Passover

“This is the Bread of Affliction…. Next Year, May We Be Free Men.” Hay Lachma Anya, “This is the bread of affliction” is the opening passage of the Haggadah.Note the Rambam, who in his Mishneh Torah , in Hilchos Chametz U’Matzah 8:1-2 states that “The ...

Before Pesach arrives in many Jewish homes around the world, children are excited and eager for the holiday to arrive. “We can’t wait until the Seder, ” many children say. But the Seder is much more than just a holiday meal. On Pesach night, HaShem wants ...

In Jewish homes all over the world, women - and men - are busy preparing for Passover. This is not merely an excuse for a solid spring cleaning. Passover is the festival of faith and the festival of freedom. The exodus should be celebrated as an event of ...

Pesach is the festival of liberation, it celebrates a historical event: The exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. But one of the tasks that the event lays upon us is that “in every generation, and every day, a Jew must see himself as if he had that day ...

The first days of Pesach emphasize the exodus from Egypt, Israel’s first redemption. The last days of Pesach emphasize the ultimate redemption by Moshiach. The latter can be seen from the Torah-reading of the seventh day of Pesach, when we read the ...

When Sages Speak In the first section dealing with the laws of Pesach,Shulchan Aruch HaRav 429:1. the Alter Rebbe writes: It has become customary in these latter generations for the [local Rabbinic] sage to expound upon the laws of Pesach on the ...

Not Merely History The Seventh Day of Pesach commemorates the Splitting of the Red Sea, the climax of the Exodus from Egypt. Until “Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore,”Mechilta on Shmos 14:30; Likkutei Sichos, Vol. II, p. 270. they re­mained ...

Kadesh - Kiddush The first cup of wine is poured and the Kiddush is recited. When the festival occurs on Shabbat, start here: Prepare the meal of the supernal King. This is the meal of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah. The sixth day. And ...

Maggid - Retelling the Passover Story Raise the tray with the matzot and say: This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat; whoever is in need, let him come and conduct the Seder of ...