The Talmud famously discusses two core Seder rituals—eating maror and matzah—and asks whether fulfilling these mitzvot requires our conscious intention. Or is eating the maror and matzah enough? A heated debate ensues.
Are we meant to experience the Passover Seder as a series of intentional, mindful acts, or do the rituals themselves carry meaning even when our attention wavers?
We will explore how this “Seder” debate extends to other religious practices, and we will step back to consider the broader implications of ritual. Can our repeated religious acts (i.e., ritual behaviors) be meaningful in their own right, shape communal bonds, and instill a sense of purpose and identity—even when we may not be fully “intentional?” Is Jewish ritual ultimately about inner intention, outward action, or the dynamic interplay between the two?
Dr. Shana Strauch Schick is a Lecturer in Rabbinic Literature in the Department of Jewish Studies at Bar Ilan University. Dr. Schick also is a Fellow at the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies, and she teaches Talmud at The Drisha Institute.
Dr. Schick has a PhD in Talmud from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University, and she attended the Stern College Graduate Program in Advanced Talmud/Tanach Studies (GPATS) from 2002-2007.
Dr. Schick is the author of Intention in Talmudic Law: Between Thought and Deed (Brill, 2021). Her forthcoming monograph is entitled Women in Rabbinic Law and Narrative: Vying Currents in Babylonian and Palestinian Texts.
