Everybody wants spirituality. To be a good person means to walk in G-d's ways. How does that translate to reality? The only guidebook to spirituality that has stood the test of time is the Hebrew Bible. The Bible says that the Jews will be a light onto the nations. But if you are not a born Jew, you have to convert, which is not so easy!! If you do convert, it is a lot of work to be a Jew (three times a day prayer, keeping kosher, observing the Sabbath).
This blog will show you how to be Jewish without the work!!
Thursday, April 14, 2022
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky: The secret meeting that changed the political map and The Baking of Matzot in Egypt and What's My Line? - Nat King Cole; Joey Bishop [panel] (Mar 19, 1961) and my parents -Mother Nature and Father Time and Passover, also called Pesach- Biblical Hebrew: חַג הַפֶּסַח Ḥag hapPesaḥ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, starts tonight!
Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement.
Following the preparation of the Paschal Lamb (the Passover sacrifice) in Egypt it was time to bake the dough. Midnight came and with it came the tenth plague- the slaying of the firstborn. The Egyptians literally chased the Children of Israel out of Egypt, so much so that that the dough in the ovens didn't have time to rise. The Jews left Egypt with the unleavened bread- matzot- which they had baked. "The people picked up their dough when it was not yet leavened, their leftovers bound in their garments on their shoulders" (Exodus 12;34).
Rashi explains the word leftovers: the remains of the matzah and maror.
The "horns" added to the word "misharotam" (leftovers) testify as to what the Children of Israel carried in their garments.
The Three Musketeers at the Kotel
The Three are Rabbi Yehuda Glick, famous temple mount activist, and former Israel Mk, and then Robert Weinger, the world's greatest shofar blower and seller of Shofars, and myself after we had gone to the 12 gates of the Temple Mount in 2020 to blow the shofar to ask G-d to heal the world from the Pandemic. It was a highlight to my experience in living in Israel and I put it on my blog each day to remember.
The articles that I include each day are those that I find interesting, so I feel you will find them interesting as well. I don't always agree with all the points of each article but found them interesting or important to share with you, my readers, and friends. It is cathartic for me to share my thoughts and frustrations with you about life in general and in Israel. As a Rabbi, I try to teach and share the Torah of the G-d of Israel as a modern Orthodox Rabbi. I never intend to offend anyone but sometimes people are offended and I apologize in advance for any mistakes. The most important psychological principle I have learned is that once someone's mind is made up, they don't want to be bothered with the facts, so, like Rabbi Akiva, I drip water (Torah is compared to water) on their made-up minds and hope that some of what I have share sinks in. Love Rabbi Yehuda Lave.
Passover, also called Pesach- Biblical Hebrew: חַג הַפֶּסַח Ḥag hapPesaḥ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, starts tonight!
According to the Book of Exodus, God commands Moses to tell the Israelites to mark a lamb's blood above their doors in order that the Angel of Death will pass over them (i.e., that they will not be touched by the death of the firstborn). After the death of the firstborn Pharaoh orders the Israelites to leave, taking whatever they want, and asks Moses to bless him in the name of the Lord. The passage goes on to state that the passover sacrifice recalls the time when the LORD "passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt".[4] This story is recounted at the passover meal in the form of the Haggadah, in fulfillment of the command "And thou shalt tell (Higgadata) thy son in that day, saying: It is because of that which the LORD did for me when I came forth out of Egypt."[5]
Nowadays, in addition to the biblical prohibition of owning leavened foods for the duration of the holiday, the Passover Seder is one of the most widely observed rituals in Judaism
Burning chametz on the morning before Passover begins
Leaven, in Hebrew chametz (Hebrew: חמץ ḥamets, "leavening") is made from one of five types of grains[64] combined with water and left to stand for more than eighteen minutes. The consumption, keeping, and owning of chametz is forbidden during Passover. Yeast and fermentation are not themselves forbidden as seen for example by wine, which is required, rather than merely permitted. According to Halakha, the ownership of such chametz is also proscribed.[65]
Chametz does not include baking soda, baking powder or like products. Although these are defined in English as leavening agents, they leaven by chemical reaction, not by biological fermentation. Thus, bagels, waffles and pancakes made with baking soda and matzo meal are considered permissible, while bagels made with sourdough and pancakes and waffles made with yeast are prohibited.[66]
The Torah commandments regarding chametz are:
To remove all chametz from one's home, including things made with chametz, before the first day of Passover [67] It may be simply used up, thrown out (historically, destroyed by burning), or given or sold to non-Jews.
To refrain from eating chametz or mixtures containing chametz during Passover.[68]
Not to possess chametz in one's domain (i.e. home, office, car, etc.) during Passover.[69]
Observant Jews spend the weeks before Passover in a flurry of thorough housecleaning, to remove every morsel of chametz from every part of the home. Jewish law requires the elimination of olive-sized or larger quantities of leavening from one's possession, but most housekeeping goes beyond this. Even the seams of kitchen counters are thoroughly cleaned to remove traces of flour and yeast, however small. Any containers or implements that have touched chametz are stored and not used during Passover.[70]
In Israel, Passover lasts for seven days with the first and last days being major Jewish holidays. In Orthodox and Conservative communities, no work is performed on those days, with most of the rules relating to the observances of Shabbat being applied.[92]
Outside Israel, in Orthodox and Conservative communities, the holiday lasts for eight days with the first two days and last two days being major holidays. In the intermediate days necessary work can be performed. Reform Judaism observes Passover over seven days, with the first and last days being major holidays.
Like the holiday of Sukkot, the intermediary days of Passover are known as Chol HaMoed (festival weekdays) and are imbued with a semi-festive status. It is a time for family outings and picnic lunches of matzo, hardboiled eggs, fruits and vegetables, and Passover treats such as macaroons and homemade candies.[92]
Passover cake recipes call for potato starch or Passover cake flour made from finely granulated matzo instead of regular flour, and a large amount of eggs to achieve fluffiness. Cookie recipes use matzo farfel (broken bits of matzo) or ground nuts as the base. For families with Eastern European backgrounds, borsht, a soup made with beets, is a Passover tradition.[93]
While kosher for Passover packaged goods are available in stores, some families opt to cook everything from scratch during Passover week. In Israel, families that do not kasher their ovens can bake cakes, casseroles, and even meat[94] on the stovetop in a Wonder Pot, an Israeli invention consisting of three parts: an aluminium pot shaped like a Bundt pan, a hooded cover perforated with venting holes, and a thick, round, metal disc with a center hole which is placed between the Wonder Pot and the flame to disperse heat.[95]
Seventh day of Passover
Shvi'i shel Pesach (שביעי של פסח) ("seventh [day] of Passover") is another full Jewish holiday, with special prayer services and festive meals. Outside the Land of Israel, in the Jewish diaspora, Shvi'i shel Pesach is celebrated on both the seventh and eighth days of Passover.[96] This holiday commemorates the day the Children of Israel reached the Red Sea and witnessed both the miraculous "Splitting of the Sea" (Passage of the Red Sea), the drowning of all the Egyptian chariots, horses and soldiers that pursued them. According to the Midrash, only the Pharaoh was spared to give testimony to the miracle that occurred.
HasidicRebbes traditionally hold a tish on the night of Shvi'i shel Pesach and place a cup or bowl of water on the table before them. They use this opportunity to speak about the Splitting of the Sea to their disciples, and sing songs of praise to God.[citation needed]
Second Passover
The "Second Passover" (Pesach Sheni) on the 14th of Iyar in the Hebrew calendar is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Numbers[97] as a make-up day for people who were unable to offer the pesach sacrifice at the appropriate time due to ritual impurity or distance from Jerusalem. Just as on the first Pesach night, breaking bones from the second Paschal offering or leaving meat over until morning is prohibited.[98][99]
Today, Pesach Sheni on the 14th of Iyar has the status of a very minor holiday (so much so that many of the Jewish people have never even heard of it, and it essentially does not exist outside of Orthodox and traditional Conservative Judaism). There are not really any special prayers or observances that are considered Jewish law. The only change in the liturgy is that in some communities Tachanun, a penitential prayer omitted on holidays, is not said. There is a custom, though not Jewish law, to eat just one piece of matzo on that night.[100]
Because the house is free of leaven (chametz) for eight days, the Jewish household typically eats different foods during the week of Passover. Some include:
Ashkenazi foods
Matzah brei – Matzo softened in milk or water and fried with egg and fat; served either savory or sweet
Matzo kugel – A kugel made with matzo instead of noodles
Charoset – A sweet mixture of fruit, fresh, dried or both; nuts; spices; honey; and sometimes wine. The charoset is a symbol of the mortar the Israelites used for building while enslaved in Egypt (See Passover seder)
Chrain – Horseradish and beet relish
Gefilte fish – Poached fish patties or fish balls made from a mixture of ground, de-boned fish, mostly carp or pike
Passover noodles – Noodles prepared from potato flour and eggs, served in soup. Batter is fried like thin crepes, which are stacked, rolled up and sliced into ribbons.[101]
The story of Passover, with its message that slaves can go free, and that the future can be better than the present, has inspired a number of religious sermons, prayers, and songs – including spirituals (what used to be called "Negro Spirituals"), within the African-American community.
Rabbi Philip R. Alstat, an early leader of Conservative Judaism, known for his fiery rhetoric and powerful oratory skills, wrote and spoke in 1939 about the power of the Passover story during the rise of Nazi persecution and terror:[102]
Perhaps in our generation the counsel of our Talmudic sages may seem superfluous, for today the story of our enslavement in Egypt is kept alive not only by ritualistic symbolism, but even more so by tragic realism. We are the contemporaries and witnesses of its daily re-enactment. Are not our hapless brethren in the German Reich eating "the bread of affliction"? Are not their lives embittered by complete disenfranchisement and forced labor? Are they not lashed mercilessly by brutal taskmasters behind the walls of concentration camps? Are not many of their men-folk being murdered in cold blood? Is not the ruthlessness of the Egyptian Pharaoh surpassed by the sadism of the Nazi dictators? And yet, even in this hour of disaster and degradation, it is still helpful to "visualize oneself among those who had gone forth out of Egypt." It gives stability and equilibrium to the spirit. Only our estranged kinsmen, the assimilated, and the de-Judaized, go to pieces under the impact of the blow....But those who visualize themselves among the groups who have gone forth from the successive Egypts in our history never lose their sense of perspective, nor are they overwhelmed by confusion and despair.... It is this faith, born of racial experience and wisdom, which gives the oppressed the strength to outlive the oppressors and to endure until the day of ultimate triumph when we shall "be brought forth from bondage unto freedom, from sorrow unto joy, from mourning unto festivity, from darkness unto great light, and from servitude unto redemption.
What's My Line? - Nat King Cole; Joey Bishop [panel] (Mar 19, 1961)
> Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky: The secret meeting that changed the political map
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky: The secret meeting that changed the political map
Former minister reveals details of nighttime visit to leading rabbi's home and its far-reaching consequences.
Former Likud minister Silvan Shalom has divulged hitherto unknown details of a secret meeting that took place between Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky ztz"l and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, thirteen years ago.
"Yesterday I paid a condolence call to the famliy of Rabbi Kanievsky," Shalom wrote on his Facebook page. "I was already familiar with the famous residence at 23 Rashbam Street which I visited several times when I was Finance Minister and later as Foreign Minister.
"I was in the habit of making regular visits to Rabbi Kanievsky in order to receive his blessing and advice and discuss various issues with him," Shalom related. "Before the elections of 2009, I accompanied Benjamin Netanyahu, who was then running for the premiership, to Rabbi Kanievsky's home, to ask him about the possibility of the United Torah Judaism party joining a Likud-led government."
According to Shalom, relations between the two parties were then at a low ebb. "Likud and UTJ were at loggerheads back then," he wrote, "in part due to the financial decrees imposed by the Sharon government. But due to the close relationship between myself and the Rabbi's son and grandson, I succeeded in arranging a secret nighttime meeting at the Rabbi's home, and the result of that meeting was that UTJ joined the Netanyahu government that was formed after the elections. That was the beginning of a close relationship between the two parties that spanned long years."
Shalom concluded, "The wisdom, modesty, and unique manner of Rabbi Kanievsky will be sorely missed by the Jewish People, his family, and his many students - among them myself."
See you Sunday bli neder or Monday for those that live outside of Israel as you celebrate two days of Passover as opposed to one day in Israel. The whole holiday is either 7 or 8 days, but since the eighth day comes out on Shabbat-for everyone there will be an 8-day break from bread, even though for those in Israel, the day is only Shabbat, not Passover so there will be a different reading on the second Shabbat from those that read from Passover.
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