Four questions on Pesach
Ask the rabbi!
FOUR SONS IN ONE
Rabbi Raymond Apple
The Haggadah tells us that the Torah speaks of four sons who each need their questions handled individually: the wise son, the wicked son, the simple son and the son who doesn’t know how to ask.
Having worked through the Seder components for many years, I have come to the conclusion that the four sons could well be one composite son who oscillates between the four characteristics we are used to.
Sometimes a person is in a wise mood, sometimes in a nasty mood; sometimes, a person is more sophisticated and sometimes less; sometimes, a person’s mind is sharp and sometimes, it is sluggish. Nobody is clever all the time. Nobody is always nice and in a good mood. Sometimes one is deep-thinking, and sometimes the opposite.
It recalls Rav Soloveitchik, who said that the beginning of B’reshit speaks of two Adams, who turn out to be one Adam who fluctuates between the poetic and the practical.
ELIJAH & THE CHILDREN
Elijah is a major figure in Jewish history and practice, not simply because of the Cup of Elijah that sits on the Seder table. Amongst his tasks is to come before “the great and awesome day of the Lord” (Mal. 3:4-24) and announce that Mashi’ach is on his way.
What will ensure the success of his mission?
The Book of Malachi says he will “turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of their children to their fathers” (Mal. 3:24).
We know, of course, that on Pesach, children are divided into four. So are the parents. There are wise parents, wicked parents, simple parents, and parents who are basically inarticulate.
The link between the parents and children is suggested by Rashi, who says that if the children are knowledgeable, it is they who will bring the parents with them into the long-awaited messianic age.
LADY JUDITH’S AFIKOMAN
The final lingering taste on Seder night is the Afikoman which has been secreted from early in the proceedings. Some families attribute special power to this Afikoman. Sephardim, in particular, often carry with them a little remnant of that year’s Afikoman.
An example is Judith, the wife of Sir Moses Montefiore. It is said that when the ship on which they were en route to Alexandria seemed to be foundering, Lady Judith remembered that she had brought some Afikoman with her.
On the fly-leaf of her prayer book, she wrote an account of the moment when she went on deck and threw the little piece of matzah into the water. Within a minute, the wind subsided, and the sea became calm. The captain came to Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore to thank them for the miracle.
Whether it was the matzah or their prayers, or the vagaries of the weather, the voyage could now continue in safety.
THE SOUND OF THE SONGS
Two years ago, when the pandemic might have undermined the tradition of the Seder, there was a lovely idea that undermined the pandemic itself.
On every balcony in Jerusalem, children came out at 8.30 pm and sang Mah Nishtanah as loudly as they could.
That year and every year, the Seder ended with the sound of singing: Addir Hu, Echad Mi Yode’a, Chad Gadya and all the beloved melodies. Somehow the prophet Elijah weaves all the tunes together, and God joins in!
Each of the Pesach songs has a fascinating history. As an example, Addir Hu is a plea to God to rebuild His Temple soon, as a sign that the Jewish people are blessed with peace and the world is redeemed. The song refers to God in an alef-bet acrostic (alef: Addir, bet: Bachur, gimmel: Gadol).
The melody, derived in the early 17th century from a German folk song, has become the musical motif of Pesach.
Rabbi Raymond Apple served for 32 years as the chief minister of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, Australia’s oldest and most prestigious congregation. He is now retired and lives in Jerusalem where he answers interesting questions.
