THE TORAH PRESENTS THE QUESTION ASKED BY THE WISE SON (OR DAUGHTER) AT THE SEDER. ‘What are the testimonies, statutes and laws which Hashem our G-d has commanded you?’
The Torah text continues with the answer you should give: ‘You should say... we were slaves to Pharoah in Egypt and Hashem our G-d took us out of there... And Hashem commanded us to keep all these statutes, in order to be in awe of Hashem our G-d.. for our good, always..’
Earlier Chassidic teachings have asked what is meant by this question. It is clear that the young person asking the question is wise, he or she knows that the Mitzvot are in different categories: testimonies (which testify to events in the past, like the celebration of Pesach which testifies to the Exodus), statutes (which are beyond ordinary rational understanding) and laws (meaning rational laws which all societies have, such as not to steal or murder). If the son or daughter is so wise, what are they asking? The Torah repeatedly tells us that G-d gives us various kinds of Commandment, and rewards us for keeping them. Surely they know this already?
A further point is, the answer that ‘Hashem commanded us to keep all these statutes, in order to be in awe of G-d.. for our good’ seems a direct response to the wise son’s question about the Commandments. But why should the fact that we were slaves in Egypt be mentioned? Does this have some particular significance relating to the question asked by the wise son/daughter?
