Keneged Arba’a Banim 
The Four Sons/Children

Imagine the four sons/children from the Passover seder as four responses to human trafficking today:

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• The wise one has read all the reports and knows all the policy wonk information. Teach him to apply the information and to act.

• The wicked one could better be named cynical. “What is all this to you?” He is overloaded and overwhelmed with the suffering of others, and so he distances himself by saying, “why are you so exercised about slavery? It’s old news and it’s everywhere.”  Assure him that there is a way to end slavery. 197 countries have agreed that it can be done by 2030! Read from Ending Slavery by Kevin Bales at your Seder. After the holiday, log on with him to generation-freedom.org and sign a petition to fund governmental anti-slavery initiatives.

• The simple one says, “What’s this?”  He is just beginning to become aware that there are slaves in the world. He may think that slavery is limited to human trafficking and forced prostitution. Be gentle with him. Guide and educate him to see the full extent of this ongoing (11th?) plague.

• The one who doesn’t know how to ask requires that you open the conversation. In the grocery aisle, near the free-trade chocolate; at a social event; wherever you encounter someone whom you suspect may be a victim of trafficking; even at a family Passover seder where everyone is eager to get to the meal – you raise the issue, because others may not know how to ask.