Passover

Passover

SHORT ESSAY: Dayenu = We Are Enough (Passover)

Dayenu. It would have been enough for us. It would have been enough for us if You had taken us out of Egypt but not also punished the Egyptians. It would have been enough for us if You had taken us out, but not also split the Sea for us. Dayenu. It would have been enough. […]

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SHORT ESSAY: Nothing After the Afikoman (Passover)

Our answer to the wise child of the Haggadah is: ayn maftirin ahar haPesach afikoman. “One adds no after-dinner revelry after eating the Passover sacrifice.” Normally, after the meal, we might have another mini dessert party. But not tonight. The mitzvah is to end with the Passover lamb. [In our seders today, of course, since we

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SHORT ESSAY: On Bedikat Chametz (Passover)

The Sefat Emet explains that when we say that matzah is lehem oni, poor person’s bread, what we mean is that matzah is the very core of bread, the bare bones dough; spiritually, it represents the essence of our inner selves, our most basic inner divine point. On Pesach we peel away all the extra layers

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SHORT ESSAY: Listening at the Seder (Passover)

Pesach is a time to tell the story to our children. It is a time to speak. But perhaps it is also a time to listen. At the beginning of Magid, we are told a story about 5 rabbis who held a Seder together. What do we hear of their Seder proceedings? Only one teaching:

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