pesach
Pesach Sheini (Second Passover): the Holiday of Second Chances
Pesach Sheini (second Passover), which occurs on the 14th of Iyar, one month after the Passover offering is offered, embodies the concept of a “second chance” more than any other holiday. In the days of the Temple service, Pesach Sheini...
Reading Song of Songs on Passover
There is a custom to read Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) on the Sabbath during Passover to emphasize the love between the Jewish People and God which was epitomized on Passover. At face value, there seems to be little connection between...
Chol Hamoed: Sanctifying the Mundane
The holidays of Passover and Sukkot (Feat of Tabernacles) are seven days in Israel and eight days outside of Israel. The first day each and, on Passover, the last day (first two and last two outside of Israel) are full holidays during...
The Symbolism of the Seder Plate
The Passover Seder is a generational affirmation, a transmission of the story of God’s miraculous redemption of the Jewish people from Egypt. In this context, the Seder plate, as the centerpiece of the Seder table, is a visual aid,...
The Four Cups of Wine
At the Passover Seder, Jews are obligated to drink four cups of wine while leaning to the left. The Mishnah (Pesachim 10:1) states that even the poor are obliged to drink the four cups. Each cup is imbibed at a specific point in the...
7 PASSOVER TRADITIONS ANYONE CAN ADOPT
Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew, is a Jewish holiday commemorating the Jewish liberation by God from slavery in Egypt. In the Book of Exodus, the Hebrew Bible describes the Israelites freedom under the leadership of Moses. The holiday...
The “Great Sabbath”
The Shabbat that precedes Pesach (Passover) is called ‘Shabbat HaGadol’ (the big/great Sabbath). There are several reasons for this. According to Jewish tradition, the first Shabbat HaGadol was the last Shabbat that the Jews were in...
A Concise Guide to Passover Cleaning
The Torah commands Israel to eat matzah (unleavened bread) for the seven days of the holiday of Passover. In addition, the Torah commands Israel to remove all the leaven (in Hebrew chametz) from its homes (Exodus 12:15). Not only is...
Parshat Hachodesh: the New Moon and the Passover Offering
On the Shabbat that falls out on or before the first day of the month of Nissan, a section of the Torah is read in addition to the regular Torah reading. This Torah reading is called Parshat HaChodesh (Exodus 12:1–20), and relates what...
Ask Rabbi Tuly: Why Is the Holiday Called ‘Passover?’ Exodus 23:15
"You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread" says the Bible, so why do we refer to the holiday as 'Passover?' Rabbi Tuly provides a Jewish teaching that explains the difference between the two names and gets to the very heart of what...