It may surprise you to hear that foremost atheist and anti-theist Christopher Hitchens made a seder and even required his daughter to attend. In a debate between Hitchens and Rabbi David J. Wolpe, Hitchens proudly stated that his daughter has "to sit through a little Passover ceremony [seder] every year whether she wants to or not."
The New York Times summarized the context of Hitchens' response to the question "What should one say about God to a 4-year-old?":
Mr. Hitchens said his daughter "has to sit through a little Passover ceremony every year whether she wants to or not," and that at the seder, he tries to explain the links between Jerusalem and Athens -- the relationship between the recumbent dinner and the asking of questions to the Platonic idea of the group symposium. "She has to know that there's a tradition that she and I and her mother come from," he said...
Hitchens is right that the seder's central theme is encouraging the "asking of questions" and that it is vital that people learn about their traditions. The seder's encouraging of questions is evidenced by the famous four questions,
Mah Nishtana, in which children are taught to ask "why things are done the way they are done."
Rational inquiry is in fact the very foundation of the Jewish tradition. The entire jurisprudence of Jewish law is based on the rigorous Socratic method of questioning found in the voluminous works of the Talmud. Even
Rashi, the foremost commentator on the Torah, rigorously scrutinizes every detail and possible inconsistency in the Torah, using rationales that even a 5-year-old could comprehend.
Furthermore, the historical roots of the three major monotheistic religions, namely Christianity, Islam and Judaism, is founded on the story of Abraham -- a man who was willing to question authority and refute the superstitions of worshipping material objects. This is the foundation of monotheism. Through a process of logical deductions and observation of the universe around him Abraham began to question the validity of idolatry. Abraham was unafraid to challenge the mores of his time and to question authority.
Hitchens'
recent passing was a tragic loss to the world, particularly for believers like myself who recognize the need for society to polemically examine the potential maladies stemming from literal dogmatic interpretations of religious doctrine. Interpretations that are often bereft of the Passover's "group symposium" which Hitchen's alludes to.
The great religious scholar and physician
Maimonides, in his "
Guide to The Perplexed" Ch. xxv, said that interpreting scriptures anthropomorphic God literally was heretical because it is forbidden to ascribe human characteristics to the divine. Maimonides also said that if science contradicts the Bible one should seek for the solution in a figurative interpretation (so long as no point of practical observance arises from a literal meaning). The existence of God is not something Maimonides and Hitchens would have agreed on, but they certainly would have seen eye-to-eye on the danger of literalism and the need for rigorous questioning.
Another major theme of the seder is marking a celebration of liberation from slavery as chronicled by the Jewish people's freedom from Egyptian servitude. Questioning is a sign of freedom from the oppressive ways of mindless obedience. This Passover, in Hitchen's spirit, I'm going to endeavor to pass on the tradition of vigorous questioning during my seder in the hopes of achieving a sense of liberation from the tyranny of dogmatic questionless acceptance.
Author's note: Passover this year start Friday, April 6, and ends in the evening of Saturday, April 14. The seders are held the first and second nights of the Holiday. If you don't host a seder, you can always find a spot on Chabad.org's international seder directory.
Follow Eliyahu Federman on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/elifederman
On Christopher Hitchens' Jewishness – Tablet Magazine
Yes, Abraham REASONED - he was promised descendants through Isaac, which would be difficult if he were to kill Isaac.
[GEN 17:19 - "Your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him."]
But I take serious issue with line, all too frequently spouted, but absolutely untrue:
"Rational inquiry is in fact the very foundation of the Jewish tradition."
At most, it is true only for the Maimonidean tradition, which, as I'm sure you know, was far from normative, even in its time.
The Talmudic dialectic might encourage questions but only within a very particular framework. Hardly "rational inquiry" -- and "Socratic" only in a very limited sense. As much as we might want to transpose liberal viewpoints onto Jewish tradition, the fact remains that traditional Judaism does preach very specific dogmas -- at the very least, that God exists and that both the written and oral laws are divine. The binding nature of halacha relies on those beliefs.
The efforts of modern-day practicing Jews to see their traditions in more broadly palatable terms is commendable. But the fact remains that every one source marshaled in favor of more liberal viewpoints, there are dozens to show just the opposite. If Judaism can be all things to all people, then it is nothing to anyone at all.
A few critiques.
"Abraham -- a man who was willing to question authority and refute the superstitions of worshipping"
This is only from the midrash; the Biblical Abraham is introduced to us after the story of Nimrod, the idols and the furnace. (Is it just me, or is surviving fire just really not that impressive anymore? I'm certain that for bronze age folks, surviving fire was about the most miraculous thing.) From the Bible, we see a man who argued with God to save Sodom, but would not say a word when it came to sacrificing his own son on an altar. That is not moral. Morality is telling authority figures to shove off when they tell you to do an evil thing.
"Another major theme of the seder is marking a celebration of liberation from slavery as chronicled by the Jewish people's freedom from Egyptian servitude."
I've always found it interesting that the chapter immediately following the revelation at Sinai discusses owning slaves. God freed his own people from slavery, and yet, He still allows them to own slaves. I've heard some answers that it was just a concession to its times they lived in, but I don't see how that reconciles with the notion of an eternal Torah.
The very fact that the Halcha/Jewish law is adaptable and reinterpreted through rich jurisprudential hermeneutical principles goes to the heart of your question of the eternality. The fact that it is made applicable to modern day scenarios of genetic engineering and etc., goes to the heart of its eternality. Its evolution makes it eternal, similar to the concept of an evolving constitution ....
Just because he didn't question authority with respect to that narrative that does not mean he didn't question authority in other circumstances such as the ones I mention.
Also there seems to be a theme of Abraham questioning when it came to other peoples plight such as his challenge to God not to destroy Sodom and Gemorroh but not when it came to his own personal trials.
Let me tell you my excuses for not doing so: I'm not Jewish; I don't know anyone who is Jewish (either ethnically or superstitiously); I don't anyone who might be holding such an event; I don't know what I would have to do to put on such an event for myself, and most important of all, I have absolutely no interest in it. Now tell me again why I need to have anything to do with this ritual?
He obviously didn't ask enough questions. He just substituted one absurdity for another, not to mention the fact that he's a fictional character.