The 5th Son

Sixty years ago, on the 11th day of Nissan, 1957, the Rebbe issued a landmark pre-Passover letter that in many ways reframed a core purpose of the Passover seder: To find and invite “The Fifth Son,” any Jewish man or woman who “is conspicuous by his absence from the Seder service.”

Yes, it is true. There are many Jews out there who are not going to attend a seder this Passover.  There are many who do not even know that it is Passover or that there is such a thing as a seder.

As Jews, we are all responsible for the welfare of one another. We must therefore endeavor to introduce these people to their great inheritance, the Torah, the grandeur of their Judaism. If we should happen to see a person drowning, we would dive in to save him/her without thinking twice. We must, without delay, "pull out all of the stops" to rescue those who need us most! 

It is not enough to just set an extra place at the seder table. Not any more. We must fill the extra place with a warm body. We can then fill that warm body with the warmth that is Judaism.

The Rebbe wrote: “There is no room for hopelessness in Jewish life, and no Jew should ever be given up as a lost cause.”

Over the following decades, the letter would come to inspire what today are thousands of public seders in every part of the world. But perhaps just as significantly, it created an awareness in Jewish families that there is an empty place at every Seder, and that there is a Jewish person somewhere who can be sought out to fill it. Sometimes that person can be a stranger. Sometimes that person can be a family member, friend or co-worker, or even your own child.

If you need help with anything Passover related, please reach out to Rabbi Yehuda at 347-770-4412.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!

Sell & burn your chametz by: Friday, 11:50 AM

Light Shabbat candles by: Friday, 7:13 PM

Finish eating chametz before: Saturday, 10:43 AM

Passover begins Saturday night. Light candles after 8:15 PM from a preexisting flame. 

Candle lighting on Sunday night is after 8:16 PM. Light candles from a preexisting flame.