Pesach

By Rabbi Yosef Shemtov:

There is a positive mitzvah to talk about Yetziat Mitzrayim and all the miracles on Pesach night. That’s why the rabbis prepared the Haggadah, so that we would be able to perform this mitzvah more easily. Therefore, one should understand what he is reading in the Haggadah. It is better to read the translation in the language he understands than to read the Hebrew if he doesn’t understand the meaning.

One part of the Haggadah talks about four types of sons that ask questions about going out of Egypt. One son is wise, the second is wicked, the third is simple, and the fourth son doesn’t know how to ask or doesn’t care to ask. The Haggadah explains that you need to answer each son differently. You need to know that not every son is the same and therefore you need to choose a specific way to deal with each one of them. We do have a mitzvah to educate our kids lovingly to serve HaShem, but what’s the best way to accomplish this?

I just read an article about chinuch habanim from Rabbi Shemuel Kaminetsky shlita. Someone asked him this very question and he answered that the best way of chinuch habanim is with a kiss and hug. The person then asked, “What if the child did something bad?” Rabbi Kaminetsky answered, “Kiss him and hug him and then let him know what you expect from him.” That person replied, “But doesn’t bad behavior sometimes warrant a punishment?” Rabbi Kamenetsky answered, “There is nothing you can accomplish with a punishment that you can’t accomplish with a hug.”

On behalf of the Yachad Rabbis, I would like to wish you and your family a happy and meaningful Pesach.