Passover Themes

Complete liberation from Egypt required that the newborn nation rid itself of Egyptian impurity

Did Moshe question G-d's actions?

The holy obligation of time management

The festival of matzot invokes the true freedom of each and every Jew in all times and places

Why must we remember the Exodus the way we remember the Shabbat?

The last day of Passover, known as Acharon Shel Pesach, concludes the theme of liberation and redemption from exile

Little-known insights about Passover

Generally speaking, the commandments are divided fnto two categories: supra rational "decrees" (chukkim) and logical "judgments" (mishpatim).

Matzah represents the bare necessities of life. The Passover offering represents luxuries whose function is solely to give pleasure. Maror represents a middle ground between these two extremes...

A mitzvah is a commandment - G-d instructing man what He desires for man to do or not do. Understandably, then, virtually all of the Torah's 613 mitzvot are unilateral declarations of divine will

Those who offer the korban Pesach on the 14th of Iyar follow the same basic procedure as those who brought it one month earlier, on the First Passover. There are, however, several legal and procedural distinctions between the two Passovers, the most important of which concerns the prohibition against leaven.

One camp proposed to throw themselves into the sea. A second group advocated return to Egypt, a third wanted war, a fourth prayer. G-d rejected all four strategies...

How the Passover time machine allows us to experience the past—and the future

As a rule, important dates on the Jewish calendar are celebrated according to the day of the month. The war of the firstborn occurred on the 10th of Nissan, which was also the Shabbat before Passover. So why does the commemoration of this miracle follow the day of the week rather than the day of the month?

Much of our personality, self-image, and life-goals consist of molds or definitions that are based on how things ought to be. When the small details of life don’t match up, we experience pain, aggravation, and unhappiness...

Nissan is the first month, but it comes six months after the beginning of the year; Rosh Hashanah is the first day of the year, but it falls in the seventh month. Makes sense? It does, if you’re a Jew.