What does the wicked child say: This verse comes from Parshat Bo: "When your children ask you, 'What is this rite (avodah) to you?'" (Ex. 12:26) This verse is speaking about the wicked child who says lakhem, "to you," implying that the rite is for you and not for him. Speaking in the manner of a wicked person, he uses the word avodah, implying something that is a burden and troublesome. The wicked child says, "What is all the trouble with which you bother yourself all year?" He calls the service of God avodah, labor. Even though we find this word used for the sacrificial rites, we should presume that the wicked child has bad intentions since he removes himself from the community. Therefore you should "blunt his teeth." This means weaken his teeth as in the verse, "In those days they shall say no more, the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge." (Jer. 31:28) This means that he sees others eating and he is not able to eat the food. Tell him: "The Torah was speaking of you when it said, 'It is because of what the Lord did for me,' God did it for me and not for you!" If an evil person like you had been in Egypt, he would not have been redeemed. Why do we apply this verse to the wicked child when it is the verse that is applied to the one who does not know to ask? The reason is that the one who does not know to ask is not so different from the wicked child. The wicked child does not delve into the deeper meaning in his questions or try to understand the commandments of the God; rather he sees them as something that a person simply does without explanation.