2020/5780
As we go through the Pesach Seder, we come across one of the most critical life lessons. During Maggid, we read about the four sons and their associated personalities. The Chacham, the wise child, demonstrates intellect and understanding that far surpasses that of his brothers, perhaps symbolizing the many Gedolim of Jewish history. The Rasha, the evil child, represents the knowledgeable child, but instead of using his knowledge to advance his spiritual growth, he uses it to question everything he has learned as a form of rebellion and self-removal. The Tam, the simple child, represents what today would be the average Jew; knowing enough to understand the basics, yet not knowing enough to ask deep, meaningful questions at the Seder. Finally, the SheAino Yodeia Lishol, the one who doesn’t know how to ask, can be simply understood as the child so young and basic in his understanding of life and Torah knowledge itself, that he is unable to pose a question and, as a result, requires heavy guidance.
Upon further inspection, the four sons are meant to seem uniquely different from one another to stress the importance of the obligation for a parent to teach their child the message of the Seder and Yetziat Mitzrayim. However, as pointed out by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks in his Haggadah (page 34), the sons are not actually representative of different people, rather they represent successive stages in the development of an individual. The SheAino Yodeia Lishol represents a person who accepts everything they see as a given. In contrast, the Tam represents the next level of intellectual growth and curiosity, asking questions with no ulterior motive. The Rasha signifies the next stage in a person’s maturation; a stage of challenging the values which we have received. The question therefore arises: how does a Rasha grow to become a Chacham? Rabbi Sacks notes that the teenage years are shaped by constant intellectual and personal growth. They allow us to develop our own identity by “putting received values to the test.” As a result, this often leads to rebellion as a form of self-exploration. However, at the end of this period of mental trial and tribulation comes the ultimate stage in a young Jew’s life: the Chacham stage. Wisdom in Judaism is not a state, but rather a process of constant learning, growth, and spiritual renewal. The Chacham does not just understand the Mitzvot of Pesach as a whole, he understands the complexity of Torah, knowing that there is something special regarding each Mitzvah, Halachah, and Minhag. Within every question that the Chacham asks lies an answer that, in turn, leads to a deeper question, and thus reflects the fact that there is constant growth to be made as we move to new levels of understanding, whichever level we may be on.
It is true that from Tet Vav Nissan (the second night of Pesach) until Vav Sivan (Shavuot), we are presented with multiple wake-up calls illustrating the focus of Sefirat HaOmer on personal growth. The first example, as was just discussed, is the discussion of four sons, but there are many other instances seen as well.
Later in the Seder, we recite Dayeinu but are left asking what educational point is being made there. Rabbi YY Rubinstein suggests (see That’s Life, pg. 197), that Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler would say that it teaches that the multifaceted tale of Yetziat Mitzrayim is meant to be broken down into small manageable pieces. Once we finish one verse, we may move to the next; then slowly, stage by stage, one is able to attain full knowledge of the events that took place. The takeaway from here is that in order to grow to the level that we want to achieve, we need to slowly and surely build up our minds and souls to do so.
The most profound indication that is a time of reflection Sefirat Omer is the reading of Shir HaShirim on Shabbat Chol HaMoed. Pesach is also commonly referred to as Chag HaAviv, the holiday of spring, because it represents a renewal of life to the world. The Zohar and the Ohr HaChaim teach us that when Bnei Yisrael was brought out of Egypt, they were on the 49th level of Tumah, impurity, one level away from the lowest possible. The Zohar also points out that with each of the 49 days of Sefirah, the Jews rose to the point that they were on the 49th level of Kedushah, holiness, only one level away from the highest possible. Shir HaShirim serves as a call to arms, telling us of our unique relationship with Hashem, but to achieve that, we must be able to reach the same level of Kedushah as our ancestors. Today, this is done through the Minhag to learn a Perek of Pirkei Avot weekly, specifically done to strengthen and rechannel character traits. With each day and week that goes by, we are meant to focus on one particular character trait which negatively affects us, and attempt to turn it around.
With the rebuilding of each character trait, we can rebuild and advance our connection to Hashem and His Torah. That is why the Mussar masters like Rav Yisroel Salanter and the Chafetz Chaim particularly focused their works on the correction of bad Middot. Rav Salanter once wrote: “The Shulchan Aruch teaches that if a person has before him a small, perfect Challah and a large, imperfect one, he must cut the perfect Challah first. Similarly spiritual perfection takes priority over scholarly greatness” (Sparks of Mussar, page 13). Let us learn from these words the deeper messages of the period of Sefirat HaOmer: If we are so beloved by Hashem and are supposed to reciprocate that love, and to follow His Torah and Mitzvot which He commands us, we must first be able to properly approach ourselves so that we may then approach Him, as we do every year by Shavuot, commemorating the culmination of Jewish history, Matan Torah. We know sadly of the consequences of not being able to fulfill this correction of Middot, as illustrated by the loss of 24,000 students by Rabi Akiva. Ultimately, let us absorb the lessons hidden throughout the Seder and Sefirat HaOmer. Being able to learn and properly ask questions is a process, but with time and the development of character, we can all reach the level of the Chacham through self-examining and correcting. With that, we will, Im Yirtzeh Hashem, be able to regain our profound relationship with Hashem, and merit the Zechut of spending Pesach next year in Yerushalayim.