[Avodah] On the Four Sons

[Danny Schoemann]

[I just did RDS the disservice of approving a broken copy of his post.
He followed up with this completed one. -micha]

RMB wrote:
> I am enamored on a different take on the four sons, but one which
> requires seeing the tam as an ideal. This is actually very defensible,
> given "veYaaqov ish tam yosheiv ohalim".

> The four sons involve two contrasts: the intellectual vs the experiential=,
> and good vs lacking. If you get this in a fixed-width font (eg the web
> archive), here is the table I'm envisioning:

>          | intellectual | experiential
> ---------+--------------+--------------
> positive |   chakham    |     tam
> ---------+--------------+--------------
>  lacking |    rasha     |  shyl"sh

Brilliant, as usual! Using this approach, one can see how each child is
a hybrid of all 4 types.

This solves the problem of: But my son doesn't fit into one of the 4
types mentioned in the Torah.

I would go so far as to say that in different areas, the same son will
be somewhere else on the graph: One will be a Tam for Shabbos, but a
Chakham for Tzitzis, a shyl"sh regarding Maaserot and a rasha regarding
Sof Zman Shma.

The Torah gives us 4 ways of Chinuch (which I have not analysed), and it
would be fair to say that each one needs to be applied as appropriate -
for the same child!

And this may be one more key to the OTD dilemma: We may be treating our
kids as one of the 4 sons, instead of a fluctuating hybrid.

Thanks, R' Micha!

- Danny