Saturday, January 17, 2015

The Fifth Son

The fifth cup at the Seder, the Cup of Eliyahu, corresponds to the fifth term of redemption, והבאתי, 'And I will bring you." It also corresponds to the Fifth Son. As we say in the Hagaddah the Torah addresses four sons: the Wise Son, the Wicked Son, the Simple Son and the Son Who Does Not Know How to Ask. The Torah doesn't teach us how to speak to the fifth son because he doesn't come to the Seder. The first two sons come and ask questions. The other two at least arrive and you can teach them something. But the fifth son, because he is absent, there is no one to speak to.

For this reason, rather than tell us how to speak to the fifth son, the Torah speaks about והבאתי, about the need to bring him. He doesn't understand that he has a need to be there. He is lacking an appreciation of his inherent holiness and did not align himself with the rest of Jewry on this night.

The fifth cup, the cup of Eliyahu, represents that power of Eliyahu to remind every Jew of who he is, "He will return the hearts of the fathers to the sons, and the hearts of the sons to their fathers." He awakens the fifth son to remember his inherent holiness and to realign himself with who he truly is.
ראצ"ק א"ב קא"נ וארא

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