This week I am privileged to share an erev Shabbat thought with you from Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. Soon a group of Shir Tikvah congregational family and friends will arrive and I look forward to greeting them soon at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. I’ve come a few days early to seeContinue reading “Shabbat VaYakhel-Pekudey/Shabbat Parah: Holy Tents and Sacred Cows”
Tag Archives: Pesakh
Shabbat HaGadol: Being Commanded isn’t Enough, and Neither is Being Free
The days before and after Shabbat haGadol, “the Great Shabbat,” are meant to be a time of excitement and joy, of running around to find the best ingredients and the nicest symbolic foods for our Seder. It’s a time to clean house, to bring out the Pesakh plates and the “good” utensils in honor ofContinue reading “Shabbat HaGadol: Being Commanded isn’t Enough, and Neither is Being Free”
The Most Important Mitzvah
It’s a Portland kind of question: What do you do for Passover when you’re gluten free? In order to answer this question it’s best to first consider a more fundamental question: What is the Most Important Mitzvah of Pesakh? There are several mitzvot that all might be considered primary: 1. have a Seder and tellContinue reading “The Most Important Mitzvah”
Shabbat Ki Tisa: What Are You Doing For Pesakh?
As we know, the days marked as holy for recalling and reliving the Exodus from Egypt have marked the Jewish people and Jewish culture profoundly; for thousands of years the Jewish story has been retold every year as part of our human celebration of the spring season. We need to tell this story; we needContinue reading “Shabbat Ki Tisa: What Are You Doing For Pesakh?”
Shabbat in Pesakh II: Bring Your Memory
Holidays are special. Families gather, or they don’t, and either way, the past is more present with us. Pesakh occurs during the full moon and, like the ocean under that same moon, the tides of life grow more intense. It is not unusual for older people to die on the eve of a holiday. ThereContinue reading “Shabbat in Pesakh II: Bring Your Memory”
Shabbat haGadol: What’s So Great About It?
This Shabbat, on which we read parashat Metzora, is called the Shabbat HaGadol, the Great Shabbat, because this year it is the last Shabbat before Pesakh. There are several possible reasons why it got the moniker. One is that Jews spent more time than usual in the shul getting a refresher on all things Pesakh, especially theContinue reading “Shabbat haGadol: What’s So Great About It?”
Shabbat Shekalim: the power of a half-shekel
As of our hearing the haftarah chanted on Shabbat tomorrow, we begin the formal countdown to Pesakh. Yes, we have not celebrated Purim yet; but Purim, as much fun as it can be, is a minor holiday, and we are beginning to prepare for the most important Festival of the year. Pesakh, the commemoration ofContinue reading “Shabbat Shekalim: the power of a half-shekel”
Shabbat haGadol: Preparing for Today
This is the last Shabbat before we leave. Grab what you think you can take with you, we have no idea, really, what we’ll be facing, only that we’re leaving. בכל דור ודור חייב אד לראות את עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים . In every generation, each person is obligated to see himself as ifContinue reading “Shabbat haGadol: Preparing for Today”
Shalom Shir Tikvah Learning Community, We have begun reading from the third book of the Torah in our ritual cycle; the book VaYikra, translated as “Leviticus”. The word refers to all things priestly, literally, of the Levites. It gives precise instructions for how the ancient sacrificial cult was to be enacted, and probably was originallyContinue reading
Getting Ready for Pesakh: What Is Matzah Really About?
It’s all about the matzah. The official name – and the most ancient name – of our early spring festival is Hag haMatzot, the Festival of Matzah. Eating matzah is a mitzvah, an obligation for every Jew. But what if you’re gluten free? this question has of course already been answered by the matzah industry:Continue reading “Getting Ready for Pesakh: What Is Matzah Really About?”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 