Pesach's Four Sons And Four Questions In Ma-Nishtanah

On the holy holiday of Pesach, we read the Haggadah to remember that Hashem had taken us out of slavery. As I was reading the Haggadah, something inspired me to think further. Why are there Four Sons and four questions in Ma-Nishtanah? Do they relate in anyway? Of course it does. Each Son relates to one of the Questions in Ma-Nishtanah.

I will begin with the wise son. He asks, "What are these laws that don’t have any rational reason?" For example, “why don’t we eat pigs?” Many people think it’s because of health reasons. But the Torah itself says it's really because of a spiritual reason. Why? The pig is the only animal in the world that has the outward symbol of kosher (split hooves), but not the inward symbol (the chewing cud). The pig

He says, "What's all this Passover stuff to you? I don't need this." He excludes himself from the Jewish people. He's mocking, making fun of it all. He says, "It's all a joke and I don't care about being a Jew." He's not even asking a question. He's hoping you won't have an answer. Why isn't the Wicked Son placed last? Isn't he the worst? Why did they list him after the Wise Son? Because even though the Wicked Son is fighting -- at least he's engaged in the discussion and you've got somebody to talk to. He's alert and thinking. If you can turn him around, you've got another Wise Son. You may ask why the Wicked Son is listed here at all. Because he's still part of the Jewish people. We have to make an effort to reach him. This parallels the Third of the Four Questions: "On this night we eat bitter herbs." The Wicked Son represents bitterness, because he has spent a lifetime trading in for his desires. On the surface, he says, "Who needs God? I want the fancy house and the expensive car." And in fact, we may look at him and think he's really having a good time. But you'd have to live with him to see how bitter his life really is. To be chasing your desires is a bitter trap. So on Passover, we eat the Marror and dislike it because that's how it feels to be running after your desires, miserable and

So what do we tell him? "Because of this that God did for me..." The fourth son is uninterested. He's not thinking and he doesn't care. So we tell him the same answer we gave to the Wicked Son -- because apathy (lack of interest) can be very easily turned into hate and rejection. That's why Judaism says apathy is an aspect of evil. And that's why this son is listed last. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. The fourth son corresponds to the fourth question: "On all other nights we eat sitting or reclining." At the Seder, we're free and we should use that opportunity to direct ourselves toward meanings. But the unmotivated son is laid back and could go either way. He could change and care, or he could just slump back and go to sleep. The hardest thing about reaching Jews today is they can sometimes be apathetic. They could not care; they could not want to listen. The lesson that you could learn from this is that we should be truly grateful of what we have. We have Hashem who gives us almost everything we want. We have family, friends, and an education. Most people would work day and night just for one sense of pleasure. Just look around and see how privileged and special we