Editing The Fifth Son (section)

== History ==
Throughout history, the children of Israel were divided into four types, where even those who strayed from the path of Torah and mitzvot still saw themselves as Jews and maintained a connection with their Jewish brothers. This is expressed in the text of the Passover Haggadah which refers to the Four Sons, where even the Wicked Son sits around the table.

Following world events during the period of the First and Second World Wars in particular, an approach of shaking off Jewish identity emerged, which led to distancing from Torah observance and mitzvot among many segments of the Jewish people.

Before Passover 5717 (1957), the Rebbe sent a general letter to all Jewish people with emphasis on educators, strongly rejecting this approach and reflecting the fact that this approach caused millions of Jews to disconnect from their source. He called the descendants of that generation with this approach the children of "the Fifth Son" who is not mentioned in the Haggadah at all because, due to his distance and disconnection, he does not participate at all in the Seder table.

The Rebbe wrote that alongside returning to traditional education, care should be taken in advance to ensure that as many Jews as possible from this category participate in the Seder, which will strengthen their Jewish connection and awaken hope that they will fully return to their source.

Rabbi Avraham Alashvili notes that in a letter to the Rebbe before his thirty-sixth birthday, his father Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson mentions that "there is another fifth son" and brings Torah parallels to the matter. Rabbi Alashvili speculates that the Rebbe drew this idea from his father. But he qualifies this with the fact that the Rebbe explains the concept of the Fifth Son differently than explained in his father's letter.

Rabbi Uri Sherki noted that the concept appears in one of the notebooks of Mr. Shoshani who was in contact with the Rebbe.
Description	What you type	What you get
Italic	''Italic text''	Italic text
Bold	'''Bold text'''	Bold text
Bold & italic	'''''Bold & italic text'''''	*Bold & italic text*