The wise child, what does he say (Mah hu omer)? The wise child’s question could have been *Mah omer;*the word huis unnecessary. The statement could have simply been, “the wise child says...” The expression, then, is both a question and an answer. The Haggadah says “The wise child is saying Mah.” The first three children each phrase their ‘question’ and ‘answer’ with the word, Mah. In each case the word Mah has a different connotation. For the wise child, the opening statement is, “The wise child says mah!” The word Mah implies fear and love of God, as in “And now O Israel WHAT (Mah) does the Lord demand of you? Only this to fear the Lord your God and to walk only in His paths and to love Him,”⁸⁹ and “He who suspends the earth over nothingness (b’li –mah)”⁹⁰ is associated with the Sephirah of Chokhmah, wisdom. Because it is among the first of the Sephirot (the Ten Sephirot are divided into two groups: the first three: Keter, Chokhmah, and Binah and then the seven lower Sephirot. Keter is beyond human knowledge, so Chokhmah is the first Sephirahthrough which we even begin to understanding the unfolding of the divine. It is existence, undifferentiated, the primal dot – the very beginning of existence. It is so unknowable that we call it Mah, what. But it is also divine wisdom. Sephirot are the ten enumerations or emanations in the inner life of God through which we can understand the universe. Each of them is connected with a complex series of symbols and terms so that language, knowledge, and all existence are connected to them. When the wise child asks Mah, he is acknowledging the divine source of all existence. The one who worships God faithfully begins with this word. The statement of the wise child then is both a question and an affirmation. “Mah includes the testimonies and the statutes and the laws which the Lord has commanded you.” We are called on to fulfill the commandments out of love and reverence which is called Mah, what! The wise child says, “Which the Lord commanded YOU,” out of a sense of humility. When we see how beloved the commandments are to him we should teach him all the commandments down to the law of the afikomen, so that the taste and the love of the commandments should remain in his mouth. The wicked child, on the other hand, mocks and ridicules the commandments. He also says, Mah. But for him the word ‘*Mah/*What’ implies something small and inconsequential. “He says Mah/what’s (the big deal about this service?” His statement is also not a question but a rhetorical question since he has no interest in observing God’s commandments. He says, “what is this ritual lakhem/to you,” in order to remove himself from the community. The simple child sees the deep thoughts and analysis of the wise child as well as the sarcasm of the wicked child. Both of them use the word Mah, and so he formulates his question with this word: “Mah/what is this?” What is the meaning of the word Mah? He says, “I don’t understand all the discussion in which you are engaging or why you are debating with one another on this particular night!” To him we answer, “It is with a strong hand…” that is, it is the things that happened on this night that have caused us to worship the Lord with reverence and love. The word Mah can be used to express a question (as in Mah she’eilatekh, “What is your request?”⁹¹) or a general statement (as in, Mah tovu ohalekha Yaakov, “How Good are your tents O Jacob”⁹²) It can also be used as an expression of surprise (as in Mah ta’arkhu lo, “What form can compare to God!”⁹³ Or Mah enosh ki tizk’renu, “What is man that you should be mindful of him!”⁹⁴) The wise child uses the word Mah in the sense of a general statement (Mah tov - how good are these statutes and judgments!); he is asking out of a desire to fulfill the commandments. The wicked uses Mah as an introduction to a rhetorical question (mah ha’avodah – what’s the point of this ritual?) and the simple child asks as a sincere question (mah zot – what exactly is this all about?)

footnotes: ⁸⁹ Deuteronomy 10:12 ⁹⁰ Job 26:7 The word MAH ⁹¹ Esther 5:6 ⁹² Psalm 133:1 ⁹³ Isaiah 40:18 ⁹⁴ Psalm 8:5

That the Lord our God commanded you, etkhem: This is how it is written in Deuteronomy 6:20. Some commentators prefer to read this passage, “the the Lord our God commanded us, o’tanu,” so that he includes himself in the community and doesn’t exclude himself. The testimonies (eidut) – the pesahoffering and the matzah - were performed as a way of remembering the Exodus from Egypt. The mishpatim, are those commandments which have a clear explanation. The statutes (chukim) - do not break the bones of the offering and only those assigned to the offering may eat it - are those laws that we continue to observe as a way for the present generation to keep the temple service in mind. The answer to the wise child is a response to the question, what are the statutes…we eat the afikomen as a way of reminding people of the temple connection of these laws. The wise child then is asking, “Why do we (o’tanu) observe these law” and we explain the connection between the statutes and the temple service. Even though these laws are connected to the ancient temple rite, they have become OUR laws in this time. Some argue that the word etkhem is more fitting than o’tanu in this passage. The verse regarding the wise child says, “When your child asks tomorrow…what are…which God has commanded you (etkhem),”⁹⁵ while the verse concerning the wicked child is, “When your child asks you, “What mean you (lachem) by this rite?”⁹⁶ The most important difference between these two verses is not the use of etkhem and lachem, but the time when the question is being asked. The wise child asks machar, tomorrow. While the ritual of Passover is taking place he joins in the celebration; he doesn’t want to confuse his elders while they are carrying out the Passover sacrifice. The following day after the ceremony, he asks about its significance in order to better understand meaning of the rituals. Regarding the simple child, the word machar is used suggesting that he asks about the ceremony after the fact. The wicked child, on the other hand, asks as the ceremony is happening; he is standing back and asking questions but not actively participating in the ceremony. This is all an intellectual exercise for him. His true intention is revealed by the way and when he asks his question. But if this is the case for the wise child, the Torah should have said, “Who commanded US” and not who commanded you!” Why do we use the word etkhem, you, for the wise child? There are a number of places in scripture in which the word etkhem is like the word imakhem, with you; that is, it implies you and me together.

footnotes: ⁹⁵ Deuteronomy 6:20 ⁹⁶ Exodus 12:26