1310 essays
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Essays on the weekly Torah portion, the holidays and Jewish thought.
Pesach Haggadah – Staff Eats Staffs "And with signs," this refers to the staff, as it is said: "Take into your hand this staff with which you shall perform the signs." Pesach Haggadah – Shabbos Hagadol- Shabbos of Maturity There are many reasons given for the designation of the Shabbat that precedes Passover, as Shabbat Hagadol-the Great Sabbath. The primary reason given is that on the Sabbath immediately preceding the Exodus from Egypt the Egyptians were informed of the impending “tenth plague”… Pesach Haggadah – The Four Answers One of the significant aspects of the Seder is the emphasis we place on questions; specifically, the Four Questions. Pesach Haggadah – The Four Sons in Ascending Order Blessed is the Omnipresent One, blessed be He! Blessed is He who gave the Torah to His people Israel, blessed be He! The Torah speaks of four children: One is wise, one is wicked, one is simple and one does not know how to ask. Pesach Haggadah – The Seder: The New World Order The obsession with doing things in their proper order is exemplified in the Passover evening service known as the Seder, which means order. Despite the fact that the Passover Seder is devoted to the theme of freedom, which often implies the lack of order, freedom in Judaism… Pesach Haggadah – The Sixteen Sons? The wise one, what does he say? "What are the testimonies, the statutes and the laws which the L-rd, our G-d, has commanded you?" You, in turn, shall instruct him in the laws of Passover, [up to] `one is not to eat any dessert after the Passover-lamb.' Pesach Haggadah – The Ten Plagues (I) Blood. Frogs. Lice. Wild Beasts. Pestilence. Boils. Hail. Locust. Darkness. Slaying of the First-born. Pesach Haggadah – The Ten Plagues (Ii)-The Last Three Blood. Frogs. Lice. Wild Beasts. Pestilence. Boils. Hail. Locust. Darkness. Slaying of the First-born. Pesach Haggadah – The Ten Plagues (Iii) Blood. Frogs. Lice. Wild Beasts. Pestilence. Boils. Hail. Locust. Darkness. Slaying of the First-born. Pesach Haggadah – The Ten Plagues the First Step to Freedom Blood. Frogs. Lice. Wild Beasts. Pestilence. Boils. Hail. Locust. Darkness. Slaying of the First-born. Pesach Haggadah – This Is the Bread of Affliction “A Kosher and Happy Passover” This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat; whoever is in need, let him come and conduct the Seder of Passover. Pesach Haggadah – Windows 2448-5776 man of seventy years old, yet I did not succeed in proving that the exodus from Egypt must be mentioned at night-until Ben Zoma explained it: "It is said, `That you may remember the day you left Egypt all the days of your life;' now `the days of your life' refers to the days,… Parsha Ki Sisa – 13 Your Lucky Number While the number one is not thirteen, there are 13 ways that point us to one. Parsha Ki Sisa – A Tale of Two Sets of Tablets It is almost an article of faith that natural is superior to man-made because it is G-d’s handiwork. Judaism disagrees with the premise that there is anything that is not a Divine product. Parsha Ki Sisa – Aaron's Role in the Golden Calf What we want the most is not necessarily what we need the most. The perfect person is one who truly knows what to want Parsha Ki Sisa – Don’t Confuse the Daled and the Reish The difference between good and evil may be a hairbreadth. One hairbreadth of a distortion can bring destruction. And one hairbreadth of good can bring salvation! Parsha Ki Sisa – Don’t Underestimate Your Power All it takes is one outsider to do one act to change the world for good. Parsha Ki Sisa – From Rosh Yeshivah to Rebbe Every Jew possesses and inner light The teachers of Torah possess an external light. Our Rebbes/leaders radiate their inner light on their faces. Parsha Ki Sisa – Half-Day Danger and Salvation Life, as good as it is, needs clarity for it to be truly good. Living in Galus-exile is to live without clarity. Geulah-Redemption is to find that clarity. Parsha Ki Sisa – Half-Day, Six Hours and Ten Commandments There are three dynamic forces in our lives that we must learn to channel in the right direction. They are our spirituality, our emotions and our G-dly nature. We can use these forces for both evil and good.