We all know the famous question about the Rasha in the Hagada - why are we blunting his teeth?
Can everyone please write all the answers they know?
(besides for famous gematria; Rasha - Teeth = Tzadik)
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It doesn't say to knock out his teeth.– shmoselCommented Apr 17 at 2:10
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@shmosel - My bad, "you shall blunt his teeth" it says– Shalom L'olamCommented Apr 17 at 2:12
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Personal interpretation: As you age, your teeth become more and more blunt from decades of grinding. So, make the wicked son "age" fast by knocking some sense into him (no violence to his teeth, just yell at him if you have to) and make him see the error of his ways.– Maurice MizrahiCommented Apr 17 at 2:51
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I guess I’m not included in the “all” who know the question. What’s this about blunting teeth? When do we say that? And why– Curious YidCommented Apr 17 at 3:41
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1See Ezekiel 18:2 sefaria.org/Ezekiel.18.2?lang=he&with=all&lang2=he אָבוֹת֙ יֹ֣אכְלוּ בֹ֔סֶר וְשִׁנֵּ֥י הַבָּנִ֖ים תִּקְהֶֽינָה The parents eat sour grapes and the children's teeth are "set on edge", "blunted". It means, we put the wicked son on edge, don't let him be comfortable with his selfish point of view.– MichoelRCommented Apr 21 at 17:06
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2 Answers
I once heard a very nice alternative idea in the name of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach who in turn, quotes the main crux from the Belzer Rebbe - Rabbi Aharon Rokeach
By way of introduction, anyone who is involved in kiruv (outreach) will tell you that it is not the best educational practice to wallop a teen at risk. If you hurt them, they are more likely to veer off in the opposite direction!
The Belzer Rebbe teaches that the metzius of the world is made up of both a pnimius (internal) and chitzonius (external) manifestation, an inner and outer essence.
The Rasha is written as ר-שׁ-ע. The outer letters spell ר-ע - evil. On the surface level, this person appears as all bad. But the reality is that this is only a reflection on the outside! The שׁ, the central letter, is comprised of three branches. Each branch is symbolic of the three forefathers of the Jewish People, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. Three individuals who helped to shape and guide our religion.
Every Jew, no matter how far they have strayed, still have access to the "pintele" yid, the simple, innocent spark of yiddushkeit. Therefore, when we say "הקהה את שיניו", we are advising that we need to delicately, and lovingly, get him to tap into his "shin". In so doing, it will hopefully reawaken a desire to engage with his Judaism and continue that sense of heritage.
The Ritva (in his commentary on the Haggada, based on Yerushalmi Pesachim 10:4) sees the rasha as complaining about how the entire seder ceremony is interrupting his enjoyment of yom tov, and that he's only concerned with eating. Therefore, "blunting his teeth" is a rebuke to the rasha's gluttony:
פירשו בירושלמי: מה הטורח הזה שאתם מטריחים עלינו בכל שנה בזה לעכב את סעודתינו ולערבב שמחת החג...
אף אתה הקהה את שיניו. הרוצים ללעוס ולאכול.They explained in the Yerushalmi [that the rasha is saying]: what is this bother that you are bothering us with every year, to hold up our meal and mix up our enjoyment of yom tov...
And you should blunt his teeth. That want to chew and eat.
