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-1 votes
2 answers
113 views

Why does the Hagada say "אחד"?

By the 4 sons - the Hagada says אחד חכם ואחד רשע ואחד תם... Why? It should just say חכם ורשע ותם ושאינו יודע לשאול!?!
Shalom L'olam's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
752 views

The fifth son at the seder

I have heard multiple times about the fifth son at the Seder table, the one that isn't there. Can anyone tell me the source or who said it?
Moishe's user avatar
  • 660
0 votes
2 answers
106 views

Why Are We Blunting His Teeth?

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)...
Shalom L'olam's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
100 views

Does Arba'a Banim mean four sons or four children?

I've seen Arba'a Banim translated as alternately four sons or four children. Are there any sources for whether the word "Banim" here means sons only or whether it should specifically be ...
dmr's user avatar
  • 323
2 votes
0 answers
67 views

Is the "wicked son" of the Haggadah an apostate Jew?

I've seen a few sources that seem to understand that the wicked son of the Haggadah was an apostate Jew, who converted to Christianity. See for example, this answer and linked article, as well as ...
רבות מחשבות's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
283 views

The Chacham, the Rasha, the She'eino Yodeya Lish'ol, and... What's that other son again?

In the Haggadah, the third son is known as the "Tam" ("innocent" or "simple") child. In the version presented in the Yerushalmi, he is known as the "Tipeish" ("stupid") child, a drastically different ...
DonielF's user avatar
  • 34.5k
7 votes
3 answers
285 views

Responses to the Chacham and Tam

In the Haggadah, the response to the Chacham is teaching him the halachos of Pesach, whereas the response to the Tam is that Hashem took us out of Mitzraim with a strong arm. Yet, in the Yerushalmi, ...
DonielF's user avatar
  • 34.5k
2 votes
8 answers
147 views

Why tell the wise son "like the Pesach rules"?

From the hagada: חָכָם מָה הוּא אוֹמֵר מָה הָעֵדֹת וְהַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה׳ א׳ אֶתְכֶם.‏ וְאַף אַתָּה אֱמָר לוֹ כְּהִלְכוֹת הַפֶּסַח אֵין מַפְטִירִין אַחַר הַפֶּסַח אֲפִיקוֹמָן.‏...
msh210's user avatar
  • 73.4k
5 votes
5 answers
287 views

What עִיקָר is the wicked son denying?

In the haggadah (Mechon Mamre's edition of the Hagadah at the end of Hilkhot Chametz u-Matzah and in some editions of the Mekhilta on Shemot 13:14), regarding the wicked son it states וּלְפִי ...
not-allowed to change my name's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
415 views

Alternative (non-gematria) explanations of the "remove his teeth" line

Are there any alternative answers historically given as to why the Hagadah (page 8 of this) says to remove the wicked son's teeth, besides the usual gematria answer? Related: Source of the "...
PixelArtDragon's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
536 views

Source of the "remove his teeth" gematria

In the Hagadah (page 8 of here), there is a line by the wicked son that says you should "remove his teeth" (hakeih et shinav). A common explanation is that the gematria of "rasha" (reish shin ein: 570)...
PixelArtDragon's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
221 views

Why are some sons' answers different from what's written in the Torah?

In the Hagada, the 4 sons ask questions (except, of course, for the son who doesn't know how to ask…), and they get answers. In most cases, both the questions and the answers are put in the form of ...
Lea Cohen's user avatar
  • 974
5 votes
4 answers
622 views

The 4 sons - the evil son

Why on the seder are we excluding the evil son. In the Hagada it says "break his teeth,etc", "tell him if you were in Egypt you would not have been redeemed". Yet on Yom Kipur we say on kol nidrei we ...
ray's user avatar
  • 21.4k
17 votes
5 answers
747 views

Why is the wicked son sanctioned for doing what the wise son does?

In the Passover Hagada we're told about the four sons. The second one is called wicked because he asks, "What is this service to you?!" ("מה העבודה הזאת לכם?") (emphasis mine), while the first one is ...
Nathan Fellman's user avatar
6 votes
4 answers
337 views

How do we know the rasha would not have been redeemed?

The Haggada speaks about 4 sons, the second of which is called "wicked". He distances himself from G-d's commandment, and in turn is told that if he had been in Egypt he would not have been redeemed. ...
yydl's user avatar
  • 38.6k