Rabbi Kenigsberg tackled this sensitive topic over a selection of fresh and tasty bagels in this week's Munch & Learn discussion group. Let him tell you in his own words about how he invited us to rethink our traditional assumptions about the wicked son:
In our pre-Pesach "Munch & Learn" session, we challenged the traditional image of the rasha, the so-called "wicked son" of the Haggadah. Far from being a villain or a scoffer, he represents a deeper struggle—one that’s uniquely tied to life in Eretz Yisrael.
In exile, the rasha engaged with mitzvot as part of a shared Jewish identity. They were his connection to a national story. But in Israel, where national identity is a lived, civic reality, he views mitzvot as outdated folklore, disconnected from the nation-building he values.
Our rasha is neither small-minded nor rebellious. Far from it. He's actually an idealist. His vision for the Jewish people is grand, but he struggles to see how Torah and mitzvot remain the backbone of Jewish nationhood, even in our sovereign state.
The Haggadah responds with a powerful verse: "Ba'avur zeh asah Hashem li"—“It is because of this [i.e. the Torah and mitzvot] that God took me out of Egypt.” This line, which appears four times in the Haggadah, reminds us that freedom without purpose is empty. The avodah, the physical performance of mitzvot, transforms us from slaves of Pharaoh to servants of God—and that, paradoxically, is the truest form of liberation.
