If you're looking for a discussion catalyst at your seder on the Arbaah Banim, consider bringing up the OTHER answers we give to the wise and simple sons. I guarantee you that discussion will ensue.
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| Artwork: DALL-E's response to the prompt, "oil painting of a wise son sitting next to a simple son" |
Arbaah Banim: The Alternate Version of the Wise and Simple Sons
There are two equally authoritative versions of the Arbaah Banim (Four Sons). The version which made it into our Haggadah is from the Mechilta, and an alternative version can be found in the Talmud Yerushalmi. There are a number of differences between the two, but the most striking difference is that the answers to the Wise and Simple/Foolish sons are swapped. Here are the two versions side by side:
Our Version (from the Mechilta)
The Wise Son – what does he say? “What are the testimonies, the decrees, and the judgments which Hashem, our God, has commanded you?” (Devarim 6:20). And you, too, should tell him a law like the laws of the Pesach sacrifice: we do not conclude the meal with anything other than the Pesach sacrifice.
The Simple Son – what does he say? “‘What is this?’ And you shall say to him: ‘With a strong hand Hashem took us out from Egypt, from the house of slaves’” (Shemos 13:14).
Alternative Version (from the Talmud Yerushalmi)
The Wise Son – what does he say? “What are the testimonies, the decrees, and the judgments which Hashem, our God, has commanded us?” And you, too, should tell him: “With a strong hand Hashem took us out from Egypt, from the house of slaves.”
The Foolish Son – what does he say? “‘What is this?” You, too, should teach him the laws of Pesach: that we do not conclude the meal with anything other than the Pesach sacrifice; that one should not get up from one group and enter another group.
The Mechilta is easy to understand: the Wise Son’s question exhibits a greater level of intelligence than the Simple Son’s. Instead of merely expressing his lack of knowledge with a generic, “What is this?” the Wise Son asks categorically about each type of mitzvah: eidos, which testify to God’s intervention in history; chukim, whose reasons are difficult to discern; and mishpatim, whose reasons are evident (Ritva: Haggadah shel Pesach). But what are we to make of the Yerushalmi? Does the Foolish Son’s interest in halacha indicate intellectual inferiority?
Perhaps the Yerushalmi version can be understood in light of the Rambam’s Allegory of the Palace, as stated in his conclusion to the Guide for the Perplexed (3:51). The allegory depicts a king’s subjects at varying levels of proximity to the inner sanctum of his palace. About those who are within range of the palace Rambam writes: “Of those that desire to go to the palace, some reach it, and go round about in search of the entrance gate; others have passed through the gate and walk about in the antechamber.” Rambam decodes these elements as follows:
Those who arrive at the palace but go round about it are those who devote themselves exclusively to the study of the halacha; they believe in true principles of belief based on tradition, and learn the practical worship of God, but are not trained in philosophical treatment of the principles of the Torah, and do not endeavor to establish the truth of their faith by proof.
But those who undertake to investigate the principles of religion have come into the antechamber, and there is no doubt that these can also be divided into different grades. And those who have succeeded in finding a proof for everything that can be proved, who have a true knowledge of God, so far as a true knowledge can be attained, and are near the truth, wherever an approach to the truth is possible, they have reached the goal, and are in the palace in which the king lives.
According to the Yerushalmi, the Foolish Son isn’t “foolish” because his intellect is inferior. To the contrary, he is involved in studying the intricacies of the halacha! Rather, he is foolish because he loses the forest for the trees. He is so preoccupied with the “What?” that he doesn’t even bother to ask “Why?” The Wise Son, on the other hand, has (presumably) acquired halachic knowledge of the eidos, chukim, and mishpatim, but recognizes that these are a means to an end, namely, knowledge of Hashem. Therefore, he asks questions about the purpose of the halachos he has learned: What is the significance are the miracles commemorated by the eidos? What are the hidden reasons of the chukim? What perfection can we gain from the mishpatim? A son who asks such questions is truly wise – not only in terms of his analytical ability, but in terms of his orientation to the Torah system.
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Sounds great! I would just point out that Rambams own haggadah adopts the nusach of the mechilta . . not that that is nec an indication of anything . .
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