The Peach Seder: The Natural Approach to Chinuch

There is growing evidence that challenges many children face in schools in general and the yeshiva and day schools in particular are endemic to the educational approach employed. HaRav Matisyahu Solomon, shlita of the Lakewood Yeshiva described the environment that negatively impacts many students as an artificial environment. He stated that anything artificial has the potential to produce side effects. Medication is a prime example. So to, our educational system has many side effects, children who are unhappy, misbehaved, socially and emotionally challenged, bored, unmotivated, turned off to yiddeshkite and essentially unsuccessful. Even students who don’t seem to exhibit these symptoms, and we think are thriving in our schools, are they really? How many have our students are reaching their potential? How many are becoming challenged later in life from an unfulfilled chinuch experience? How many are leaving the Derech HaTorah, R”L.

We need to ask ourselves, what is the natural way of Chinuch? What does a natural Chinuch approach look like?  A close look at the structure and components of the Pesach Seder reveal sound eternal chinuch themes that surely convey the natural approach.

For starters, we see that the Torah and therefore the Haggadah emphasize a question answer format. Three times when the laws of Pesach are mentioned in the Torah, there is a reference to children asking questions. As a result, Chazal took direction from this recurring structure and incorporated the Mah Nishtana as a central component of the Seder. What is even more telling, they insisted that question answer is so important that even if there are no children available and capable to ask questions the format needs to be maintained even if the wife asks her husband or the father asks himself. Even two Torah Sages, who are sharing a Seder, should ask each other questions.

Chazal appear to be using the Pesach Seder, the highest profile Chinuch event in the life of a family to convey a powerful Chinuch strategy, The format, of children asking   questions, indicates that they are being guided to learn, to search for understanding and answers, and to seek help by asking questions when they can’t find meaning on their own.  This approach is in distinct contrast to the more common classroom structure where the Rebbe or teacher “spoon feed” students information and ask them questions on what they were taught. It appears that the more teacher-centered classroom is the artificial approach and the more student-centered classroom the more natural way.

This chinuch prescription is actually imbedded in the words that the Torah uses to command educating children, Vishinantam l’vanecha-you shall teach them (the words of Torah) thoroughly to your children. The choice of word for teaching derives from the term shinun that means to sharpen and review.  When applied to the process of teaching and learning, sharpen and review are both terms that indicate a high level of student involvement in the learning process.  You can imagine a classroom where the children are guided to learn, to search for understanding, to ask questions and receive answers, review the learning with the newfound understanding only to begin the cycle again with further questions.  This learning process greatly benefits the learners in their acquisition of content and skills, in the sense of feeling successful and coming to truly enjoy the learning. 

We understand that society depends on things that are artificial even with the side effects because it’s the best we have. This has been the response given to the chinch challenge, it’s the best we can do.  With so much at stake in the chinuch of our children is it ok to answer that’s the best we can do? Or do we need to contemplate the eternal messages of the Torah and continually search for ways to bring our artificial system more in line with the natural Torah way?  In recent times, Chinuch approaches more in line with the “natural system” are finding their way into our schools. Mechanchim and parents owe it to the next generation to look  at them carefully .