The Wise Son

"...And on the seventh day (of Pesach), it should be a holy day to you, all manner of work should not be done..." Tonight (Thursday) - Sat. night, we celebrate the last 2 days of Passover. As we take advantage of these final days of the holiday of spiritual freedom, we must think about how we can internalize the message of Passover into our daily lives for the coming summer and year.


A woman once approached Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik of Brisk with a strange question. She wanted to know whether one could use milk instead of wine for the four cups of the Seder, since she simply could not afford the wine. He responded by giving her a large amount of money. One of the Rabbi’s students asked him, “I understand you gave her money because she can’t afford the wine, but why so much?” The Rabbi explained, “If she wants to drink milk at the Seder, it is obvious she has no meat for Pesach” (since the laws of kashrut forbid the mixing of milk and meat). “So I gave her enough to buy both wine and meat for the entire holiday.”

One of the core parts of the "Haggadah" (story of Pesach) is the discussion of the 4 sons, the 1st of which is the wise son. What does it truly mean to be wise, and how can we become that? As seen by the Rabbi in the story, sometimes it's not enough to just be "smart". Rather, we have to be perceptive. People always taught me in yeshiva: "If you want to answer, to teach somebody, don't focus on just answering their question, as if that's their real, only issue. Answer the questioner." We have to have a sensitive "ear" to hear what people are saying behind their words. This enables us to perceive the speaker's true needs and respond accordingly with compassion. We have to learn, study, reflect, and grow. But that wisdom we attain, must always lead practically to the betterment of the world and others around us. It is easy for wisdom to stay locked away, remote from the outside world. But as our Sages say: 'He whose good deeds exceed his wisdom, his wisdom will endure. But he whose wisdom exceeds his good deeds, his wisdom will not endure.' (Ethics of our Fathers 3:9)

May we never cease learning, especially the holy words of the Torah and our Sages, and may the wisdom we attain permeate our thinking and the way we view others and the world around us. For a beautiful insight on this, see this video: Gratitude

Wishing you a lovely end of Pesach & a Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel