One of the most interesting customs of the Pesach seder is to “steal the afikoman.” Weeks before Pesach the children plan their afikoman present and where to hide the afikoman. What is the source of this custom? Is this custom...
When you eat matzah at the Pesach Seder, you have to eat matzah that you own. How much do you have to own it? The Gemara (Pesachim 38a) equates the mitzvos of eating matzah and of taking challah...
As part of the introductory section of Maggid – the main part of the seder, during which we talk about Yetziat Mitzrayim – the Haggadah teaches us, Vchol Hamarbeh Lesaper B’yetziat Mitzrayim Harei Zeh Meshubach. This means that...
We Are What We Do One of the perennial topics that come up at the Seder is the nature of the dialog between the Wise Son and his father in the Hagaddah narrative. The Wise Son asks his...
In the blessings that we say after Krias Shema in the morning liturgy, we include a puzzling statement. “V’Yam Suf bakata, v’zeidim tibata, vy’didim he’evarta, vay’chasu mayim tzoreihem – Hashem split the Red Sea, drowned the sinners, His beloved he...
Baruch Hamakom, Baruch Hu. Baruch she’nosan Torah l’amo Yisroel, Baruch Hu. K’neged arba bonim dibra Torah. Echad chochom, echad rasha, echad tam, v’echad sh’eino yodei’a lishol. -- Blessed is Hashem (Who is the Place of Everything), Blessed is He....
One of the halachos of baking matzah is (Shulchan Aruch 459:2), Don’t leave the dough idle without working it – even for a moment.” Working with the dough prevents it from becoming chametz. The Satmar Rebbe zt’l said that this halacha hints at...
Receiving a diagnosis of irreversible kidney failure can be devastating. The uncertainty, medical complexities, and urgent need for a transplant can leave patients and their families feeling overwhelmed. This is...
A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.—Max Lucado When, Not If This week’s parsha, Vayikra (and much of the book of Vayikra) is about sacrifices, and though these laws have been...
The Auburn Tigers are going to the Final Four, the coveted final rounds of the annual March Madness, NCAA College Championship Basketball. For the first time, three of the final four teams have Jewish head coaches, a statistical...