Day 45
Identifying the Haggadah’s Wayward Son
Dedicated to Rabbi Doron (Laurence) Perez in appreciation of his magnificent contribution to South African Jewry and his commitment to bringing about a revival of the World Mizrachi movement
The seder night is the quintessential Jewish educational experience where grandparents, parents, and children sit together and retell the story of our Exodus from Egypt and the birth of our people.
We are all familiar with the memorable description of the four sons who find themselves at the Pesach seder. This famous paragraph appears at the beginning of the Haggadah narrative and in many ways highlights its central educational message. I believe that determining the identity of the enigmatic wayward son will offer a fundamental insight into one of the major challenges facing the
Jewish people today. The Haggadah states as follows:
“The wayward son asks: “What is this service to you?” (Exodus
12:26) By saying “you,” he excludes himself. And since he excludes himself from the people of Israel, he has denied a fundamental principle of our faith. You, in turn, should blunt his teeth (give a sharp and blunt answer) and say to him – “because of what Hashem did for me when I left Egypt, I do this” – implying for me but not for him. If he (the wayward son) had been there (in Egypt), he would not have been redeemed.”
