Talmud reads Torah // The Three Four Sons

Blessed be the Place [of all], Blessed be He; Blessed be the One who Gave the Torah to His people Israel, Blessed be He. Corresponding to four sons did the Torah speak; one who is wise, one who is evil, one who is simple and one who doesn't know to ask.

What does the wise [son] say? "'What are these testimonies, statutes and judgments that the Lord our God commanded you?' (Deuteronomy 6:20)" And accordingly you will say to him, as per the laws of the Pesach sacrifice, "We may not eat an afikoman [a dessert or other foods eaten after the meal] after [we are finished eating] the Pesach sacrifice (Mishnah Pesachim 10:8)."

What does the wicked [son] say? "'What is this worship to you?' (Exodus 12:26)" 'To you' and not 'to him.' And since he excluded himself from the collective, he denied a principle [of the Jewish faith]. And accordingly, you will blunt his teeth and say to him, "'For the sake of this, did the Lord do [this] for me in my going out of Egypt' (Exodus 13:8)." 'For me' and not 'for him.' If he had been there, he would not have been saved.

What does the simple [son] say? "'What is this?' (Exodus 13:14)" And you will say to him, "'With the strength of [His] hand did the Lord take us out from Egypt, from the house of slaves' (Exodus 13:14).'"

And [regarding] the one who doesn't know to ask, you will open [the conversation] for him. As it is stated (Exodus 13:8), "And you will speak to your son on that day saying, for the sake of this, did the Lord do [this] for me in my going out of Egypt."

When, in time to come, your son asks you, “What mean the decrees, laws, and rules that the LORD our God has enjoined upon you?” you shall tell your son: “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and the LORD freed us from Egypt with a mighty hand. The LORD wrought before our eyes marvelous and destructive signs and portents in Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household; and us He freed from there, that He might take us and give us the land that He had promised on oath to our fathers [...]

And when you enter the land that the LORD will give you, as He has promised, you shall observe this rite. And when your children ask you: ‘What do you mean by this rite?’ you shall say: ‘It is the passover sacrifice to the LORD, because He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but saved our houses.’” The people then bowed low in homage.

Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a festival of the LORD. Throughout the seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten; no leavened bread shall be found with you, and no leaven shall be found in all your territory. And you shall explain to your son on that day: ‘It is because of this that the LORD did for me when I left Egypt.’

בעבור זה FOR THE SAKE OF THIS — in order to carry out His commands, such as this Passover offering, this unleavened bread and this bitter herb (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 13:8:1).

And when the LORD has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and has given it to you, you shall set apart for the LORD every first issue of the womb: every male firstling that your cattle drop shall be the LORD’s. But every firstling ass you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. And you must redeem every first-born male among your children. And when, in time to come, your son asks you, saying: ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him: ‘It was with a mighty hand that the LORD brought us out from Egypt, the house of bondage. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD slew every first-born in the land of Egypt, the first-born of both man and beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD every first male issue of the womb, but redeem every first-born among my sons.’

פטר חמור AND EVERY FIRST OFFSPRING OF AN ASS — but not the first offspring of other unclean animals. This exception is the enactment of Scripture, because the firstborn of the Egyptians are compared to asses (Ezekiel 23:20; Bereishit Rabbah 96); and a further reason for this exception is because they (the asses) were of assistance to the Israelites when they left Egypt, for there was not a single Israelite who did not take with him from Egypt several asses laden with the silver and gold of Egypt. (Bekhorot 5b).

And you shall tell your son on that day: ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I went free from Egypt.’

Barcelona, late 13th century

The commandment to recount the exodus from Egypt: To tell about the exodus from Egypt on the night of the fifteenth of Nissan (the first night of Pesach) - each person according to his own power of expression - to laud and to praise God, may He be blessed, for all the miracles He performed for us there, as it is stated (Exodus 13:8), "And you shall tell your son." [Although the verse doesn't specify when this should be done,] the Sages have already explained (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 13:8) that this commandment of retelling is on the night of the fifteenth of Nissan - which is the time of the eating of the matzah. And that which the verse states, "[and you shall tell] your son," [does not mean] exclusively one's son; but rather even with any creature (Pesachim 116a).

There are four sons: a wise son, a wicked son, a simple son, and one who does not know how to ask.

What does the wise son say? "What are the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments that the L-rd our G-d commanded us?" — you, likewise, "open" to him in the halachoth of Pesach — "

"We may not eat an afikoman [a dessert or other foods eaten after the meal] after [we are finished eating] the Pesach sacrifice (Mishnah Pesachim 10:8)."

"What does the wicked son say? (Exodus 12:26) "What is this (Pesach) service to you?" "to you" and not to him. Because he disassociated himself from the congregation and denied the foundation (of the faith), you, likewise, blunt his teeth and tell him (Ibid. 13;8) " 'Because of this (the mitzvoth) the L-rd wrought for me when I went out of Egypt.' For me and not for you. Had you been there, you would not have been redeemed."

What does the simple son say? (Ibid. 14) "What is this?" And you shall tell him (Ibid.) "With might of hand did the L-rd take us out of Egypt from the house of bondage."

And he who does not know how to ask, you open for him, as it is written (Ibid. 8) "And you shall tell your son on that day, etc."

Rabbi Hiya taught, Corresponding to four sons did the Torah speak: a wise son, an evil son, a simple-minded son and a son who doesn't know to ask.

What does the wise son say? "'What are these testimonies, statutes and judgments that the Lord our God commanded us?' (Deuteronomy 20:6)" And accordingly you will say to him: "'With the strength of [His] hand did the Lord take us out from Egypt, from the house of slaves.' (Exodus 13:14)"

What does the evil son say? "'What is this worship to you?' (Exodus 12:26) What is this toil that you make us toil each and every year?" Since he excluded himself from the collective, accordingly you say to him: "'For the sake of this, did the Lord do [this] for me.' (Exodus 13:8) 'For me' did He do and not for 'that man.' If 'that man' had been there, he would not have been worthy of ever being saved from there."

What does the innocent [son] say? "'What is this?' (Exodus 13:14)" And accordingly you will teach him the laws of the Pesach sacrifice, that "We may not eat an afikoman [a dessert or other foods eaten after the meal] after [we are finished eating] the Pesach sacrifice, so that a person should not get up from one eating group to another eating group."

And [regarding] the son who doesn't know to ask, you will open [the conversation] for him first. Rabbi Yosa said, "The Mishna said, 'and if the son has no understanding [in order to ask questions], his father teaches him [to ask].'"