--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [The haggadah] was made to teach, and it…" description: "\"“[The haggadah] was made to teach, and it will continue to teach. And it might teach a lot more than just the Exodus story.\" What do you mean?\" Well, f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/geraldine-brooks-1324_books_the-haggadah-was-made-to-teach-and-it-wi_2068588.png" --- # \[The haggadah\] was made to teach, and it will continue to… ![“[The haggadah] was made to teach, and it will continue to teach. And it might teach a lot more than just the Exodus story." What do you mean?" Well, from what you've told me, the book has survived the same human disaster over and over again. Think about it. You've got a society where people…” quote by Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/geraldine-brooks-1324_books_the-haggadah-was-made-to-teach-and-it-wi_2068588.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/geraldine-brooks-1324_books_the-haggadah-was-made-to-teach-and-it-wi_2068588.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/geraldine-brooks-1324_books_the-haggadah-was-made-to-teach-and-it-wi_2068588.png) > ““\[The haggadah\] was made to teach, and it will continue to teach. And it might teach a lot more than just the Exodus story." What do you mean?" Well, from what you've told me, the book has survived the same human disaster over and over again. Think about it. You've got a society where people tolerate difference, like Spain in the Convivencia, and everything's humming along: creative, prosperous. Then somehow this fear, this hate, this need to demonize 'the other' -- it just sort of rears up and smashes the whole society. Inquisition, Nazis, extremist Serb nationalists... same old, same old. It seems to me that the book, at this point, bears witness to all that.”” [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Haggadah serves as a teaching tool that records humanity's recurring cycles of tolerance and persecution, reminding us of the dangers of othering. **In simple terms:** The Haggadah teaches about repeated cycles of hate and tolerance. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge patterns of hatred. Themes tolerance history memory identity danger Mood reflective serious Type educational historical cautionary When to use this quote - educational curricula - interfaith dialogues - community remembrance events - policy making Key Concepts cultural memory collective trauma narrative continuity Questions to Reflect On - How can societies sustain tolerance? - What role does education play in preventing hatred? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex historical causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Exodus Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exodus-story-567383/) [Fear Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-hate/) [Haggadah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haggadah-3982635/) [Haggadah Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haggadah-teach-3982634/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [“We tend to write Moses’ true personality out of the Exodus story. (Cecil B. DeMille’s classic, The Ten Commandments, portrays him as a swashbuckling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/we-tend-to-write-moses-true-personality-out-of-the-exodus-story-cecil/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [There's a reason the Exodus story has inspired so many Americans. It's a narrative of hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/there-s-a-reason-the-exodus-story-has-inspired-so-many-americans-it-s/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [The Torah is the foundational text for Jewish law, but the Haggadah is our book of living memory. We are not merely telling a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/the-torah-is-the-foundational-text-for-jewish-law-but-the-haggadah-is/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [What the world does not need is a Haggadah that pats itself on the back. It needs a Haggadah that gets out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/what-the-world-does-not-need-is-a-haggadah-that-pats-itself-on-the/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Jews have a special relationship to books, and the Haggadah has been translated more widely, and reprinted more often, than any other Jewish book.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/jews-have-a-special-relationship-to-books-and-the-haggadah-has-been/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“...the book has survived the same human disaster over and over again. Think about it. You've got a society where people tolerate difference, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/the-book-has-survived-the-same-human-disaster-over-and-over-again/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [You will learn that at higher levels of energy, our fields of prayer act very quickly to bring us exactly what we expect. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-redfield/you-will-learn-that-at-higher-levels-of-energy-our-fields-of-prayer/) [James Redfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-redfield/) > [“what people don’t understand, they fear and what they fear, they hate”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-a-fail/what-people-don-t-understand-they-fear-and-what-they-fear-they-hate/) [C.A. Fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-a-fail/) > [At the very least i should fear you. some would say that I should hate you." "Many would say that." "Yet i neither fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-the-very-least-i-should-fear-you-some-would-say-that-i-should-hate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know that when we interact with those we fear and hate, we will find commonality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilhan-omar/i-know-that-when-we-interact-with-those-we-fear-and-hate-we-will-find/) [Ilhan Omar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilhan-omar/) > [There is no hate without fear.Hate is crystallized fear, fear'sdividend, fear objectivized. We hate what we fear and so where hate is, fear will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-hate-without-fear-hate-is-crystallized-fear-fear/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “I fear, I hate, I love, I envy and despise you \[…\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-fear-i-hate-i-love-i-envy-and-despise-you/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Don't let people who live in fear and hate govern how you live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-etheridge/don-t-let-people-who-live-in-fear-and-hate-govern-how-you-live/) [Melissa Etheridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-etheridge/) > [At the end, ignorance is the source of biases. If we cure that, there's nothing to fear and hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/at-the-end-ignorance-is-the-source-of-biases-if-we-cure-that-there-s/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Hate is crystallized fear, fear's dividend, fear objectified. We hate what we fear and so where hate is, fear will be lurking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/hate-is-crystallized-fear-fear-s-dividend-fear-objectified-we-hate/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) ## More by Geraldine Brooks > [“The word for mother, umm, is the root of the words for “source, nation, mercy, first principle, rich harvest; stupid, illiterate, parasite, weak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/the-word-for-mother-umm-is-the-root-of-the-words-for-source-nation/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“The lieutenant colonel wondered if the high scores reflected a defect in the newly built shooting range at the women’s academy. 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Sometimes the wall goes up straight and true and sometimes it doesn't and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/writing-is-like-bricklaying-you-put-down-one-word-after-another/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“... So this was how it was to be, now: I would do my best to live in the quick world, but the ghosts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/so-this-was-how-it-was-to-be-now-i-would-do-my-best-to-live-in-the/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“They threw rotten fruit at me and told me next time it would be acid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/they-threw-rotten-fruit-at-me-and-told-me-next-time-it-would-be-acid/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“You," he continued, grabbing my wrist. "All of you, from the safe world, with your air bags and your tamper-proof packaging and your fat-free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/you-he-continued-grabbing-my-wrist-all-of-you-from-the-safe-world/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“This is how an owl must look to a mouse in that last second before the talons sink into the flesh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/this-is-how-an-owl-must-look-to-a-mouse-in-that-last-second-before/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [And so, as generally happens, those who have most give least, and those with less somehow make shrift to share.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/and-so-as-generally-happens-those-who-have-most-give-least-and-those/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“The author of this text did not write to provoke, but merely to express a truth as he conceives it. Your own theologians have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/the-author-of-this-text-did-not-write-to-provoke-but-merely-to/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“So, you are happy to be a pigeon?” “Maybe so. But at least a pigeon does no harm. The hawk lives at the expense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/so-you-are-happy-to-be-a-pigeon-maybe-so-but-at-least-a-pigeon-does/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“Many men believe in the saying that educating women is like allowing the nose of the camel into the tent: eventually the beast will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/many-men-believe-in-the-saying-that-educating-women-is-like-allowing/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“No, no,” he said. “She can’t raise it at all. She may only clap. Women must be very careful of their voices. If”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/no-no-he-said-she-can-t-raise-it-at-all-she-may-only-clap-women-must/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [If a man is to lose his fortune, it is a good thing if he were poor before he acquired it, for poverty requires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/if-a-man-is-to-lose-his-fortune-it-is-a-good-thing-if-he-were-poor/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) [Explore all 256 Geraldine Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“[The haggadah] was made to teach, and it will continue to teach. And it might teach a lot more than just the Exodus story.\" What do you mean?\" Well, from what you've told me, the book has survived the same human disaster over and over again. Think about it. You've got a society where people tolerate difference, like Spain in the Convivencia, and everything's humming along: creative, prosperous. Then somehow this fear, this hate, this need to demonize 'the other' -- it just sort of rears up and smashes the whole society. Inquisition, Nazis, extremist Serb nationalists... same old, same old. 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