וַיֹּ֨אמֶר הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ לְאֶסְתֵּר֙ בְּמִשְׁתֵּ֣ה הַיַּ֔יִן מַה־שְּׁאֵלָתֵ֖ךְ וְיִנָּ֣תֵֽן לָ֑ךְ וּמַה־בַּקָּשָׁתֵ֛ךְ עַד־חֲצִ֥י הַמַּלְכ֖וּת וְתֵעָֽשׂ׃
Lalu raja berkata kepada Ester pada waktu jamuan minum anggur: “Apa pun permintaanmu, itu akan dikabulkan bagimu; dan apa pun permohonanmu, sampai setengah kerajaan pun, itu akan dilaksanakan.”
Marbeh Lesaper
The wise child, what does he say (Mah hu omer)? The wise child’s question could have been Mah omer; the word hu is unnecessary. The statement could have simply been, “the wise child says...” The expression, then, is both a question and an answer. The Haggadah says “The wise child is saying Mah.” The first three children each phrase their ‘question’ and ‘answer’ with the word, Mah. In each case the word Mah has a different connotation.
For the wise child, the opening statement is, “The wise child says mah!” The word Mah implies fear and love of God, as in “And now O Israel WHAT (Mah) does the Lord demand of you? Only this to fear the Lord your God and to walk only in His paths and to love Him,”89Deuteronomy 10:12 and “He who suspends the earth over nothingness (b’li –mah)”90Job 26:7 The word MAH is associated with the Sephirah of Chokhmah, wisdom. Because it is among the first of the Sephirot (the Ten Sephirot are divided into two groups: the first three: Keter, Chokhmah, and Binah and then the seven lower Sephirot. Keter is beyond human knowledge, so Chokhmah is the first Sephirah through which we even begin to understanding the unfolding of the divine. It is existence, undifferentiated, the primal dot – the very beginning of existence. It is so unknowable that we call it Mah, what. But it is also divine wisdom. Sephirot are the ten enumerations or emanations in the inner life of God through which we can understand the universe. Each of them is connected with a complex series of symbols and terms so that language, knowledge, and all existence are connected to them. When the wise child asks Mah, he is acknowledging the divine source of all existence. The one who worships God faithfully begins with this word. The statement of the wise child then is both a question and an affirmation. “Mah includes the testimonies and the statutes and the laws which the Lord has commanded you.” We are called on to fulfill the commandments out of love and reverence which is called Mah, what! The wise child says, “Which the Lord commanded YOU,” out of a sense of humility. When we see how beloved the commandments are to him we should teach him all the commandments down to the law of the afikomen, so that the taste and the love of the commandments should remain in his mouth.
The wicked child, on the other hand, mocks and ridicules the commandments. He also says, Mah. But for him the word ‘Mah/What’ implies something small and inconsequential. “He says Mah/what’s (the big deal about this service?” His statement is also not a question but a rhetorical question since he has no interest in observing God’s commandments. He says, “what is this ritual lakhem/to you,” in order to remove himself from the community.
The simple child sees the deep thoughts and analysis of the wise child as well as the sarcasm of the wicked child. Both of them use the word Mah, and so he formulates his question with this word: “Mah/what is this?” What is the meaning of the word Mah? He says, “I don’t understand all the discussion in which you are engaging or why you are debating with one another on this particular night!” To him we answer, “It is with a strong hand…” that is, it is the things that happened on this night that have caused us to worship the Lord with reverence and love.
The word Mah can be used to express a question (as in Mah she’eilatekh, “What is your request?”91Esther 5:6) or a general statement (as in, Mah tovu ohalekha Yaakov, “How Good are your tents O Jacob”92Psalm 133:1) It can also be used as an expression of surprise (as in Mah ta’arkhu lo, “What form can compare to God!”93Isaiah 40:18 Or Mah enosh ki tizk’renu, “What is man that you should be mindful of him!”94Psalm 8:5) The wise child uses the word Mah in the sense of a general statement (Mah tov - how good are these statutes and judgments!); he is asking out of a desire to fulfill the commandments. The wicked uses Mah as an introduction to a rhetorical question (mah ha’avodah – what’s the point of this ritual?) and the simple child asks as a sincere question (mah zot – what exactly is this all about?)
For the wise child, the opening statement is, “The wise child says mah!” The word Mah implies fear and love of God, as in “And now O Israel WHAT (Mah) does the Lord demand of you? Only this to fear the Lord your God and to walk only in His paths and to love Him,”89Deuteronomy 10:12 and “He who suspends the earth over nothingness (b’li –mah)”90Job 26:7 The word MAH is associated with the Sephirah of Chokhmah, wisdom. Because it is among the first of the Sephirot (the Ten Sephirot are divided into two groups: the first three: Keter, Chokhmah, and Binah and then the seven lower Sephirot. Keter is beyond human knowledge, so Chokhmah is the first Sephirah through which we even begin to understanding the unfolding of the divine. It is existence, undifferentiated, the primal dot – the very beginning of existence. It is so unknowable that we call it Mah, what. But it is also divine wisdom. Sephirot are the ten enumerations or emanations in the inner life of God through which we can understand the universe. Each of them is connected with a complex series of symbols and terms so that language, knowledge, and all existence are connected to them. When the wise child asks Mah, he is acknowledging the divine source of all existence. The one who worships God faithfully begins with this word. The statement of the wise child then is both a question and an affirmation. “Mah includes the testimonies and the statutes and the laws which the Lord has commanded you.” We are called on to fulfill the commandments out of love and reverence which is called Mah, what! The wise child says, “Which the Lord commanded YOU,” out of a sense of humility. When we see how beloved the commandments are to him we should teach him all the commandments down to the law of the afikomen, so that the taste and the love of the commandments should remain in his mouth.
The wicked child, on the other hand, mocks and ridicules the commandments. He also says, Mah. But for him the word ‘Mah/What’ implies something small and inconsequential. “He says Mah/what’s (the big deal about this service?” His statement is also not a question but a rhetorical question since he has no interest in observing God’s commandments. He says, “what is this ritual lakhem/to you,” in order to remove himself from the community.
The simple child sees the deep thoughts and analysis of the wise child as well as the sarcasm of the wicked child. Both of them use the word Mah, and so he formulates his question with this word: “Mah/what is this?” What is the meaning of the word Mah? He says, “I don’t understand all the discussion in which you are engaging or why you are debating with one another on this particular night!” To him we answer, “It is with a strong hand…” that is, it is the things that happened on this night that have caused us to worship the Lord with reverence and love.
The word Mah can be used to express a question (as in Mah she’eilatekh, “What is your request?”91Esther 5:6) or a general statement (as in, Mah tovu ohalekha Yaakov, “How Good are your tents O Jacob”92Psalm 133:1) It can also be used as an expression of surprise (as in Mah ta’arkhu lo, “What form can compare to God!”93Isaiah 40:18 Or Mah enosh ki tizk’renu, “What is man that you should be mindful of him!”94Psalm 8:5) The wise child uses the word Mah in the sense of a general statement (Mah tov - how good are these statutes and judgments!); he is asking out of a desire to fulfill the commandments. The wicked uses Mah as an introduction to a rhetorical question (mah ha’avodah – what’s the point of this ritual?) and the simple child asks as a sincere question (mah zot – what exactly is this all about?)