“And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you: (Wicked son) what do you mean by this service? ... –Exodus 12:26
And you shall tell your son (who doesn’t know how to ask) on that day, saying: It is because of that which the L-RD did for me when I came forth out of Egypt… -Exodus 13:8
And it shall be when your son (the simpleton) asks you in time to come, saying: What is this? You shall say unto him: By strength of hand the L-RD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage.” –Exodus 13:14
In the future, your (wise) child may ask you, 'What are the rituals, rules and laws that G-d our L-rd has commanded you?' You must tell him, 'We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, but G-d brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. –Deuteronomy 6:20-21
The Jerusalem Talmud understands the above four verses to be alluding to four different types of children, whom we all know so well from the Passover Seder. One is wise, one is wicked, one is simple and one does not even know how to ask. Unbeknownst to many, there is also a fifth son: the son who never actually made it to the Seder! So how do we educate these different children? What message should we be imparting to them?
And you shall tell your son (who doesn’t know how to ask) on that day, saying: It is because of that which the L-RD did for me when I came forth out of Egypt… -Exodus 13:8
And it shall be when your son (the simpleton) asks you in time to come, saying: What is this? You shall say unto him: By strength of hand the L-RD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage.” –Exodus 13:14
In the future, your (wise) child may ask you, 'What are the rituals, rules and laws that G-d our L-rd has commanded you?' You must tell him, 'We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, but G-d brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. –Deuteronomy 6:20-21
The Jerusalem Talmud understands the above four verses to be alluding to four different types of children, whom we all know so well from the Passover Seder. One is wise, one is wicked, one is simple and one does not even know how to ask. Unbeknownst to many, there is also a fifth son: the son who never actually made it to the Seder! So how do we educate these different children? What message should we be imparting to them?
The message that is imparted to every single child is that the Torah is timeless and accessible to all, that is, to all those who wish to partake in it. The wicked son excludes himself from the Jewish people, so he is told that his only future to be had is with the Jewish destiny. With his current attitude, he would have remained in Egypt. The child who doesn’t know how to ask knows good and well about everything else in life. It’s just regarding Judaism that he suddenly becomes uninterested. The simple son struggles with some learning challenges. He could make his own websites and he knows how to get to the highest level of the latest video game, but regarding Torah he is learning challenged. Even the wise son has issues. He is just too smart. He asks good questions, but if does not get his answer immediately and to the point, who knows where he will seek that answer from. And so, these four sons present parents with their dream educational opportunities. Even for that fifth son, they must find some way to get him to the Seder. So where do we begin?
This coming Sunday, approximately 100 million people will watch the 43rd Super bowl. Companies are shelling out up to $3 million dollars each for thirty second commercial spots. And you have the most famous companies such as Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi Cola, and Coca Cola all vying for your attention. Why do these household names need to spend millions upon millions of dollars if we already know about them? So listen closely. The reason is that not only will you know about the name; you will now associate it as being the cool and hip product. I am by no means advocating the messages of the advertisers, but let us take note. Their goal is to create associations. To make people want to pick it up and buy the product. They want you to know that your way of life is simply boring without that coke/pepsi/beer/car/fill in the blank. All that you are missing is the advertised product.
Every day we beseech G-d to help us make Torah so enjoyable that it will endure for all of our descendants. We say this in the morning Blessings of the Torah: “Please G-d, sweeten the words of your Torah… May we and our offspring and the offspring of Your people the House of Israel – all of us – know Your Name and study the Torah for its own sake.” The Torah is the sweetest, coolest, and most hip product available. We merely must market it correctly. If we only had a fraction of the budget of the 67 commercials set to air this Sunday, we would be able to make our case much better. Everybody has heard of Torah, but what associations do they have with it? Maybe we should learn from Millers High Life. In an apparent snub to the extravagant commercials, they will be airing numerous one-second ads on local TV stations during the game. As they put it, “We have such a quality product we only need one second to tell our story. It represents us well, and people are going to get it."
The Torah is the world’s best product. It doesn’t need 30 second ads, and it doesn’t even need one second ads. However, our children are not seeing the real product. They are being exposed to all of the world’s luxuries with the message that those fleeting pleasures are cool. We must tear them away for a moment and show them the beauty of the real product. Each child will need his individual guidance, but for all children we must make our message loud and clear: Nothing else holds a candle to Torah. And so this coming Sunday, the least that we can do is learn a little Torah during those commercials. If we want to imbue ourselves and our children with the message of what is truly important, let us make the move and not just pay lip service to it.
Do you want the fifth son to show up at the Seder? Well you better make the case for him that the $200 million collectively spent this year on commercials are showcasing the wrong products. But if you don’t believe that yourself, no wonder he is not at the Seder.
May we all merit bringing that fifth son back to the Seder, and may we all set the example for our children that Torah is the only High Life!
