The Wicked Tzaddik

Rashi (12:27) says that one of the things that Bnei Yisroel gave thanks for was the promise that they would have children in the future.  The question of the child that the Torah records here is the question of the בן רשע.  Wouldn't it be more appropriate to give thanks for the בן צדיק?  Why is the guarantee of future generations shown through the בן רשע?  As an introduction, I will share a parable that Rabbi Y.Y. Jacobson likes to say.  The story goes that a man told his wife that he was going to be back later in the evening.  So the loving wife makes her husband's favorite soup so it will be ready for when he comes back.  She puts it in a bowl and sets it with a spoon on the table.  However, he doesn't come back that night.  She calls the police, shomrim and all the rescue teams and a week goes by, a month and people say give up, he's never coming back.  However, she never relinquishes hope of his return.  2,200 years later he comes back, he comes through the door and sees the soup on the table.  His wife had covered the soup with plastic in his absence, but it was still waiting there for his return.  He lifts off the plastic, takes the spoon and tastes the soup.  After all these years, the soup is quite cold.  Does the husband say the soup is cold, its terrible, not even fit for a dog or does he say WOW! you were waiting for 2,200 years for me?  You never gave up hope on my return?

The Rebbe said that the haggadah has four sons.  Those are the sons that are present at the seder.  However, there is a fifth son.  That is The son that doesn't make it to the seder.  Without a friendly invitation from a neighbor, friend or local Chabad House, this son isn't sitting at a seder at all.  Of course its great to have a son that's a tzaddik, a chacham, but the reality is that the majority of the sons aren't that way.  Klal Yisroel knew that they were leaving Egypt, but entering into the struggle of Jewish existence.  What will happen years down the road, will there still be children sitting at a seder or will there the trials and tribulations of our difficult history extinguish the desire of yiddeshe kinder to sit at a seder?  When the Jews are sitting at a an all-time low, will there still be four sons sitting at a seder?  The prostration of הודאה was because even the בן רשע is at the seder.  It was a הבטחה that we may stray far, we may be a בן רשע, but we are still at the seder looking for a morsel of inspiration.  Of course, this lesson is pertinent even for the צדיקים that may have stumbled by accident upon this blog.  Everyone has a little בן רשע within themselves, there is a part of a person that is agnostic, doesn't want to believe, is misled by surrounding culture etc. but that part of the person is still fortunate to come along to the seder as well.  It is a blessing that even the בן רשע will still come to the seder. 

The nimshal is that after such a long and brutal golus, our fire may be cooled, our avodas Hashem is not on par with the previous generations.  We may be בן רשע, but at lest we still are at the seder, looking forward to the ultimate geulah.

[Of course, this doesn't mean we should be רשעים, we should serve Hashem as best as we can, however, we must realize as the Chofetz Chayim said that nowadays every little amount of avodas Hashem is very important and should not be belittled.]