Reading Song of Songs on Passover

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2022 | Bible Study

There is a custom to read Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) on the Sabbath during Passover to emphasize the love between the Jewish People and God which was epitomized on Passover. At face value, there seems to be little connection between the Song of Songs, a love song...

The Counting of the Omer

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2022 | Counting the Omer, Emor, Passover, Shavuot (Pentecost), Temple

On the night after the Passover Seder, the second night of Passover (the 16th of Nisan), Jews begin to perform the commandment of counting the seven complete weeks of the Omer which culminates in the pilgrimage festival of Shavuot on the 50th day. This commandment is...

The Priestly Blessing on the Intermediate Days of Passover

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 18, 2022 | Holiness, Naso, Passover, Prayer, Sukkot, Temple

Twice a year, during the intermediary days of Passover and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), a mass priestly blessing takes place at the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem. This event is usually attended by tens of thousands of Jews who are blessed by hundreds of Kohanim...

Chol Hamoed: Sanctifying the Mundane

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 18, 2022 | Bo, Passover, Sukkot

The holidays of Passover and Sukkot (Feat of Tabernacles) are seven days in Israel and eight days outside of Israel. The first day each and, on Passover, the last day (first two and last two outside of Israel) are full holidays during which, similar to Shabbat,...

The Symbolism of the Seder Plate

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 14, 2022 | Bo, Mourning, Passover, Redemption

The Passover Seder is a generational affirmation, a transmission of the story of God’s miraculous redemption of the Jewish people from Egypt. In this context, the Seder plate, as the centerpiece of the Seder table, is a visual aid, containing symbolic foods that are...