Introduction:
The following is a brief
review of the ideas which
were discussed in Part One
of this letter: According to
an ancient teaching from
Tikunei Zohar, we serve the
altruistic Divine purpose
for creation through
fulfilling the mitzvos of
the Torah. Before we entered
the Promised Land, we made a
commitment at Mount Sinai to
fulfill all the mitzvos of
the Torah and thereby serve
the Divine purpose for all
creation. This commitment
prepared us for our entry
into the Land, for our
mission is to fulfill the
mitzvos in the Land and
thereby become an inspiring
social model for the peoples
of the earth.
On the first night of
Passover, when we have the
Seder, our service begins
with the fulfillment of
certain Passover-related
mitzvos. This letter will
begin to discuss one of
these mitzvos: to tell about
the Exodus from Egypt on
this night. The discussion
will include radical Torah
insights regarding two of
the four diverse
personalities that we are to
address during the Seder.
Dear Friends,
It is a mitzvah to tell
about the Exodus from Egypt
on the night of the Seder –
the night which is the
beginning of the 15th day of
Nissan. A source for this
mitzvah is found in the
following verse:
“And you shall tell your son
on that day saying, ‘It is
on account of this that
Hashem did for me when I
left Egypt.’ ” (Exodus 13:8)
“And you shall tell your
son” – The Sefer HaChinuch,
a classical work on the
Torah’s mitzvos, writes:
“As to Scripture’s
expression, ‘your son,’ it
does not mean necessarily
one’s son, as it can mean
any person” (Mitzvah 21).
.
One can therefore fulfill
this mitzvah by telling
one’s son, one’s daughter,
or any person about the
Exodus from Egypt.
Maimonides, in his Book of
Mitzvos, explains that if
one is alone on this night,
one has a mitzvah to tell
about the Exodus from Egypt
to one’s self (Mitzvah 157).
The second part of the above
verse regarding the telling
about the Exodus has the
following statement:
“It is on account of this
that Hashem did for me when
I left Egypt.”
The speaker is indicating
that Hashem took him out of
Egypt “on account of this.”
What does “on account of
this” mean? The commentator,
Rashi, explains these words
in the following manner: “So
that I will fulfill His
mitzvos, such as these that
I have before me at the
Seder: the Passover
offering, matzoh, and bitter
herbs.”
The above verse is therefore
indicating that the telling
about the Exodus from Egypt
must include the mention of
the following spiritual goal
of the Exodus: to give us
the freedom and the
privilege to serve the
Divine purpose through the
mitzvos. And the above verse
is reminding us that we
begin this service through
the mitzvos that we fulfill
on the night of the Seder.
There is a passage in the
Haggadah which discusses the
four types of “sons” that we
are to address during the
Seder, and the term “sons”
in this passage is a generic
term which includes sons and
daughters. The Haggadah
begins the discussion by
stating:
“Concerning four sons does
the Torah speak: a wise one,
a wicked one, a simple one,
and one who does not know
how to ask.”
The above statement can be
understood to be referring
to four different
personalities. Another
interpretation is offered by
Rav Yehudah Leib Chasman, a
leading sage of mussar –
Torah teachings related to
character development.
According to Rav Chasman,
the “four sons” should be
understood as four traits
that struggle within each of
us. One moment we are the
wise one, the next moment
the wicked one; one instant
we are the simple one, the
next instant we are unable
to ask. On the night of the
Seder, we are to address
these different parts of
ourselves. (Cited in, “The
Pesach Haggadah” – with a
commentary culled from the
classic Masters of Mussar)
The Haggadah cites the
Passover-related questions
of the wise one, the wicked
one, and the simple one. The
wise one asks:
“What are the testimonies,
statutes, and social laws
that Hashem, our God, has
commanded you?”
The wise one understands
that he was created to serve
the Divine purpose;
moreover, he understands
that the Community of Israel
serves the Divine purpose
through the mitzvos of the
Torah, including the
Passover mitzvos. The wise
one is therefore eager to
learn about the different
types of Passover mitzvos
which enable us to serve.
The question of the wise one
expresses his recognition
that Hashem is the God of
the Community of Israel and
that he is part of this
community; thus, he refers
to Hashem as “our” God.
The Haggadah then cites the
following question of the
wicked son:
“Of what purpose is this
service to you?”
Unlike the wise one, the
wicked one does not refer to
“our God”; moreover, his
question refers to the
purpose of “this service.”
What is the service that he
is referring to? He is
referring to the mitzvos of
service that we fulfill on
the night of the Seder.
According to the explanation
of the Jerusalem Talmud, he
resents this service, and he
is therefore asking the
following question: “What is
this bother with which you
burden us every year?” (Pesachim
10:4). Based on this
interpretation of the
Jerusalem Talmud, a noted
classical commentator on the
Haggadah, Rav David
Abudarham, explains that the
wicked one is asking: “What
is this bother with which
you burden us every year
which delays our meal and
which darkens the joy of the
Festival?”
The wicked one is not
against having a festival
meal; he is against the
spiritual service of mitzvos
which accompanies the
festival meal. He therefore
says, “Of what purpose is
this service to you?” The
Haggadah adds:
“To you, (he says) – but not
to him! And since he has
excluded himself from the
community, he has denied the
essential principle.”
“He has excluded himself
from the community” – As we
learned, the raison d’etre
of our community is to serve
the altruistic Divine
purpose for all creation
through fulfilling the
mitzvos of the Torah. Since
the wicked one willfully
rejects our community’s
spiritual raison d’etre, he
has excluded himself from
our spiritual community. He
is still an Israelite, but
he has separated himself
from “Klal Yisrael” – the
spiritual community of
Israel.
“He has denied the essential
principal” – As we learned,
serving the altruistic
Divine purpose for all
creation is the essential
principle of the Torah’s
path of mitzvos. Since he
rejects the idea of service,
he is rejecting the
essential principle of our
path. The Haggadah therefore
teaches that the response to
the wicked one should “blunt
his teeth” – a metaphor for
a sharp reply. The Haggadah
states:
“Consequently, you must
blunt his teeth and reply to
him: ‘It is because of this
that Hashem did for me when
I went out of Egypt’ (Exodus
13:8). ‘For me’ and not for
him, as had he been there,
he would not have been
redeemed.”
Why would he not have been
redeemed? An answer can be
found in the following quote
from the above verse that is
cited in the response to the
wicked one: “It is on
account of this that Hashem
did for me when I left
Egypt.” As we discussed
earlier in this letter,
Rashi explains these words
in the following manner:
Hashem took me out of Egypt
“so that I will fulfill His
mitzvos, such as these that
I have before me at the
Seder: the Passover
offering, matzoh, and bitter
herbs.” This explanation of
Rashi reminds us of the
following spiritual goal of
the Exodus from Egypt: We
are to become a people that
will be dedicated to serving
the Divine purpose through
the fulfillment of the
mitzvos; moreover, this
service begins with the
fulfillment of the Passover
mitzvos. Since the wicked
one is opposed to this goal
of the Exodus, he would not
have been redeemed had he
been in Egypt.
Is there any hope for the
“wicked son”? The sharp
reply that he receives is
not necessarily a final
rejection. It can be
understood as a strong
“wake-up call” that can
cause him to change his
negative attitude and
behavior. The goal of this
response is to shake the
wicked one out of his
complacency so that he can
rediscover his spiritual
potential and begin to serve
the Divine purpose for all
creation. In our era, there
are some educators who would
view this sharp response as
an example of the “tough
love” that some wayward
individuals need in order to
change their attitude and
behavior.
Rav Chaim Shmulevitz, a
leading sage of the 20th
century, cites various
stories and teachings from
our tradition which can help
us to understand why the
wicked son or student should
not be rejected with “both
hands” – a metaphor for
total rejection. And he also
cites the following teaching
of our sages which
recommends a more flexible
approach with regard to such
an individual: “The left
hand should be used to
distance, while the right
hand should be used to bring
close.” Based on this
teaching, Rabbi Shmuelevitz
states: “No matter what,
absolute alienation must not
be the approach.” (Cited in,
“The Haggadah of the Roshei
Yeshiva,” Volume 1)
The responses to each of the
“four sons” in the Haggadah
have the following common
goal: to help them to
develop their own spiritual
potential through serving
the Divine purpose for all
creation. Each response is
appropriate for the
personality of each of them.
As the wise King Solomon
wrote:
“Educate the youth according
to his way” (Proverbs
22:6).
On the night of the Seder,
we begin to rededicate
ourselves to serving this
Divine purpose through
discussing and fulfilling
the Passover mitzvos of
service. Through this
rededication, we prepare
ourselves for our entry into
the Promised Land, the
destination of the Passover
journey. We express our
yearning for this
destination in the following
poetic prayer which is
chanted at the completion of
the Seder:
“O Pure One, Who dwells on
high, raise up the community
that You said would become
too many to count. May you
soon lead us, we who are the
fruits of the vine that you
have planted, and bring us
redeemed, to Zion, with
joyous song.”
And we conclude this prayer
by chanting:
“Next Year in
Jerusalem!”
May we all be
reunited in Jerusalem, the
spiritual center of the
Promised Land.
Shalom,
Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen
(See below)
An Additional Insight and
Comment:
1. At the dawn of the
messianic age, the peoples
of the earth will serve
Hashem, and as the previous
letter mentioned, one of the
sources for this idea is
found in the following
Divine promise:
“For then I will
revolutionize the peoples to
speak a pure language, so
that they will all proclaim
the Name of Hashem, to serve
Him with a united resolve.”
(Zephaniah 3:9)
“For then I will
revolutionize the peoples” –
The Hebrew verb in this
statement – “efoch” – refers
to a “turnabout” or a
revolutionary change. Divine
Providence will cause a
revolutionary change in
human consciousness which
will inspire the peoples to
proclaim the Name of Hashem,
the Compassionate and
Life-Giving One. They will
then realize that they were
created to serve the
altruistic Divine purpose
for creation, and they will
begin to serve with a united
resolve.
2. For information on the
Haggados mentioned in the
above letter, visit:
www.artscroll.com