Special Parshiyot

by Rabbi Isaac Mann

Many commentators on the Haggadah have pointed to the apparent contradictory symbolism of the matzah at the Seder table. On the one hand, we start the Maggid (telling of the story) section with referring to the matzah as hah lahma anya — this is the bread of affliction — symbolizing the bread that the Israelites ate in Egypt during their slavery. On the other hand, as we get to the end of the Maggid and we quote Rabban Gamliel’s famous explanations for the basic ritual items at the Seder, we observe that the matzah is the bread that the Children of Israel ate when they left Egypt in haste, thus making it a symbol of freedom and liberation from slavery.

Well, which is it? The simple answer is both. To distinguish between the dual symbolism, we point to a broken matzah as the lahma anya and to a whole matzah Read More >

The Four Cups and the Four Children: A Meditative Journey for Passover

“I will take you out, I will save you, I will redeem you, I will take you to be my people.”

Four promises of the Exodus, represented by the four cups.

The Torah speaks of four children: one wise, one wicked, one simple, and one who does not know how to ask.

Passover Haggadah

Closing your eyes, take three breaths and find yourself at a seder table. You may be alone or there may be people with you. There are not yet any cups for the seder on the table.

The wise child, the hakham or hakhamah, enters the room and brings you the first cup for the seder. Notice whether the wise child is familiar or unfamiliar, as well as all the other attirbutes of this child. Notice what kind of cup it is that the wise child brings you. If it seems right to Read More >

PESAH: THE SECRET OF JEWISH MEMORY

by Rabbi Len Levin

The taste of the maror and haroset are imprinted in my sensory memory, along with the smell of the wine and the eggs. The crunchy feel of the first seder matzah between my tongue and teeth. The sound of the familiar melodies and the voices of my family. The sights–the candles, the tablecloth, the special dishes, the Seder plate, the family gathered around the table. All the senses are engaged. Every layer of my personality– subconscious, conscious, and superconscious–focused on the ritual commemoration of our formative historical experience.

This is how Jewish group memory gets transmitted from generation to generation. This is why we have survived for over three thousand years and have kept up the journey several times around the world and back to our homeland in living memory.

In every generation each person should see himself or herself as if he or she Read More >