Pesah Archives | Academy for Jewish Religion

30 03, 2026

D’var Torah Pesah – 5786

Marisa Amith2026-03-30T15:06:53-04:00

From Spectators to Stakeholders: The Architecture of Spiritual Freedom

A D’var Torah for Pesah

By Rabbi Scott “Shalom” Klein

The festival of Pesah serves as the foundational narrative of our people, transitioning us from the degradation of “Avadim Hayinu” (we were slaves) to the existential responsibility of a free nation. While the Seder night focuses on the historical memory of the Exodus, the deeper theological challenge lies in the internal transformation required to sustain that freedom. By examining the Haggadah’s insistence on personal identification with the past and the Netivot Shalom’s (Rabbi Sholom Noah Berezovsky) insights on the nature of spiritual liberation, we find a timeless blueprint for leadership and communal resilience.

The central command of the evening is found in the Mishnah (Pesahim 10:5): “בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם” ”—”In every generation, one is obligated to see oneself as if he personally went out from Egypt.” This is not merely a call to Read More >

D’var Torah Pesah – 5786Marisa Amith2026-03-30T15:06:53-04:00

15 04, 2025

Pesah 5785

Linda Ripps2025-04-15T16:23:15-04:00

Normally I look forward to my trips to Israel with much anticipation and excitement. Even following the horrific attack of October 7, and with an ongoing war, I was still looking forward to being with my people.

Pesah 5785Linda Ripps2025-04-15T16:23:15-04:00

26 04, 2024

Shabbat Hol HaMoed Pesah – 5784

Linda Ripps2024-04-26T13:39:54-04:00

During the festival of Pesah, it is customary to read Shir HaShirim – Song of Songs, a beautiful collection of poetry extolling the splendor and the power of love.

Shabbat Hol HaMoed Pesah – 5784Linda Ripps2024-04-26T13:39:54-04:00

3 04, 2023

Hol HaMoed Pesah 5783

Linda Ripps2023-05-03T12:08:28-04:00

Click here for an audio recording of this D’var Torah

A D’var Torah for Hol HaMoed Pesah
By Rabbi Ira J. Dounn (’17)

The Passover story, which we recount in our seders this week, highlights Moses (on behalf of G-d) telling Pharoah to “Let My people go!” (Exodus 5:1)

And yet I wonder: What are the things that we are holding onto? What do we need to let go of in our own lives?

The pre-Passover purge might indicate that we’re not too shabby at letting go of things. The spring cleaning that features the throwing away, giving away, or selling of our hametz is a reminder to us that it’s good to let things go.

But anyone who has had the unenviable job of cleaning out the home of a loved one who has passed away might find the task more daunting. In this instance, the only physical thing we have left of the person are their Read More >

Hol HaMoed Pesah 5783Linda Ripps2023-05-03T12:08:28-04:00

22 04, 2022

D’var Torah – Shabbat Shemini d’Pesah 5782

Linda Ripps2022-11-09T15:00:57-05:00

Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah

A D’var Torah for Shabbat, the seventh day of Pesah
By Rabbi Cantor Sam Levine (’19)

One of the key passages of the Passover Haggadah comes at the end of the maggid section: b’khol dor vador hayyav adam lir’ot et atzmo ke’ilu hu yatza miMitzrayim – “In every generation, a person is obligated to see themselves as though they personally had come out of Egypt…” This is a call to memory – to a national memory that has, to a large degree, been constructed for us. We are enjoined to “regard ourselves” as though we had personally come out of Egypt based on the information that we have been given, or at least based on a version of the story that has been passed down to us.

We are the people of memory. The Hebrew root z-kh-r (meaning “memory” or “remembering”) appears 228 times in the Hebrew Bible, and the Read More >

D’var Torah – Shabbat Shemini d’Pesah 5782Linda Ripps2022-11-09T15:00:57-05:00

13 04, 2022

D’var Torah – First Day of Passover 5782

Linda Ripps2022-11-09T15:00:46-05:00

Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah

A D’var Torah for the First Day of Passover
By Rabbi Marc Rudolph (’04)

This Friday marks the beginning of Passover. I am certain that most of us will be keenly aware that this seder will be the third time we hold our Seders since the Pandemic. The Pandemic has taken a very heavy toll on us all. Over the past two years, 4 in 10 adults have reported symptoms of depression and/or anxiety, up from one in ten before the Pandemic. There has been an increase in the number of people reporting difficulty sleeping, focusing, working, and learning. Consumption of alcohol and other drugs as well as overeating has increased. There has been an overall worsening of chronic medical conditions due to the worry and stress of the coronavirus and the social isolation as a result of it.

Therefore, I was intrigued when I came Read More >

D’var Torah – First Day of Passover 5782Linda Ripps2022-11-09T15:00:46-05:00

2 04, 2021

Shabbat, the 7th Day of Pesah – 5781

Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman2022-07-29T11:24:21-04:00

Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah

A D’var Torah for Shabbat, the 7th Day of Pesah
By Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman

The seventh day of Pesah is highlighted by Shirat Hayam – the song that we sang when we saw that we were finally free from Egypt. It is impossible to overstate the importance of Shirat Hayam. It represented a moment of the highest spiritual heights. Indeed, the rabbis established that we would recite neither the Shema nor the Amidah without introducing them with words of the Shira. The conclusion of the seder with the words “Leshanah Habah B’yerushalai’im” and the conclusion of the festival with Shirat Hayam indicate the amazing spiritual aspiration of Pesah.

Yet despite the celebration of such spiritual greatness, or perhaps because of it, I would like to focus this d’var Torah on the five verses that follow the Shira and conclude our Torah reading on Read More >

Shabbat, the 7th Day of Pesah – 5781Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman2022-07-29T11:24:21-04:00

25 04, 2019

Last Days of Pesah – 5779

Rabbi Heidi Hoover2022-07-29T11:24:35-04:00

A D’var Torah for the last days of Pesah
By Rabbi Heidi Hoover (’11)

We are coming now to the end of Passover, our joyful spring holiday. At our seders, we asked questions, we learned, we discussed how we were slaves in the land of Egypt, and how we were freed from that degradation and pain by the strong hand and outstretched arm of God, who took us to be God’s people, and who we continue to acknowledge as our God. It is a journey from slavery to freedom, from sadness and despair to rejoicing.

On the last day of Passover, we traditionally read about the crossing of the Reed Sea and the song of celebration the Israelites and Moses sang on the other side. Some Jews, particularly among the Hasidim, have a tradition of pouring water on the floor and singing and dancing to remember the crossing of the Read More >

Last Days of Pesah – 5779Rabbi Heidi Hoover2022-07-29T11:24:35-04:00

17 04, 2019

First Days of Pesah – 5779

Rabbi Irwin Huberman2022-07-29T11:24:36-04:00

Hametz of the Soul: The Yeast Within

A D’var Torah for the first days of Pesah
By Rabbi Irwin Huberman (’10)

“And what prevents us from performing Your will? It is the yeast in the dough.” Rabbi Alexandri

The Vilna Gaon (1720-1797), one of our greatest rabbis, provided an important answer to a question which each of us may ask from time to time.

“Why are we here?”

Indeed, we navigate our lives, apply our God-given talents, interact with others, but ultimately what is the purpose of it all?

The Vilna Gaon considered this question, and suggested that, simply stated, the purpose of life is to turn ourselves into something better.

In his commentary on the Book of Proverbs – the Vilna Gaon expanded on verse 4:13 which reads “hold fast to discipline; do not let it go; Keep it. It is your life.”

And how did he interpret the phrase “it is your life?” The Vilna Gaon noted: Read More >

First Days of Pesah – 5779Rabbi Irwin Huberman2022-07-29T11:24:36-04:00

28 03, 2018

Pesah 5778

Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD2018-03-28T12:36:50-04:00

Shir haShirim and the Kodesh Kodashim: Two Holies of Holies
A D’var Torah for Pesah
by Rabbi Jill Hammer

I once had the privilege of being at a Torah service led by rabbi and chantress Shefa Gold. At the service, she unrolled a scroll of the words of Shir haShirim, a scroll she had created to make the point that the Song of Songs is its own Torah. Rabbi Akiva famously said that: “all the scriptures are holy, and the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies!” (Mishnah Yadayim 3:5). One might say that just as we approach the Holy of Holies during the autumn new year via the story of the high priest’s entry into the sanctum during the Yom Kippur ritual, so we approach the Holy of Holies at the spring new year (Pesah) via the Song of Songs. There is a long-standing practice to read the section of Leviticus describing Read More >

Pesah 5778Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD2018-03-28T12:36:50-04:00

All shall unite to do God's will with an open heart.

All shall unite to do God's will with an open heart.

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