Judaism

Habbat Shalom and Chag Sameach

What a sublime chumra to take on as Pesach approaches: to keep our simcha thermostat on the highest digit without surrendering to the natural inclination of “losing it” due to tension and fatigue, two all too natural elements that come along with these days.

“Once, when I was a child in Jerusalem, I couldn’t restrain myself and asked him: ‘Is it true that you are one of the lamedvav (36) tzadikim?’... R’ Aryeh smiled and replied with one word: ‘Sometimes.’

But I've babysat on Shabbos before, said Rivki. After Shabbos, the family gave me money and you didn't stop me from accepting it.

Surprisingly enough, there are even those who avoid matza over Pesach, eating only the required amount at the Seder.

Sextuplets: No Other Solution 'A Levite Exempted An Israelite…' (Bechoros 4a)

Question: I have two questions: 1) Why does each person recite Kiddush at the Seder when only the head of the household does so the rest of the year? 2) Why do we eat an egg at the Seder? S. Schwartz

In some cases, non-Jews joined synagogues to reap the alcoholic benefits of Judaism under Prohibition!

Bnei Yisrael were not meisim lev after seeing the yad Hashem destroy Mitzrayim in front of their eyes.

The pans of blondies had suffered minor volcanic eruptions, and chocolate chip-flecked batter hung like drapes around every side.

Sephardim believe glass utensils require no kashering at all since they are non-absorbent. Ashkenazim, however, forbid kashering glass for Pesach altogether.

Jews became the only people in history to predicate their very survival on education. The most sacred duty of parents was to teach their children. Pesach itself became an ongoing seminar in the handing on of memory.

What does “Pesach” mean? Rashi (to Exodus 12:11 and 12:13 and Isaiah 31:5) explains that it is an expression of dilug and kefitzah (types...

Various great rabbis tried to influence its residents – the place was visited twice by the saintly Rav Kook, zt”l – but it seemed pointless.

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Often the only thing preventing one from doing something is a bit of encouragement from another.

Ari Fuld discusses: What are we celebrating on Passover and what are the lessons to be learned?

Pesach Sameach

Rav Eliyahu Dessler understands that this statement of losing one’s mitzvos for speaking lashon hara is one of those statements that is not meant to be taken literally.

To have mehudar matzos on leil haSeder is very important, but so is feeding the poor. Davening at the amud during the year in memory of a loved one is important, but so is stepping aside in favor of someone else in a similar situation to whom davening at the amud clearly means a lot. Time is precious, but so is giving up that time for the sake of another. How does one decide what to do?

Upon checking into the matter, he discovered that years ago a Jew had complained that the farmer had stolen the land from him.

Remember The Sabbath Day 'Both in the Times of the Temple and After' (Chullin 138)

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Question: How can one make one's home kosher for Passover with minimal expense and effort. Name withheld

According to the rules of halacha, it is not necessary to check for tiny shratzim as long as one cannot see them, and therefore cauliflower and broccoli may be eaten.

We see that suffering is not considered equal to death.

Is It Proper...? - Is It Important to Wear a Black Hat From a Hashkafic Perspective?

Then she dangled the bait in front of me: “If I pay for you to buy a gown, would that help?” Well, I guess a little bribery never hurt.

“After 2,000 or more years of exile, you could say that from the six days of Creation until this day, we have not merited to see a day like this, that we are holding elections in a Jewish state. Shehechiyanu! Blessed is the One that kept us alive and sustained us and brought us to this day!" When Torah meets democracy.

The Sages say, it's as bad as all three cardinal sins together – idol worship, bloodshed, and illicit sexual relations. Whoever speaks with an evil tongue, they say, is as if he denied G-d. Why are mere words treated with such seriousness in Judaism?