NUM3 In the desert the Jews also remained together by families. When the Jews were counted as a people, they were counted by families [this verse]. Even after the forty years in the desert, the distribution of the Holy Land, which would mark the permanent status of the people, was apportioned by family (Numbers 33:54). Thus, the concept of the centrality of the Jewish family was firmly established then and would continue to be throughout Jewish history. Even today, when Jewish tradition wishes to perpetuate the story of the redemption, it must be accomplished in the family setting. Just as that first "seder" in Egypt was held in the family setting, so, too, it is no mere custom today that the Passover seder is conducted by families. The family is an integral part of the ceremony, as the Talmud (Pesachim 108b) lists numerous devices to keep the children awake and participating in the seder experience. There are even sections of the Haggadah that were specifically set up just so that the children would ask questions, in order that they participate and be part of the experience [Pesachim 114b, which shows that the purpose of instituting the Karpas and its dipping, the third step in the seder process, was specifically designed to get children to be curious and encourage them to participate].