It’s a Command!
The wise one, what does he say? “What are the testimonies, the statutes and the laws which the L-rd, our G-d, has commanded you?” You, in turn, shall instruct him in the laws of Passover, [up to] `one is not to eat any dessert after the Passover-lamb.’
The wicked one, what does he say? “What is this service to you?!” He says to you,' but not to him! By thus excluding himself from the community he has denied that which is fundamental. You, therefore, blunt his teeth and say to him: "It is because of this that the L-rd did for me when I left Egypt"; for me’ - but not for him! If he had been there, he would not have been redeemed!”
The simpleton, what does he say? “What is this?” Thus you shall say to him: “With a strong hand the L-rd took us out of Egypt, from the house of slaves.”
As for the one who does not know how to ask, you must initiate him, as it is said: “You shall tell your child on that day, `It is because of this that the L-rd did for me when I left Egypt.’”
What’s the Difference?
In the Haggadah that we recite at the Seder, several references are made about the need for us to be commanded. For example: The wise son asks, “What are these testimonies, statutes and judgments that G-d our G-d has commanded you?”
What precisely is the wise son’s question? And how does it differ from a similar question that is raised by the wicked son— ”What is this service that you are doing?” Both question the need for observing the rituals of the seder. Yet one’s question is characterized as a question of a “Wise son,” while the other is described as a wicked son’s question!
Second, the Haggadah states that the wicked son uses the exclusionary term “you,” implying that he is not a part of the Seder.
Yet, amazingly, the wise son also uses a similar term when he asks “What are these testimonies, statutes and judgments that G-d our G-d has commanded you?” He doesn’t say “us”, but “you.” Why then is he called a wise son and the other one a wicked son?
The Answer is in the Parsha
The key to answering this question can be found in the name of the Torah portion that usually coincides with the Festival of Passover. Passover usually occurs in the week following the reading of the weekly parsha entitled Tzav, which means command.
According to the seventeenth century Halachic and mystical authority, the Shelah, there is always a connection that can be found between a Torah reading and the holiday that is nearby. What is the connection between the parsha, Tzav and the Festival of Liberation, Passover?
One can find a connection in the very name of the Parsha—Tzav, which means command that will also shed light on the wise son’s question.
The wise son is addressing his parents, teachers and elders. He is in awe of their devotion to G-d and the joy and enthusiasm for celebrating the exodus from Egypt. “Why then,” he asks, “do you have to be commanded to do all this. Perhaps, I, who am not so inspired and spiritually attuned, need to be prodded into action by way of a command, but you, the spiritual elite, do you also have to be commanded?!”
Open the Package
The Haggadah’s answer is cryptic. It reads, “And you too tell him the laws of Passover; one should not eat a desert after the Paschal offering.” How do these words respond to the wise son’s question as to why they need a command?
The answer is that everybody needs the command because a Judaism that comes exclusively from one’s emotions, as beautiful and meaningful as that may be, will be missing some key elements of the observance.
Every Mitzvah contains within it revealed and obvious meaning. But, a Mitzvah is also replete with hidden and unfathomable levels of meaning. When one views Passover as only a cultural or even spiritual experience, they are able to capture much of the overt significance of the observance.
But, as with the proverbial iceberg, most of the Mitzvah’s power is beneath the surface. It can almost be compared to one who receives a package that is wrapped with beautiful wrapping paper and revels in the wrapping, neglecting to open up the package to find and enjoy its real content.
This explains an earlier quote of the Haggadah: “Even if we are all wise, understanding…we have a Mitzvahcommandment to recount the story of the exodus.” No matter how brilliant and spiritually sophisticated we are about the exodus and Passover, there is infinitely more there that can only be accessed when we view the Holiday rituals as an expression of a Divine command.
We All Need the Command
Thus the Haggadah states, “And you too say to him the laws of Passover,” implying that you too need the laws of Passover, the commandments. Because each law is also a pathway (Halacha can be translated both as law and pathway) to plumbing the depths and embracing the totality of Passover.
When one, in addition to the emotional and spiritual excitement, recognizes that there is a hidden and elusive dimension to the Seder it enhances one’s taste for it as well. Thus the Haggadah continues: “One must not eat desert after the Paschal lamb.” The reason is to keep the taste of the Paschal lamb in one’s mouth.
The message is clear. When one’s approach to Judaism is based only on savoring the good taste “the desert” they can lose the most essential ingredient the “Pass-overtranscendent-mystique” of the Holiday. However, when one appreciates the nature of the commandment—the transcendent aspect of Passover—that itself becomes the desert, whose taste will linger on—as well.
No Generation Gap
Moreover, only the approach that appreciates the “command” aspect of the Mitzvah—that recognizes the infinite and transcendent nature of the Mitzvah—will carry on to the next generation.
When one’s Judaism is emotional and intellectual based, the next generation might have a different set of emotional needs and develop a different mindset, which doesn’t make room for Passover. Only when there is the element of Tzav-command does it proceed seamlessly to the next generation. The command serves as the bridge over the generation gap.
True Freedom and the Ultimate Bridge
The need for the command aspect of a Mitzvah is even more pronounced with regard to Passover, the “season of our Liberation.” In order to experience true freedom we have to be able to free ourselves from the shackles of our own internal exile.
Slavery is not just subservience to the will of some tyrant or slave owner. One can be a slave to one’s own emotions, passions and entrenched ideas. To be free one must be able to get out of internal imprisonment.
Moreover, the definition of freedom is when there are no constraints to our innermost desires. Since our soul is what defines our innermost being, when we do a Mitzvah and submit to G-d’s command and become G-d’s servants, we are in total compliance with our soul’s will. There can be nothing more liberating than doing a Mitzvah because it is G-d’s command.
The is what enables us to experience the full sense of freedom that Passover is the means through which we will go out of our present exile and experience true Redemption. Just as the command serves as the only sturdy bridge between the generations, so too, the command approach to Judaism will be the ultimate bridge between the end of the period of exile that we are in and the beginning of the period of Redemption that we are about to enter into, imminently.
From the book Light from the Future: Haggadah Shel Pesach by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
