Passover Guide for the Perplexed, 2017
Some history, some fun facts, some Halacha and... Next Year in Jerusalem
Why Civilizations Die
Judaism survives due to Divine Providence and the foresight of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai who resisted cognitive breakdown, created solutions for tomorrow's problems, who did not seek refuge in the irrational, and who quietly built the Jewish future.
Daf Yomi
An Implacable Foe
‘Therefore Those Who Speak In Parables Say…’
(Bava Basra 78b)
Chametz Credit Card
If the chametz has already been legally nullified and physically burned, so that it is neither owned nor possessed by a Jew, why is it necessary to sell it to a non‑Jew?
Talk The Talk Vs. Walk The Walk
The mitzvah is called sippur yetzias Mitzrayim – telling the story of how Hashem took us out of Egypt. Why is there an emphasis on the telling?
Chametz Order
Mr. Leiner checked the calendar, and saw that April 13 came out on Chol HaMoed. I was considering taking off that day, Mr. Leiner told his boss.
Q & A: Selling One’s Chametz
Question: Why do we sell our chametz. Wouldn’t it be simpler to just dispose of it? Why go through this charade every year?
Malka Berg
Admitting To A Debt Nobody Claimed (Siman 75:10)
In all of these situations, the person volunteering the admission is exempt from any payment.
Pesach – Season Of Emunah
He feels joy in his heart as he revels in the abundance of his bumper crop. And then he looks out at his neighbor’s field. Meager. Undergrown. Spotty.
The Iron Crucible of Egypt
Instead of commending this righteous individual for his proper ethical standards, he has been attacked by the left wing media!
Sha’ar Yeshuv
This tragedy was in the forefront of my mind as my family and I wended our way, the week before Pesach, from Har Nof, Jerusalem to Sha’ar Yeshuv.
Tzav: What Does It Mean To Survive?
In this week's video, we explore a section of Talmud that teaches about the 4 individuals who would bring a Thanksgiving sacrifice - but one of these four doesn't belong. Who is it?
Pesach: God’s Sporadic Presence and Overwhelming Absence in Human History
It is perhaps this fact that makes Pesach so relevant for our own times: The realization that even at the time of the greatest of miracles, many years passed without God revealing Himself openly.
Kitnyot: Truly a “Has-Bean”
This is one of those posts that falls into the category of “If only I had the power to……..”
“Holier than Thou” Chumras – A Cause For Concern
Our sages write that one of the reasons the second Beit Hamikdash was destroyed was because of blind hatred.
Providing Jewish Education to Strengthen Israel’s Soldiers
IDF religious ideology is being hotly debated in media and between politicians and National Religious rabbis. Jewish education programs run by the IDF in conjunction with Torah groups are essential
The Pesach of Today
Open your eyes. Read and absorb the Haggada and realize, at the end of the seder, when we say “Next Year in Jerusalem,” we commemorate not just the Pesach of the past, but the Pesach of the present!
Redeeming Relevance: Pesach’s Missing Eighth Day
Appreciate that Pesach is NOT meant to end on the seventh day, but at Shavuot. With that in mind, we need to work harder to accept making the days of sefirat ha-omer into days akin to chol ha-moed
Tefillah: A Meeting With Hashem – My Loving Master
After living as slaves for so many years, we could now be transformed into avdei Hashem - Hashem's slaves.
The Supremacy Of Sacrifices
We have lost the idea of what it is to give ourselves to Hashem with totality and completeness.
Parshat Vayikra: The Trouble with Sacrifices
Perhaps the institution of sacrifice is grounded in deep symbolism, the meaning and urgency of which escapes our modern mentality.
Switching One’s Defense (Siman 75:9)
The reason the defendant must pay the money or return the item if he admits that he borrowed the money, stole it, or had something of value deposited with him but does not know whether he repaid the money or gave the item back, is as follows.
Q & A: Preparing The Home And Kashering Utensils For Passover
Question: Must one spend great sums of money and invest much effort in making one’s home kosher for Passover? Not all of us have unlimited funds.
Anonymous
Daf Yomi
Must A Typical Sale Be Generous?
‘A Seller Sells Generously’
(Bava Basra 71a)
How Far We Have Fallen
Rebbetzin Jungreis, a”h, continues her discussion of Jewish homes-the pain and tragedy in some; the joy and love in others. This week, the Rebbetzin focuses on the love of Jewish mothers.
Vayikra – With A Small Aleph
So am I deserving of honor? The body I occupy sure is; just look at what it can do. But I am that little guy inside – small, insignificant, unimportant.
Substitute Kvatters
But, that morning my cold had developed into something far worse and I just knew I wasn’t going to get to the bris.
The Sin Offering
Why should unintentional sins require atonement at all? What guilt is involved? Had the offender known he would not have done what he did. Why then does he have to undergo a process of atonement?