Envisioning the "Four Sons" - in Yerushalmi P'sahim and Haggada Illustrations

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 innocent 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 evil [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 innocent [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."

(4) The attendants poured the second cup for the leader of the seder, and here the son asks his father the questions about the differences between Passover night and a regular night. And if the son does not have the intelligence to ask questions on his own, his father teaches him the questions. The mishna lists the questions: Why is this night different from all other nights? As on all other nights we eat leavened bread and matza as preferred; on this night all our bread is matza. As on all other nights we eat other vegetables; on this night we eat bitter herbs. The mishna continues its list of the questions. When the Temple was standing one would ask: As on all other nights we eat either roasted, stewed, or cooked meat, but on this night all the meat is the roasted meat of the Paschal lamb. The final question was asked even after the destruction of the Temple: As on all other nights we dip the vegetables in a liquid during the meal only once; however, on this night we dip twice.

And according to the intelligence and the ability of the son, his father teaches him about the Exodus.

When teaching his son about the Exodus. He begins with the Jewish people’s disgrace and concludes with their glory. And he expounds from the passage: “An Aramean tried to destroy my father” (Deuteronomy 26:5), the declaration one recites when presenting his first fruits at the Temple, until he concludes explaining the entire section.

Rabbi Cheya taught, Corresponding to four sons did the Torah speak; a wise son, an evil son, an innocent 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].'"

(3) Speak to the whole community of Israel and say that on the tenth of this month each of them shall take a lamb to a family, a lamb to a household. (4) But if the household is too small for a lamb, let him share one with a neighbor who dwells nearby, in proportion to the number of persons: you shall contribute for the lamb according to what each household will eat. (5) Your lamb shall be without blemish, a yearling male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

(6) You shall keep watch over it until the fourteenth day of this month; and all the assembled congregation of the Israelites shall slaughter it at twilight.

(47) The whole community of Israel shall offer it. (48) If a stranger who dwells with you would offer the passover to the LORD, all his males must be circumcised; then he shall be admitted to offer it; he shall then be as a citizen of the country. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it. (49) There shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger who dwells among you. (50) And all the Israelites did so; as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

(1) On the eve of Passover, adjacent to minḥa time, a person may not eat until dark, so that he will be able to eat matza that night with a hearty appetite. Even the poorest of Jews should not eat the meal on Passover night until he reclines on his left side, as free and wealthy people recline when they eat. And the distributors of charity should not give a poor person less than four cups of wine for the Festival meal of Passover night. And this halakha applies even if the poor person is one of the poorest members of society and receives his food from the charity plate.

(1) 1. We learn the halakhot of Pesach for 30 days before Pesach. RAMA: And it is customary to buy wheat to give to the poor for Pesach. And whoever is residing in the city for twelve months must give for this (Or Zarua).