By Rabbi Moishe Gurevitz
On Monday night, April 10, 2017, Jewish families and communities will join together for a Seder as the holiday of Passover begins. Passover is the festival commemorating the Exodus from Egypt and birth of the Jewish nation approximately 3300 years ago.
For each person, Passover will always bring to mind different things. For many people, Passover will always mean eight days of not eating Chametz – leavened bread and food that is prohibited on Passover.
For others, Passover is about the Matzah we eat at the Seder night, the four cups of wine, or the four questions. And for some, the atmosphere of the family meals comes to mind. For me, Passover and especially the Seder meal, has always been about the fifth son.
Allow me to explain. In commanding us to teach our children about the Exodus, the Bible uses four distinct expressions, to refer to four types of children — the wise son, the wicked son, the simpleton and the clueless son –- and gives the appropriate approach to each son for the story at the Seder.
However, there is a fifth son, the son that does not show up at the Passover Seder. The one who does not even know that there is a Passover Seder. It is our mission to reach out to him and invite him to be a part of it and experience the beauty of our heritage.
April 7th was the anniversary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s 115th birthday (born on this day in 1902). The Rebbe dedicated his life to teaching others and inspiring a generation to reach out to the fifth son, the one who does not even know he needs to be helped. One does not need to be a Rabbi to reach out to a neighbor, friend, or community and invite him or her to take part in their Seder.
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In the early ’70s, a major Jewish organization decided to launch a campaign. It sought to institute that at every Seder table there should be an empty chair to bring awareness that — if not for the Holocaust and the loss of six million – there would have been another person filling that seat.
Members of the organization came to see the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Brooklyn with a request. They asked him to please help them spread this message by having his emissaries around the world spread the idea of the empty chair, so that this custom will become established the world over.
The Rebbe answered, “Your idea of adding a chair is very important, and I’m ready to join the call. But, there is one condition…the extra chair should not be empty, but filled.”
The Nazis endeavored to have fewer Jews at the Seder table. The antidote to the Nazis will be to launch a call to the Jewish people today to add a chair to their table and to fill it with a Jew, who — if not for this invitation — would not have celebrated the Seder night.
The idea of the fifth son does not only apply to Passover and the Jewish people, but also for every man, woman and child in their day-to-day lives. We must always look for the one who needs help and reach out and help them to what they need, in the physical, emotional, or spiritual.
To find a Seder near you or to get some Shmurah Matzah, contact Rabbi Moishe Gurevitz at 718.772 5406 or via email.
Rabbi Moishe Gurevitz runs Chabad Young Professionals – Morristown and the Jewish Relief Agency – Metrowest. For more information or to get involved go to CYPMorristown.com or JRAMetrowest.com
