What Can We Learn From the Story of the Blasphemer?

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 12, 2022 | Community, Emor, God, Justice, Kindness and Compassion, Redemption

Leviticus (chapter 24) relates the story of a fight between an Israelite man and a half-Israelite man. The half-Israelite man was the son of Shelomith, daughter of Dibri, from the tribe of Dan, and his father was an Egyptian. In the course of the fight, the...

Yom HaAtzmaut: Celebrating Israel’s Independence

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 3, 2022 | Israel, Israel's Independence Day, Redemption

Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Day of Independence, is observed on the fifth day of the Hebrew month of Iyar. It commemorates the signing of the Israeli Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948, on the eve of the end of the British Mandate. At the time,...

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...

The Four Cups of Wine

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 12, 2022 | Messiah, Passover, Redemption, Va'eira

At the Passover Seder, Jews are obligated to drink four cups of wine while leaning to the left. The Mishnah (Pesachim 10:1) states that even the poor are obliged to drink the four cups. Each cup is imbibed at a specific point in the Seder. The first is for Kiddush...

The Biblical Symbolism Of Passover Foods

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 11, 2022 | Bo, Israel, Passover, Redemption, Temple

The home-based Passover service, known as the Passover Seder, is brimming with Biblical symbolism. Seder is the Hebrew word for order, alluding to the idea that God runs the world in an orderly manner. Similarly, there are 15 steps to the Seder and they are completed...

The “Great Sabbath”

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 3, 2022 | Bo, Nisan, Passover, Redemption, Shabbat

The Shabbat that precedes Pesach (Passover) is called ‘Shabbat HaGadol’ (the big/great Sabbath). There are several reasons for this. According to Jewish tradition, the first Shabbat HaGadol was the last Shabbat (Find out more about the laws of Shabbat) that the Jews...