Letters and Numbers of the Festivals

What is the difference between Purim, which is celebrated on the 14th day of the month, and Passover and Sukkot which are celebrated on the 15th day of their respective months? The answer lies in the fact that the number fourteen in Hebrew is represented by the letters yud (10) and daled (4), which spell the word "yad" which means "hand."

The name Chanukah itself contains many hints to the deeper meaning of the festival.

The first letter of the word Chanukah is the eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet "chet." What secrets are contained within the shape and numerical value of the letter "chet" that can teach us about the meaning of Chanukah?

Before the Torah was given, it existed as "black fire written upon white fire." This is alluded to by the unusual term "aish-dat" which is written as one word but read as two.

The mystery of a missing letter vav both in the verse that talks about shaking the lulav (Leviticus 23:40) and the verse commanding us to dwell in the sukkah (23:42).

In our prayers, the verse Shema Yisrael is followed by a verse that appears nowhere in the Torah. What is its origins? Why do we whisper it all year long and why do we say it out loud on Yom Kippur?

The mystical secrets hinted to by the numbers in the dates associated with the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem -- the 17th day of Tammuz, the 9th day of Av and the three weeks or twenty-one days between them.

The name Purim means "lotteries." The first letter of this word is the letter peh which also means "mouth." The entire story of Purim is really about the various "mouths" that spoke up at various times.

The Four Cups of the Passover Seder as they correspond to the "four sons" (the wise one, the wicked one, the simple one, the one who does not know how to ask) as well as the four matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah.) Part 1 of this class addresses the first two cups.

The Four Cups of the Passover Seder as they correspond to the "four sons" (the wise one, the wicked one, the simple one, the one who does not know how to ask) as well as the four matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah.) Part 2 of this class addresses the second two cups as wells as the cup poured for Elijah the prophet.

On the final day of Passover (Acharon shel Pesach) there is a custom to partake of a festive celebration known as Moshiach's seudah (the meal of Moshiach.) What is the source and meaning of this custom and what is its connection to the final redemption that will come about through Moshiach?