Anyone who ever attended a Passover Seder knows about the Four Sons. The Torah tells us that there will be a time our children will come and ask questions. The entire Maggid portion of the Seder is the response to the questions asked by the Four Sons.
From how the child asks, we know what sort of person he is, as explained in the Haggadah. The wise son poses his question as follows: ?What are these edut, chukim and mishpatim [three types of mitzvot] that Hashem instructed you??
We answer him: ?We were slaves in Egypt... and Hashem told us to do these chukim to fear Him, so it will be good for us and to keep us alive, like we are alive today .?
Some questions you may ask:
1. The fact that he knows the difference between the three types of mitzvot shows that we are dealing with the wise son. The wicked son asks, ?What?s this service about?? and the ignorant son asks, ?What is this?? without going into details. If we are dealing with a learned man, why is he asking why we have to do mitzvot? The Torah explains in several places the purpose - and even the reward - of many mitzvot. He should have known that.
2. Why do we have to mention that we were slaves in Egypt before we talk about Hashem giving the Torah? The question was: why do we have the mitzvot. The answer should have been (only) ?to fear Hashem?, etc. Jewish history is a topic that should be taught in history class, not here.
3. Why do we answer him only about the chukim and not the other types of mitzvot he mentions in the question?
4. How is this son different from the wicked son, who excludes himself by asking ?What is this to you?? The wise son also seems to exclude himself in the same way.
For those who are not ?wise children? yet, let us first explain the three types of mitzvot:
Chukim are those mitzvot for which we are not given a reason; keeping kosher, for instance. Non-kosher food could be healthier and tastier than kosher food. The reason why we don?t eat it is because Hashem decided that Jewish people can?t have it. Without being commanded, we would never consider doing chukim.
Edut are mitzvot that are a testimony to Hashem?s existence. By putting on tefillin or keeping shabbos we show that we believe in Hashem. All religions have certain practices they do to show their respect for what they believe in. Edut are understood by anyone involved with a religion.
Mishpatim are simple rules of society: don?t cheat, steal, kill, etc; give charity, honor your parents, etc. Every normal person follows these laws.
The wise son knows that the word ?mitzvah? doesn?t only mean commandment, but also connection with the One who commanded them; i.e., Hashem. G-d is spiritual. To feel connected to Hashem, we have to be in a spiritual setting and mood. We feel closer to Hashem in shul on Yom Kippur than on the beach on a hot Sunday afternoon. Doing ?physical? mitzvot seems to lack in spirituality, as we will explain shortly.
In the order of the question: Edut, testimony, is only needed when without the witnesses we wouldn?t know the information they give us. Even when something is not public knowledge today, but will be tomorrow, there is no need for a testimony. The wise son only knows from the ?testimony? in the books that by doing a mitzvah he becomes connected with Hashem. Not only doesn?t he feel the spirituality when he does the mitzvah, he knows that he won?t feel it later either.
Chukim has the same root as the word chakika - engraving. Engraving words takes more effort than writing, which is even more effort than speaking or thinking words. Chukim are those mitzvot that make the other nations look at us strangely. They cannot understand why we do things without any apparent reason. That makes them more challenging and harder to keep. No one likes to be looked upon as a fool by his neighbor. The wise son knows that he has to work very hard on himself (chuka - engraving) to do them. It doesn?t make him feel spiritual.
Mishpatim definitely have nothing to do with spirituality. Everyone understands that in order to have a normal world, you can?t kill and parents have to be honored, etc. The wise son is asking how this will connect him to Hashem more than any other decent person who keeps these laws as member of society, not because they are divine commandments. Instead, he would like to fulfill the mitzvot the way Avraham, Yitschak and Yaakov fulfilled them. Their divine service was strictly spiritual. Avraham?s service was mainly love of G-d, Yitschak?s was mainly fear, etc. In order to do this, they had to use physical objects at times - like guests that were invited, etc. - but the mitzvot remained between them and Hashem.
By saying ?who commanded you?, the wise son is not excluding himself totally. He wants to exclude himself from ?you? who do the physical mitzvot. He would prefer to have a closer connection to Hashem by staying in the spiritual realm, like the patriarchs .
The answer we give is ?to fear Hashem.? ?Et Hashem? are the Hebrew words used here. There are different levels of fear of G-d. ?yiru mehashem? and ?yiru et Hashem?. Both would be translated: ?fear Hashem?. The difference is in the extra word ?et?, which has no translation (Eg., shamayim = heaven; hashamayim = the heaven; et hashamayim = et the heaven). Fearing ?et Hashem? refers to a higher level of fear, wherein the person becomes like the et. Just like the word et is connected to (the word) Hashem, but does not have its own identity, so should the person become so closely connected to Hashem that he should completely lose his identity.
This is a very high level, which is extremely hard to attain. Hard work is needed to reach this level of fear. ?Hashem gave us the chukim (= hard work) to [reach the level of] fear et Hashem? is what we answer the wise son. All mitzvot, even the edut and mishpatim, have to be done with the same effort as chukim in order to attain the level of fear ?et Hashem?. Just like chukim transcend understanding, so do we have to do all mitzvot because they are divine commandments, not because we think they are the proper thing to do.
The introduction to the answer - Avadim hayinu, we were slaves in Egypt - comes to explain why we are different from the patriarchs. Making a coarse cow skin into a smooth parchment is called ibud (the same root as avadim). By doing physical labor in Egypt, the world was transformed into a more refined vessel for spirituality. Only after 210 years of work it became possible for the edut, chukim and mishpatim to be given from spiritual heaven to the physical world. Prior to the physical labor we did in Egypt, spirituality couldn?t connect with physical objects. Our time in Egypt prepared the world for the possibility to connect with G-dliness.
Today, we have to continue what started then. Doing mitzvot is like planting a tree. In order to grow into a tree, the seed has to go underground. In order for us to have the strongest connection to the highest level of G-dliness, we have to go down into the lowest levels of the physical world and bring them in contact with spirituality by using them for mitzvot or in any other way to serve Hashem. In other words, to reach the level of fear ?et Hashem? we have to work hard (chukim) to elevate the world, starting with our own physical body, which might be the hardest part of it. This is only possible because our forefathers in Egypt prepared the world for us ? avadim hayinu.
We were commanded to do this, so that it will be good for us and we will live, like ?this day?. Night is the time of Exile. The night when the Jewish people left Egypt was like a day. When Moshiach comes, the night will once again shine like day, for the simple reason that all darkness and negativity will no longer exist then. May we merit this right now, so that we will be able to bring the korban pesach in Yerushalayim, eternal capital of the Jewish people.
--------------------------------------------------------
Asher ben Shimon writes commentary for www.TorahThoughts.tk.
************
Spend Passover with Arutz Sheva at a resort in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Kfar Pines (near Hadera). Click here for info.
From how the child asks, we know what sort of person he is, as explained in the Haggadah. The wise son poses his question as follows: ?What are these edut, chukim and mishpatim [three types of mitzvot] that Hashem instructed you??
We answer him: ?We were slaves in Egypt... and Hashem told us to do these chukim to fear Him, so it will be good for us and to keep us alive, like we are alive today .?
Some questions you may ask:
1. The fact that he knows the difference between the three types of mitzvot shows that we are dealing with the wise son. The wicked son asks, ?What?s this service about?? and the ignorant son asks, ?What is this?? without going into details. If we are dealing with a learned man, why is he asking why we have to do mitzvot? The Torah explains in several places the purpose - and even the reward - of many mitzvot. He should have known that.
2. Why do we have to mention that we were slaves in Egypt before we talk about Hashem giving the Torah? The question was: why do we have the mitzvot. The answer should have been (only) ?to fear Hashem?, etc. Jewish history is a topic that should be taught in history class, not here.
3. Why do we answer him only about the chukim and not the other types of mitzvot he mentions in the question?
4. How is this son different from the wicked son, who excludes himself by asking ?What is this to you?? The wise son also seems to exclude himself in the same way.
For those who are not ?wise children? yet, let us first explain the three types of mitzvot:
Chukim are those mitzvot for which we are not given a reason; keeping kosher, for instance. Non-kosher food could be healthier and tastier than kosher food. The reason why we don?t eat it is because Hashem decided that Jewish people can?t have it. Without being commanded, we would never consider doing chukim.
Edut are mitzvot that are a testimony to Hashem?s existence. By putting on tefillin or keeping shabbos we show that we believe in Hashem. All religions have certain practices they do to show their respect for what they believe in. Edut are understood by anyone involved with a religion.
Mishpatim are simple rules of society: don?t cheat, steal, kill, etc; give charity, honor your parents, etc. Every normal person follows these laws.
The wise son knows that the word ?mitzvah? doesn?t only mean commandment, but also connection with the One who commanded them; i.e., Hashem. G-d is spiritual. To feel connected to Hashem, we have to be in a spiritual setting and mood. We feel closer to Hashem in shul on Yom Kippur than on the beach on a hot Sunday afternoon. Doing ?physical? mitzvot seems to lack in spirituality, as we will explain shortly.
In the order of the question: Edut, testimony, is only needed when without the witnesses we wouldn?t know the information they give us. Even when something is not public knowledge today, but will be tomorrow, there is no need for a testimony. The wise son only knows from the ?testimony? in the books that by doing a mitzvah he becomes connected with Hashem. Not only doesn?t he feel the spirituality when he does the mitzvah, he knows that he won?t feel it later either.
Chukim has the same root as the word chakika - engraving. Engraving words takes more effort than writing, which is even more effort than speaking or thinking words. Chukim are those mitzvot that make the other nations look at us strangely. They cannot understand why we do things without any apparent reason. That makes them more challenging and harder to keep. No one likes to be looked upon as a fool by his neighbor. The wise son knows that he has to work very hard on himself (chuka - engraving) to do them. It doesn?t make him feel spiritual.
Mishpatim definitely have nothing to do with spirituality. Everyone understands that in order to have a normal world, you can?t kill and parents have to be honored, etc. The wise son is asking how this will connect him to Hashem more than any other decent person who keeps these laws as member of society, not because they are divine commandments. Instead, he would like to fulfill the mitzvot the way Avraham, Yitschak and Yaakov fulfilled them. Their divine service was strictly spiritual. Avraham?s service was mainly love of G-d, Yitschak?s was mainly fear, etc. In order to do this, they had to use physical objects at times - like guests that were invited, etc. - but the mitzvot remained between them and Hashem.
By saying ?who commanded you?, the wise son is not excluding himself totally. He wants to exclude himself from ?you? who do the physical mitzvot. He would prefer to have a closer connection to Hashem by staying in the spiritual realm, like the patriarchs .
The answer we give is ?to fear Hashem.? ?Et Hashem? are the Hebrew words used here. There are different levels of fear of G-d. ?yiru mehashem? and ?yiru et Hashem?. Both would be translated: ?fear Hashem?. The difference is in the extra word ?et?, which has no translation (Eg., shamayim = heaven; hashamayim = the heaven; et hashamayim = et the heaven). Fearing ?et Hashem? refers to a higher level of fear, wherein the person becomes like the et. Just like the word et is connected to (the word) Hashem, but does not have its own identity, so should the person become so closely connected to Hashem that he should completely lose his identity.
This is a very high level, which is extremely hard to attain. Hard work is needed to reach this level of fear. ?Hashem gave us the chukim (= hard work) to [reach the level of] fear et Hashem? is what we answer the wise son. All mitzvot, even the edut and mishpatim, have to be done with the same effort as chukim in order to attain the level of fear ?et Hashem?. Just like chukim transcend understanding, so do we have to do all mitzvot because they are divine commandments, not because we think they are the proper thing to do.
The introduction to the answer - Avadim hayinu, we were slaves in Egypt - comes to explain why we are different from the patriarchs. Making a coarse cow skin into a smooth parchment is called ibud (the same root as avadim). By doing physical labor in Egypt, the world was transformed into a more refined vessel for spirituality. Only after 210 years of work it became possible for the edut, chukim and mishpatim to be given from spiritual heaven to the physical world. Prior to the physical labor we did in Egypt, spirituality couldn?t connect with physical objects. Our time in Egypt prepared the world for the possibility to connect with G-dliness.
Today, we have to continue what started then. Doing mitzvot is like planting a tree. In order to grow into a tree, the seed has to go underground. In order for us to have the strongest connection to the highest level of G-dliness, we have to go down into the lowest levels of the physical world and bring them in contact with spirituality by using them for mitzvot or in any other way to serve Hashem. In other words, to reach the level of fear ?et Hashem? we have to work hard (chukim) to elevate the world, starting with our own physical body, which might be the hardest part of it. This is only possible because our forefathers in Egypt prepared the world for us ? avadim hayinu.
We were commanded to do this, so that it will be good for us and we will live, like ?this day?. Night is the time of Exile. The night when the Jewish people left Egypt was like a day. When Moshiach comes, the night will once again shine like day, for the simple reason that all darkness and negativity will no longer exist then. May we merit this right now, so that we will be able to bring the korban pesach in Yerushalayim, eternal capital of the Jewish people.
--------------------------------------------------------
Asher ben Shimon writes commentary for www.TorahThoughts.tk.
************
Spend Passover with Arutz Sheva at a resort in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Kfar Pines (near Hadera). Click here for info.