Parshat HaChodesh

Exodus 12:1-20

Preparations for Passover now begin in earnest. On the home front, Operation Chametz-Free House kicks into high gear. On the synagogue front, we supplement the weekly Torah readings with two special Pre-Passover readings.

Though most of the mitzvot were transmitted at Sinai, a select few were given beforehand. They were yet in Egypt when they received their first mitzvah: it’s time to establish a new calendar!

On the Shabbat before the month of Nissan we read the Torah portion concerning the Passover offering. Learn profound spiritual symbolism in the intricate laws associated with the Pascal Lamb.

Every year on the holiday of Simchat Torah, three different portions of the Torah are read during the morning service. a) V'zot Haberacha, the last portion of the Torah; b) the holiday maftir reading, discussing the day's Temple service; c) Bereishit, ...