[Avodah] Why Does the Wise Son Say, ... That Gd Commanded You .....? Why does he Seem to Exclude Himself?

[Meir Rabi]

The same problem emerges from the declaration made to the Cohen, by he who
brings Bikurim - I declare today, LaHaShem EloKeCha - to your Gd. He ought
to have said, to HaShem EloKeiNu, our Gd.

The Seforno explains this as being necessary since we previously mentioned
- El HaCohen Asher YihYeh BaYaMim HaHeim - the Cohen who will be alive at
that time. Chazal interpret this to mean, we must accept whoever the Cohen
is and not dismiss him as a poor imitation of the Cohanim of old who were
REAL Cohanim.

The Seforno now adds that not only must we accept him but we must treat him
with respect, as it says LaHaShem EloKeCha.

I think this means, by way of a parable -  my son who is learning in
Ponevez and with the same RY that I learned with, although I am a talmid of
8 years and my son is just there for the first year, tells me a Shtikkel
from HIS - OUR - YOUR Rosh Yeshivah. Each of those is true but each conveys
a very different message.
MY RY simply is crude by its ignoring of my 8 years of being a Talmid
OUR RY suggests an equivalence, but are we equal? Is not my experience and
depth of understanding of the RY not greater than that of my son who is
just beginning his life as a Talmid?

however, YOUR RY captures the proper balance. It is not a denial nor an
exclusion but a declaration of honour - you know him and his Torah better
than I do

And so the wise son is not excluding himself but honouring his parents and
living the tradition that we learn from those who are a step closer to the
Mesorah, to the ancient valuable traditions that form the fabric of our
life and our Torah


Best,

Meir G. Rabi
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