In addition to Passover we also celebrate the Shabbat preceding it.  In fact this Shabbat has a special name, Shabbat Hagodol, The Great Shabbat. The Torah writes,  And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron…Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take everyone a lamb,…

Regarding the Seder night Maimonides writes, “In every generation a person is obligated to see themselves as if they, right now, have gone out from the slavery of Egypt.  So does the Torah write, “remember that you were a slave,” meaning it is as if you yourself were a slave and have gone out to…

Pesach, which falls this Friday night, commemorates the most important moment in Jewish history.  We have no commandment to remember Saini, or the day we entered Israel, but we have many which commemorate the Exodus from Egypt because this moment of leaving Egypt and becoming a nation contextualizes who we are as Jews more than…

This Shabbat, the Shabbat before Pesach, is called Shabat HaGodol, the “Big Shabbat”.  Four days before the Seder, the 10th of Nisan, the Torah commands that one must choose a lamb for the Passover offering and tie it up in preparation for the Seder.  The commentaries explain that the year the Jewish people left Egypt…

The Midrash says that this Shabbat, the Seventh day of Pesach, commemorates the day on which the Jewish people crossed the sea.   Thus, the Torah reading is the splitting of the sea and Az Yashir, the Song at the Sea.  The Talmud  has three opinions as to the mechanics of the way in which…

Maimonides writes the following about the seder in the Mishnah Torah, Laws of Chametz and Matzah, Chapter 7: “We should make changes on this night so that the children will see and will ask: “Why is this night different from all other nights?” until we reply to them: “This and this occurred; this and this…

The Talmud writes that in the month of Nisan the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt and in the month of Nisan they will be redeemed in the future (Rosh Hashanah 11a).   In Judaism, time is not just a measure of movement, but has unique textures.  Nisan is a time of freedom and redemption,…

At the end of this past weeks Torah portion is a very strange juxtaposition of ideas.  After the firstborn in Egypt are killed the Jewish people are told “therefore you use sanctify the firstborn of the Jewish people,” animals should be given to the temple and human beings are redeemed five coins.  But what does…

This Shabbat, the Shabbat preceding Passover is known as, Shabat HaGadol, “The Great Shabbat”.   What is so great about it? The Torah writes,  And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron…Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take everyone a lamb, according to the house…

Pesach is a holiday that brings with it many mitzvot and much joy and freedom, but also a great deal more limitation and rules.   Suddenly, something that is permitted all year, is indeed the staff of life, is suddenly limited.   Additionally, there is great anxiety about chometz since we can not only not…

In the past few Torah portions we have been reading of the Jewish People’s Exodus from Egypt.  The 10th plague, the smiting of the firstborn, seems to be the final catalyst which precipitates Pharos’ freeing of the slaves.  Curiously, just after the firstborn in Egypt are killed the Jewish people are told, “…therefore you shall sanctify…

This Shabbat we begin the second book of the Torah in which we read about the enslavement in Egypt and the subsequent redemption process. On Passover we drink 4 cups of wine to symbolize the four steps of redemption mentioned here. I will take you out, I will save you, I will take you culturally…

Passover is about relationships.  Over and over the Torah expresses the Passover Seder in intergenerationally related terms, for example:  “When your child shall ask you, “what is this service”….,”  “And you shall say to them, “with a strong hand G-d took us out from Egypt”…”   Our seders are held primarily in homes and involve families…

Regarding the Seder night Maimonides writes, “In every generation a person is obligated to see themselves as if they, right now, have gone out from the slavery of Egypt.  So does the Torah write, “remember that you were a slave,” meaning it is as if you yourself were a slave and have gone out to…

In a few days the Jewish people will celebrate the holiday of Passover. The central observance of Passover is the seder meal with matza (unleavened bread), maror (bitter herbs), a festive meal, four cups of wine, readings related to the Biblical exodus from Egypt 3500 years ago, and above all, dialogue including questions, answers and…

“One is obligated to see themselves on the Seder night as if they are actually now leaving Egypt.”  -Maimonides “The child at the Seder asks: “Why is this night different from all other nights?  On all other nights we eat leavened or unleavened bread but on this night only unleavened.  On all other nights we…

In the past few Torah portions we have been reading of the Jewish People’s Exodus from Egypt.  The 10th plague, the smiting of the firstborn, seems to be the final catalyst which precipitates Pharos’ freeing of the slaves.  Curiously, just after the firstborn in Egypt are killed the Jewish people are told, “…therefore you shall sanctify…