רָשָׁע מָה הוּא אוֹמֵר? מָה הָעֲבוֹדָה הַזּאֹת לָכֶם. לָכֶם - וְלֹא לוֹ. וּלְפִי שֶׁהוֹצִיא אֶת עַצְמוֹ מִן הַכְּלָל כָּפַר בְּעִקָּר. וְאַף אַתָּה הַקְהֵה אֶת שִׁנָּיו וֶאֱמוֹר לוֹ: "בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה ה' לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם". לִי וְלֹא-לוֹ. אִלּוּ הָיָה שָׁם, לֹא הָיָה נִגְאָל:
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.
(כו) וְהָיָ֕ה כִּֽי־יֹאמְר֥וּ אֲלֵיכֶ֖ם בְּנֵיכֶ֑ם מָ֛ה הָעֲבֹדָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את לָכֶֽם׃ (כז) וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֡ם זֶֽבַח־פֶּ֨סַח ה֜וּא לַֽיהוָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר פָּ֠סַח עַל־בָּתֵּ֤י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם בְּנָגְפּ֥וֹ אֶת־מִצְרַ֖יִם וְאֶת־בָּתֵּ֣ינוּ הִצִּ֑יל וַיִּקֹּ֥ד הָעָ֖ם וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוּֽוּ׃
(26) And when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this rite?’ (27) 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.
(א) מה העבודה הזאת לכם שאינה ביום מקרא קדש כשאר הקרבנות, ולא תוך זמן שאר הקרבנות שהוא מתמיד של שחר עד תמיד של בין הערבים, ולמה לא יספיק קרבן אחד לכל ישראל כמו בשאר קרבנות צבור:
(1) מה העבודה הזאת לכם?, which is performed on a day that does not even bear the appellation מקרא קודש, “holy convocation? All the other mandatory communal offerings are offered on days designated as festivals. Not only that, but the whole day is available for slaughtering those offerings whereas the offering known as Passover is only accepted from noon until sunset [roughly, in fact even less time than that. Ed.] Besides, why does not a single communal offering serve as this memorial of the Exodus? Other public offerings serve each for the whole community.
(א) והיה וגו׳ מה העבדה הזאת לכם. של ק״פ. שאין לה שום תכלית כמו כל קרבן בא לרצון או לכפרה. ובכור ומעשר שאינם מרצים ג״כ טעמם ידוע במקומם. אבל פסח למה הוא בא אם מפני התודה לה׳ על הנס של י״מ. לא היתה ראויה אלא לאותה שעה שלא מצינו מצוה לעשות זכר לנס לעולם. זולת חנוכה ופורים קבעו חכמים בזמנם ג״כ לטעמים ידועים בענין הנס שיהא לנו לזכר. ולא לגוף הנס בלבד. מעתה יש לדעת מה הענין שמורה מעשה הפסח לדורות.
(א) רשע מה הוא אומר מה העבודה כו'. פי' הרב המקובל עיר וקדיש הרשב"א הלוי זלה"ה בפירושו כ"י דהרשע מבזה המצוה ומזלזל בה והוא יאמין היות השלמות בהשכלה לא במעשה כאשר הוא דעת אותם אשר לא זרח אליהם אור התורה ויראה ולכן דורש רעה מה העבודה הזאת לכם כלו' מה השלמות המושג במעשה אשר אתם עושים? כי מאס בדבר ה' ותרע עינו במצות המעשיות האלה ומאחר שחול האלהות בנו הנה הוא ע"י המצות המעשיות ואפי' כלנו חכמים יודעים את התורה אם לא נקיים המצות לא יחול האלהות בנו וזה הרשע זלזל במצות והוציא עצמו מן הכלל כפר בעיקר,
והושב לו בתורה זבח פסח הוא לה' כלו' "ראה אתה הרשע כי ע"י המצוה הזו אשר בזית חל האלהות בנו ודבקה עמנו ההשגחה אלהית עד שהי' מדלג מבתינו לבתי אויבינו ואת בתינ"ו הציל דוקא ולכן מצא מקום המגיד לדרוש אף אתה הקהה את שיניו כו' לדרוך דרך התורה לי ולא לו ואלו היה שם לא היה נגאל ומתשובת רשע הכתובה בתורה למד כן ופסוק "בעבור זה" לסימן נקטיה גם להורות כי אז היינו בריה חדשה וז"ש עשה ה' לי לי עשה ממש כי לפי שארץ מצרים היתה מלאה גלולים מחכמות ודעות זרות ואני נמצאתי שמה הוצרך לעשות לי בריה חדשה וזה הרשע אלו הי' שם לא הי' נגאל כי אינו מאמין בשלימות מעשה המצות וחדל מעשות הפסח ולא הי' נגאל.
Malbim
The Malbim: I have taken the words of the sages in the Haggadah against the group of reformers who hate our religion, and want to establish the Shabbat on a sunday. They are completely separate from the Jewish community in all things. They have also taught their flocks to annul all the stringencies which exist in the prohibitions of Chametz on Pesach, that Chametz can be annulled within 60, and also to permit the eating of Kitniyot and the like. All of this occurred before Shabbat Hagadol this year. I have said that this [perspective] has already been seen by the sages thousands of years ago, and prepared in our Torah answers for both the righteous and the wicked. They saw what would be asked, and they established 4 sons:
The wise son establishes the concept that all the Mitzvot and Torah which has been taught to us by God exist forever. Yet there are three different types of Mitzvot:
The wicked son has two questions:
The Malbim: I have taken the words of the sages in the Haggadah against the group of reformers who hate our religion, and want to establish the Shabbat on a sunday. They are completely separate from the Jewish community in all things. They have also taught their flocks to annul all the stringencies which exist in the prohibitions of Chametz on Pesach, that Chametz can be annulled within 60, and also to permit the eating of Kitniyot and the like. All of this occurred before Shabbat Hagadol this year. I have said that this [perspective] has already been seen by the sages thousands of years ago, and prepared in our Torah answers for both the righteous and the wicked. They saw what would be asked, and they established 4 sons:
- The Rabbis and those who keep to Rabbinic Law - this is the wise son.
- The majority who listen to the words of the Rabbis who are represented by the simple son.
- The reformers who ask questions and answer falsely.
- Those that follow the reformers, who don’t know how to attack our religion because they lack the knowledge to do so, but would if they could.
The wise son establishes the concept that all the Mitzvot and Torah which has been taught to us by God exist forever. Yet there are three different types of Mitzvot:
- Commandments which testify to the creation and renewal of the world, or God’s involvement in the world
- There are certain commandments which are laws to ensure peace between man and his friend, and finally
- Commandments which don’t have a reason attached to them.
The wicked son has two questions:
- “What is the work” - that all the elements of Pesach are there to remember the day that the Jews left Egypt. Why so much work and bother? Couldn’t we just write out a memorial or put it onto a diary and that would suffice?
- What is this work to you - we have all tasted from the fruits of enlightenment. How can we not be embarrassed to keep things which no longer have any relevance?
Nesivos Shalom
The Hagaddah prefaces the four sons with the statement: baruch Hu...there are elements of blessing and strenghtening in the service of God for each child, no matter who he is [even] if he is the wicked child.
The wicked child’s question is as follows: He serves Hashem but has tripped up at every opportunity, and keeps falling. This results in him giving up hope. He says: What is this work to you? This work doesn’t apply to him, because his evil inclination is so strong in him, and he feels that there is no way that such spiritual and lofty work could ever be his lot! The answer is that the reason that the Jewish people were redeemed was not because of their level - they were on the lowest level. Yet they were still redeemed, because they never gave up hope. He will not be redeemed, not because God can’t do it, but because he feels he can’t do it.
The Hagaddah prefaces the four sons with the statement: baruch Hu...there are elements of blessing and strenghtening in the service of God for each child, no matter who he is [even] if he is the wicked child.
The wicked child’s question is as follows: He serves Hashem but has tripped up at every opportunity, and keeps falling. This results in him giving up hope. He says: What is this work to you? This work doesn’t apply to him, because his evil inclination is so strong in him, and he feels that there is no way that such spiritual and lofty work could ever be his lot! The answer is that the reason that the Jewish people were redeemed was not because of their level - they were on the lowest level. Yet they were still redeemed, because they never gave up hope. He will not be redeemed, not because God can’t do it, but because he feels he can’t do it.
(כג) וַֽיְדַבְּר֞וּ עַבְדֵ֤י שָׁאוּל֙ בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י דָוִ֔ד אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים הָאֵ֑לֶּה וַיֹּ֣אמֶר דָּוִ֗ד הַֽנְקַלָּ֤ה בְעֵֽינֵיכֶם֙ הִתְחַתֵּ֣ן בַּמֶּ֔לֶךְ וְאָנֹכִ֖י אִֽישׁ־רָ֥שׁ וְנִקְלֶֽה׃
(23) When the king’s courtiers repeated these words to David, David replied, “Do you think that becoming the son-in-law of a king is a small matter, when I am but a poor man of no consequence?”
(ב) מַה־לָּכֶ֗ם אַתֶּם֙ מֹֽשְׁלִים֙ אֶת־הַמָּשָׁ֣ל הַזֶּ֔ה עַל־אַדְמַ֥ת יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר אָבוֹת֙ יֹ֣אכְלוּ בֹ֔סֶר וְשִׁנֵּ֥י הַבָּנִ֖ים תִקְהֶֽינָה׃
(2) What do you mean by quoting this proverb upon the soil of Israel, “Parents eat sour grapes and their children’s teeth are blunted”?
(ג) ושני הבנים תקהינה. אגאצירונ"ט בלע"ז, כך דרכו של הקב"ה האבות חוטאים והבנים לוקים שהרי כמה שנים חטאו מלכי ישראל קודם שגלו ואף אנו לא נדאג ללקות בעונינו:
(3) and the children’s teeth are set on edge Heb. תִּקְהֶינָה, agazeront in Old French, will be set on edge. So is the way of the Holy One, blessed be He: the fathers sin and the children are punished, for the kings of Israel sinned for many years before they were exiled, and we too need not be concerned that we shall be punished for our iniquities.
(ה) וְשֶׁאֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ לִשְׁאַל. אַתְּ פְּתַח לוֹ. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר. וְהִגַּדְתָּ֣ לְבִנְךָ֔ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֖וּא לֵאמֹ֑ר. בַּעֲב֣וּר זֶ֗ה עָשָׂ֤ה יְהֹוָה֙ לִ֔י בְּצֵאתִ֖י מִמִּצְרָֽיִם:
ושאינו יודע לשאל וכו'. כתב הרב הגדול עיר וקדיש מהר"ש הלוי בן אלקבץ זלה"ה בפירושו כ"י וז"ל לאו בשופטני עסקינן אבל הוא ירא וחרד לדבר ה' ואינו שואל מפני היראה מהשגיאה ואינו יודע לסדר שאלתו על כל ענין וענין ככל אחיו ולכן פתח לו שתלהיבהו לשאול ותמשיכהו בדברים עד שמתוך זה יפתח פיו ויאירו דבריו וזהו והגדת לבנך לשון המשכה שתמשיכהו בדברים עד יסיר מחסום מפיו וימהר לדבר צחות עכ"ל לעניננו, וכדבריו דייק אומרו ושאינו יודע לשאול דהו"ל לומר ושאינו יודע ותו לא אבל דקדק ושאינו יודע לשאל כי יודע הוא ומבין רק שאינו יודע לסדר שאלה כאחיו אחד חכם ואחד תם.
We’re Not So Different from One Another! “And the one who does not know to ask;” (Page 74b) This refers to one who does not know how to ask or to open his mouth to speak before the sovereign one because he lacks da’at, knowledge. Explain to him that this was also the state of the people of Israel in Egypt. They were so lacking in knowledge that they could not open their mouths in supplication before God. Still God appeared to them and redeemed them. As we sit together at the Seder table as our ancestors did, we are just like them with the matzah and maror before us. So God will answer us now! The Ohr Hachayim explains this verse in this fashion: On this day we are all the same. It is a day on which we have the ability to express ourselves before God. This is the meaning of Pesach – peh sach. Even though you can ask questions the rest of the year today we each have an expressive mouth. We can pour out our hearts before God. Today God desires to hear songs and praise from mortal beings, as we are taught in the Zohar: “(On this day) The Holy One and his entire retinue come to listen to our story.”
Curious about….Pesach
Curiosity has changed the world and continues to change the world. If he wasn’t curious about the nature of gravity, Newton wouldn’t have screamed “Eureka!” when the apple landed on his head. If she wasn’t curious, Madame Curie would never have discovered the uses of radium. If they hadn’t been curious, the scientists who created the vaccine for the COVID virus would never have created it in the first place. The great scientists and thinkers of this generation and in fact, every single generation would never have discovered the things that they discovered without curiosity. It is these discoveries that change the world. The wondrous world that we live in today has its basis in curiosity, and this has allowed us to speak to one another from mobile phones, to contact each other across continents, to warm food at the touch of a button. The fact that we are alive right now thank G-d, is the result of curiosity.
A lack of curiosity and interest on the other hand is a cause for stagnation. The Americas were not discovered for centuries because of the adamant belief that the world was flat. The feudal system, slavery, oppression of the weak and defenseless was a way of life which was taken for granted. And, as long as it was kept for granted, the status quo continued. Serfs did not own land. Slaves were not paid for their services. Wars were fought without any care for its inhabitants. Until people became curious, women were not allowed to vote. A lack of curiosity about life, and accepting the status quo is one of the primary sources of much evil in the world.
This does not apply only in the world of politics and control, but also in the world of the individual. Psychologists have recently discovered that without curiosity, people cannot heal themselves. When people are psychologically wounded, research shows that they are defensive about their issues, because it hurts so much to confront them directly. It is only by being first being compassionate, and then by being curious and non-judgemental can we look into ourselves and find alternative ways of dealing with our issues and truly being able to accept ourselves as we are.
Without this vital human trait of curiosity, mankind would have been stuck in a hole. It is only when we ask questions that we are able to escape whatever limitations keep us down.
The festival of Pesach has got many elements to it. Yes, it celebrates families getting together and having delicious meals. Yes, it celebrates the importance of our history, and how we became free from the slavery of Egypt. It is celebrated with wine and Matzos, and Kneidelach. However, I would like to suggest that it celebrates the source of our freedom, which is our ability to ask questions. Maimonides clearly states that the process of telling the story of our freedom starts in the following way:
One needs to make changes on the first night of Pesach so that the children will see and will ask “Why is this night different from all other nights?”. The leader of the seder will then explain… If he doesn’t have children, his wife must ask him this question. If he doesn’t have a wife, he can ask his friends “how is this night different from other nights. Even if they were all wise (and already knew the answer, they should nonetheless ask one another. Even if he was all alone on Seder night, he should ask himself :”How is this night different from other nights?”
It is vital to ask the question, because the question unlocks our curiosity, and when we are curious, that is the beginning of a chain reaction which has the potential to break down the status quos of our own lives. It can perhaps encourage us to be curious about those elements of our own lives where we might feel imprisoned. When we are aware that our lives are stuck, that is the moment when we can truly change.
One of the Haggadah’s first statement is “now we are slaves, but next year we will be free”. At first glance this statement seems strange - surely we are free already! You or I are not slaves! However, perhaps through the process of asking questions, of being truly curious about our history, we can become free, because by asking questions we challenge all the elements of our lives that block our development. All it takes is a question to break down those impediments to our growth.
True freedom is gained by the questions. May this year be a true festival of questions, a festival of freedom and ultimate redemption for all of us.
Curiosity has changed the world and continues to change the world. If he wasn’t curious about the nature of gravity, Newton wouldn’t have screamed “Eureka!” when the apple landed on his head. If she wasn’t curious, Madame Curie would never have discovered the uses of radium. If they hadn’t been curious, the scientists who created the vaccine for the COVID virus would never have created it in the first place. The great scientists and thinkers of this generation and in fact, every single generation would never have discovered the things that they discovered without curiosity. It is these discoveries that change the world. The wondrous world that we live in today has its basis in curiosity, and this has allowed us to speak to one another from mobile phones, to contact each other across continents, to warm food at the touch of a button. The fact that we are alive right now thank G-d, is the result of curiosity.
A lack of curiosity and interest on the other hand is a cause for stagnation. The Americas were not discovered for centuries because of the adamant belief that the world was flat. The feudal system, slavery, oppression of the weak and defenseless was a way of life which was taken for granted. And, as long as it was kept for granted, the status quo continued. Serfs did not own land. Slaves were not paid for their services. Wars were fought without any care for its inhabitants. Until people became curious, women were not allowed to vote. A lack of curiosity about life, and accepting the status quo is one of the primary sources of much evil in the world.
This does not apply only in the world of politics and control, but also in the world of the individual. Psychologists have recently discovered that without curiosity, people cannot heal themselves. When people are psychologically wounded, research shows that they are defensive about their issues, because it hurts so much to confront them directly. It is only by being first being compassionate, and then by being curious and non-judgemental can we look into ourselves and find alternative ways of dealing with our issues and truly being able to accept ourselves as we are.
Without this vital human trait of curiosity, mankind would have been stuck in a hole. It is only when we ask questions that we are able to escape whatever limitations keep us down.
The festival of Pesach has got many elements to it. Yes, it celebrates families getting together and having delicious meals. Yes, it celebrates the importance of our history, and how we became free from the slavery of Egypt. It is celebrated with wine and Matzos, and Kneidelach. However, I would like to suggest that it celebrates the source of our freedom, which is our ability to ask questions. Maimonides clearly states that the process of telling the story of our freedom starts in the following way:
One needs to make changes on the first night of Pesach so that the children will see and will ask “Why is this night different from all other nights?”. The leader of the seder will then explain… If he doesn’t have children, his wife must ask him this question. If he doesn’t have a wife, he can ask his friends “how is this night different from other nights. Even if they were all wise (and already knew the answer, they should nonetheless ask one another. Even if he was all alone on Seder night, he should ask himself :”How is this night different from other nights?”
It is vital to ask the question, because the question unlocks our curiosity, and when we are curious, that is the beginning of a chain reaction which has the potential to break down the status quos of our own lives. It can perhaps encourage us to be curious about those elements of our own lives where we might feel imprisoned. When we are aware that our lives are stuck, that is the moment when we can truly change.
One of the Haggadah’s first statement is “now we are slaves, but next year we will be free”. At first glance this statement seems strange - surely we are free already! You or I are not slaves! However, perhaps through the process of asking questions, of being truly curious about our history, we can become free, because by asking questions we challenge all the elements of our lives that block our development. All it takes is a question to break down those impediments to our growth.
True freedom is gained by the questions. May this year be a true festival of questions, a festival of freedom and ultimate redemption for all of us.