Vayikra

Dear Friend,

To one degree or another, we’ve gotten used to interacting with robots. Not too long ago, if you needed cash, you had to go the bank, say “good morning” to the teller and show your ID. Nowadays you face a machine, press a few buttons and the cash is right there—no human interaction necessary.

Things have gone so far that we have even started talking to those robots as if they were human. “Hey Alexa,” we say before asking “her” to supply information or purchase something. It’s fun, but it can also be frustrating. You know the polite response you receive is not the result of care or even decency—it’s just a computer algorithm.

The antidote to our automated ills is found in the Passover Haggadah.

We read about four children—the wise, the wicked, the simpleton and the one who doesn’t know to ask; they all have questions, yet we are told to give each one a different answer, each as unique as they are.

This Passover, let’s take this lesson to heart. Let’s remember to be inclusive—to invite everyone to the Seder table, and once they are there, to be mindful of their individual needs (here is a great article with tips on how to do that).

When we all sit together, now that’s true celebration.