chapter [entitled] Keitsad Mevarkhin - that with the cup, washing one hand is sufficient. And we do not recite a blessing on this washing. And if he wants to wash two hands for the cup, he washes them without a blessing. And afterwards, he washes both hands and recites the blessing, "upon the washing of the hands," and dips with a vegetable (the vegetable, according to the Vilna edition) and recites the blessing, "who creates the fruit of the ground," before [eating it]. But he does not recite the blessing, "who creates souls, etc.," after it - since he waits until he eats the marror; and then he recites the blessing, "who creates souls," upon the marror and upon the vegetable. And everything that he did is not an interruption, as we will explain. And after they ate from the vegetable in charoset (a thick sweet dip), we pour a second cup and read the Haggadah with two chapters of Psalms and recite the blessing, "who has redeemed us, etc.," upon the second cup, and we drink it. And we do not recite the blessing, "who creates the fruit of the vine," upon it, nor "upon the vine," after it. And after they drink the second cup, we wash our hands and recite the blessing, "upon the washing of the hands." And [then] we take half of a matsah and we place it on the complete one and recite the blessing upon the half, "who brings forth" and "to eat matsah." And we take bitter herbs and we recite the blessing, "to eat marror," and eat from it dipped in charoset; but we do not recite the blessing, "who creates the fruit of the ground," upon it, since he is exempted by the blessing that he recited upon the vegetable at the beginning. As this is how it is concluded in the Gemara (Pesachim 103b) - that it is never [considered] an interruption unless there is [one of] two things: That he removes his thoughts from the matter - for example when they say, "Let us bless (say Grace after the Meal)," and similar to it. And also that [he be engaged in something else, such] that it not be possible to do the two things together - for example that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Chullin 87a and Rashi there), "Drinking and blessing together is not possible." And after we eat from the marror with the dip, we wrap some of it on top of matsah and eat a little bit, in memory of the Pesach sacrifice that was eaten upon satiation. And we do not eat more the whole night, so as not to remove the taste of matsah from the mouth; as it is written (Psalms 113:103), "than honey to my mouth." But we can certainly drink water, since water does not spoil the taste. And we also drink the two cups of the commandment, as we do not push off the commandment [on account of] this reason. And afterwards, we wash our hands, but we do not recite the blessing, "upon the washing of the hands." And we pour the third cup and recite the Grace after the meals and "who has created the fruit of the vine" over it; but not "upon the vine," after it (see Baal HaMeor on the end of Arevei Pesachim). And afterwards, we pour the fourth cup and finish Hallel over it. And we do not recite the blessing, "who has created the fruit of the vine," upon it; but we do recite the blessing, "upon the vine," after it. And that is if he does not have in mind to still drink a fifth cup. It comes out according to this that we only recite the blessing, "who has created the fruit of the vine," twice - on the cup of Kiddush and on the cup of the Grace. And [we only recite the blessing,] "upon the vine," once, after all of the cups. And the four cups and the matsah of the commandment requires leaning.

. Rab Judah said in the name of Rab, When Moses ascended on high he found the Holy One, blessed be He, engaged in affixing coronets to the letters. Said Moses, ‘Lord of the Universe, Who stays Thy hand?’ He answered, ‘There will arise a man, at the end of many generations, Akiba b.Joseph by name, who will expound upon each tittle heaps and heaps of laws’. ‘Lord of the Universe’,said Moses; ‘permit me to see him’. He replied, ‘Turn thee round’. Moses went and sat down behind eight rows [and listened to the discourses upon the law]. Not being able to follow their arguments he was ill at ease, but when they came to a certain subject and the disciples said to the master ‘Whence do you know it?’ and the latter replied ‘It is a law given unto Moses at Sinai’ he was comforted. Thereupon he returned to the Holy One, blessed be He, and said, ‘Lord of the Universe, Thou hast such a man and Thou givest the Torah by me!’ He replied, ‘Be silent, for such is My decree’...

(13) And he went out the second day, and, behold, two men of the Hebrews were striving together; and he said to him that did the wrong: ‘Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?’

(3) And Moses said: ‘I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.’

(22) And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said: ‘Lord, wherefore hast Thou dealt ill with this people? why is it that Thou hast sent me?