The Four Children | Passover haggadah by Noraa Kaplan

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בָּרוּךְ הַמָקוֹם, בָּרוּךְ הוּא, בָּרוּךְ שֶׁנָתַן תּוֹרָה לְעַמוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל, בָּרוּךְ הוּא

Baruch ha-makom, baruch hu. Baruch she-natan Torah le-amo Yisra’el, baruch hu.

Blessed is the Place, bless Him. Blessed is the Giver of Torah to His people Yisra’el, bless Him.

:כְּנֶגֶד אַרְבָּעָה בָנִים דִבְּרָה תוֹרָה
.אֶחָד חָכָם, וְאֶחָד רָשָׁע, וְאֶחָד תָּם, וְאֶחָד שֶׁאֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ לִשְׁאוֹל

Keneged arba’ah vanim dibra Torah:
echad chacham, ve-echad rasha, ve-echad tam, ve-echad she-eyno yodeya lishol.

The Torah speaks of four children:
one wise, one wicked, one simple, and one who doesn’t know how to ask.

.חָכָם מָה הוּא אוֹמֵר? מָה הָעֵדוֹת וְהַחֻקִים וְהַמִשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר צִוָה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֶתְכֶם? וְאַף אַתָּה אֱמוֹר לוֹ כְּהִלְכוֹת הַפֶּסַח: אֵין מַפְטִירִין אַחַר הַפֶּסַח אֲפִיקוֹמָן

Chacham, ma hu omer? “Ma ha-eydot veha-chookim veha-mishpatim ashem tziva Adonai eloheinu etchem?” Ve-af ata emor lo ke-hilchot ha-Pesach: “Ein maftirin achar ha-Pesach afikoman.”

The wise child, what does she say? “What are the decrees, rules, and laws that Hashem our God has commanded you?” (Deuteronomy 6:20) So you will tell her the halachot of Pesach: “We may not add afikoman after the Paschal sacrifice.”

The original context of the wise child’s question: “For your children will ask you in time, ‘What are the decrees, rules, and laws that Hashem our God has commanded you?’ You shall say to your children, ‘Avadim hayinu, we were slaves to Pharaoh in Mitzrayim, but Hashem our God took us out from there…’” (Deuteronomy 6:20-21)
Instead of giving the wise child the answer prescribed by the Torah, the Haggadah uses this verse to introduce the Passover story to all of us. In this way, it treats all of us as wise, and nurtures our curiosity. It gives the wise child a line from the Mishnah and says, “go deeper.”

רָשָׁע מָה הוּא אוֹמֵר? מָה הָעֲבוֹדָה הַזאֹת לָכֶם? לָכֶם – וְלֹא לוֹ. וּלְפִי שֶׁהוֹצִיא אֶת עַצְמוֹ מִן הַכְּלָל כָּפַר בְּעִקָר. וְאַף אַתָּה הַקְהֵה אֶת שִׁנָיו וֶאֱמוֹר לוֹ: בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה יי לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִצְרָיִם. לִי וְלֹא־לוֹ. אִלוּ הָיָה שָׁם, לֹא הָיָה נִגְאָל:

Rasha, ma hu omer? “Ma ha-avodah ha-zot lachem?” Lachem, ve-lo lo.
Oo-lefi she-hotzi et atzmo min ha-klal, kafar be-ikar.
Ve-af ata hak’he et shinav ve-emor lo, “Ba’avur zeh asah Adonai li be-tzeiti mi-Mitzrayim.” Li, ve-lo lo. Eelu haya sham, lo haya nigal.

The wicked child, what does he say? “What is this worship to you?” (Exodus 12:26) ‘To you, ’ and not to him. Since he brought himself out of the collective, he denied his roots. You shall blunt his teeth and say to him: “For the sake of this [worship,] Hashem did what He did for me when I was brought out of Mitzrayim.” (Exodus 13:8) ‘Did for me, ’ and not for him. If he was there, he would not have been redeemed.

Again, the Haggadah gives the child a different answer than the Torah prescribes. “When your children ask you, ‘What is this worship to you?’ you shall say to them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to Hashem, who passed over the Israelites’ houses in Mitzrayim when striking the Egyptians.’” (Exodus 12:26-27) This verse later appears in the section describing Rabban Gamliel’s three things.

.תָּם מָה הוּא אוֹמֵר? מַה זאֹת? וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו בְּחֹזֶק יָד הוֹצִיאָנוּ יי מִמִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים

Tam, ma hu omer? “Mah zot?” Ve-amarta elav “be-chozek yad hotzi’anu Adonai mi-Mitzrayim mi-beyt avadim.”

The simple child, what do they say? “What is this?” (Exodus 13:14) And you will say to them, “with the strength of His hand, Hashem brought us out of Mitzrayim, from the house of slavery.” (Exodus 13:14)

Jewish tradition holds that even though B’ney Yisra’el practiced idolatry in Mitzrayim and didn’t deserve redemption, Hashem used a “strong hand” to overrule strict justice to redeem us. The Lubavitcher Rebbe said in his commentary on the Haggadah: “Just as God used a strong hand to ‘overcome’ the attribute of justice, we too must use a strong hand to overcome those aspects of our personalities that impede our spiritual growth. We then experience a spiritual liberation from our personal enslavements.”

וְשֶׁאֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ לִשְׁאוֹל – אַתְּ פְּתַח לוֹ, שֶׁנֶאֱמַר, וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר, בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה יי לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִצְרָיִם

Ve-she’eyno yodeya lishol—aht petach lo, she-ne’emar:
“Ve-higadta levincha bayom ha-hu leymor: ‘Ba’avur zeh asah Adonai li be-tzeiti mi-Mitzrayim.'

As for the one who doesn’t know how to ask a question—you open for them, as it is written, “And you will tell your child on that day, ‘For the sake of this, Hashem did what He did for me when I was brought out of Mitzrayim.’” (Exodus 13:8)

Hebrew is a very gendered language. The text of the first three children is addressed to fathers: “ata emor lo” and “ata hak’he et shinav” both use the masculine you and the Torah quote “ve-amarta alav” uses the male form of the verb. But concerning the child who doesn’t know how to ask, the text uses the feminine you: “at petach lo.” Some explain that this is because a child’s mother is their first teacher.

Others say “at petach lo” doesn’t mean “you open for them” but “you open yourself for them.” In other words, you enter the feminine part of yourself to care for them. Opening ourselves completely so that others may learn from our experiences, even our traumatic experiences with the violence of oppression, takes tremendous strength and radical vulnerability.

The verse starting with “for the sake of this” takes on a radical new meaning with this in mind: for the sake of this moment, for the sake of teaching the next generation the lessons of the past, I survived and made it out of slavery. My personal freedom isn’t an end unto itself, it’s a means to collective liberation. This verse appears four times in the Haggadah, first with the wicked child, where it’s used to exclude, then here, where it’s used to transmit intergenerational wisdom.

❉ Which of the four children do you relate to the most? Why?

haggadah Section: -- Four Children

Source: Min Ha-Meitzar: An Abolitionist Haggadah from the Narrow Place by Noraa Kaplan