Hi,
"'This year we are here; next year, we will be in Israel, as free people.' Some explain that after we mention Pesach we need to invoke consolation in order to calm those who are reciting the Haggadah. It is as if we were saying that although we are now in exile and slavery and we cannot perform the Pesach properly, Gd has already promised to bring us from slavery to freedom, to take us from this exile and bring us to Israel as we once were. May it be Gd's will that He fulfill His promise this year, so that we will perform next year's Pesach in Yerushalayim."
(R' Tzidkiyahu ben Avraham haRofei, Shibolei haLeket 218)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Why is Ha Lachma Anya in Aramaic?
Hi,
"Some explain that we say this paragraph [Ha Lachma Anya] in Aramaic because Jerusalemites spoke Aramaic when expressing joy…
"My mentor R' Yehudah, my second brother, explained that it is because this was their foreign tongue, for this paragraph was established in Babylon…
"My brother R' Binyamin explained that we say it in Aramaic because the sages taught in a midrash on Eichah 1:3, "Israel was not exiled until they ate chametz on Pesach, for Eichah 1:3 says, 'Yehudah was exiled from oni' and matzah is called 'bread of oni'." Therefore we say it in Aramaic, to reveal this sin to our children, so that they will be careful."
(R' Tzidkiyahu ben Avraham haRofei, Shibbolei haLeket 218)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"Some explain that we say this paragraph [Ha Lachma Anya] in Aramaic because Jerusalemites spoke Aramaic when expressing joy…
"My mentor R' Yehudah, my second brother, explained that it is because this was their foreign tongue, for this paragraph was established in Babylon…
"My brother R' Binyamin explained that we say it in Aramaic because the sages taught in a midrash on Eichah 1:3, "Israel was not exiled until they ate chametz on Pesach, for Eichah 1:3 says, 'Yehudah was exiled from oni' and matzah is called 'bread of oni'." Therefore we say it in Aramaic, to reveal this sin to our children, so that they will be careful."
(R' Tzidkiyahu ben Avraham haRofei, Shibbolei haLeket 218)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The nature of the Jew
Hi,
"For from the tops of boulders I see him, and from hills I espy him. He is a people who dwells alone, and who will not be numbered among the nations."
(Bamidbar 23:9)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"For from the tops of boulders I see him, and from hills I espy him. He is a people who dwells alone, and who will not be numbered among the nations."
(Bamidbar 23:9)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Celebrating Pesach alone?
Hi,
In 'Ha Lachma Anya' we say, "Let all who are hungry come participate in our Pesach."
"Some explain 'Let all who are hungry come participate in our Pesach' to mean that everyone should act as paupers regarding the Pesach. One should not say, 'I am wealthy, so I will acquire a Pesach offering for myself, and eat it alone.' Thus the Torah says, 'Acquire for yourselves a sheep, for your families.'"
(R' Tzidkiyahu ben R' Avraham haRofei, Shibbolei haLeket 218)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
In 'Ha Lachma Anya' we say, "Let all who are hungry come participate in our Pesach."
"Some explain 'Let all who are hungry come participate in our Pesach' to mean that everyone should act as paupers regarding the Pesach. One should not say, 'I am wealthy, so I will acquire a Pesach offering for myself, and eat it alone.' Thus the Torah says, 'Acquire for yourselves a sheep, for your families.'"
(R' Tzidkiyahu ben R' Avraham haRofei, Shibbolei haLeket 218)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Monday, March 26, 2012
Honoring people with dementia
Hi,
"The Tablets and the Broken Tablets were both placed in the Ark; this teaches that one should not disgrace a Torah scholar who has forgotten his learning due to circumstances beyond his control."
(Talmud, Menachot 99a)
Have a good day,
Mordechai
"The Tablets and the Broken Tablets were both placed in the Ark; this teaches that one should not disgrace a Torah scholar who has forgotten his learning due to circumstances beyond his control."
(Talmud, Menachot 99a)
Have a good day,
Mordechai
Sunday, March 25, 2012
The Influence of Miriam
Hi,
I was asked the following question the other day: In three separate places in Chumash, Chur is mentioned and Rashi takes pains, each time, to inform us that he was the son of Miriam.
First: Shemot 17:10, when Chur and Aharon support Moshe in his defense of the Jews during their war with Amalek.
Second: Shemot 24:14, when Moshe appoints Aharon and Chur to be the counselors of the Jews while he is away on Har Sinai.
Third: Shemot 35:30, when Chur's grandson Betzalel is appointed to lead the creation of the Mishkan.
Why does Rashi go out of his way to mention Chur's mother each time?
My first thought was that there were midrashim on each pasuk identifying Chur's lineage, and Rashi was only citing those midrashim, but I could not find any such midrash, on any of the pesukim.
So I have an idea which I would not deem "peshat", but which I like in any case: Each of these cases involves Chur in a different role, and in each case he channels the influence of his mother, Miriam.
In defending the Jews against Amalek, Chur channels his mother Miriam's defense of the Jews as a midwife (Shemot 1:17), and her defense of Moshe as he floated in the river (Shemot 2:4-9).
In counseling the Jews, Chur channels his mother Miriam's counsel to Amram and Yocheved to have more children (Sotah 12a), and her counsel regarding Moshe and Tziporah's relationship (Bamidbar 12:1, Rashi there).
In creating the Mishkan, Chur's grandson channels Miriam's act of connecting the Jews to Gd in the dance after they crossed through the Sea (Shemot 15:20-21).
And Rashi highlights this by commenting, each time, "Chur is the son of Miriam."
Just a thought.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
I was asked the following question the other day: In three separate places in Chumash, Chur is mentioned and Rashi takes pains, each time, to inform us that he was the son of Miriam.
First: Shemot 17:10, when Chur and Aharon support Moshe in his defense of the Jews during their war with Amalek.
Second: Shemot 24:14, when Moshe appoints Aharon and Chur to be the counselors of the Jews while he is away on Har Sinai.
Third: Shemot 35:30, when Chur's grandson Betzalel is appointed to lead the creation of the Mishkan.
Why does Rashi go out of his way to mention Chur's mother each time?
My first thought was that there were midrashim on each pasuk identifying Chur's lineage, and Rashi was only citing those midrashim, but I could not find any such midrash, on any of the pesukim.
So I have an idea which I would not deem "peshat", but which I like in any case: Each of these cases involves Chur in a different role, and in each case he channels the influence of his mother, Miriam.
In defending the Jews against Amalek, Chur channels his mother Miriam's defense of the Jews as a midwife (Shemot 1:17), and her defense of Moshe as he floated in the river (Shemot 2:4-9).
In counseling the Jews, Chur channels his mother Miriam's counsel to Amram and Yocheved to have more children (Sotah 12a), and her counsel regarding Moshe and Tziporah's relationship (Bamidbar 12:1, Rashi there).
In creating the Mishkan, Chur's grandson channels Miriam's act of connecting the Jews to Gd in the dance after they crossed through the Sea (Shemot 15:20-21).
And Rashi highlights this by commenting, each time, "Chur is the son of Miriam."
Just a thought.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Marror and Matzah: Preparation and Action
Hi,
"Matzah is parallel to the goal of accepting the yoke of Divine monarchy…
"Marror is because they embittered the lives of our ancestors, parallel to the act of preparation, for the act of preparation which makes us ready for the higher sanctity which will be revealed upon us in the future comes because our spirits are prepared for it…
"Therefore we say, ‘Because of this,’ and not ‘Because of these,’ plural, for it demonstrates the unity of the preparation and the goal, the unity of day and night."
(Rav Kook, Haggadah shel Pesach)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"Matzah is parallel to the goal of accepting the yoke of Divine monarchy…
"Marror is because they embittered the lives of our ancestors, parallel to the act of preparation, for the act of preparation which makes us ready for the higher sanctity which will be revealed upon us in the future comes because our spirits are prepared for it…
"Therefore we say, ‘Because of this,’ and not ‘Because of these,’ plural, for it demonstrates the unity of the preparation and the goal, the unity of day and night."
(Rav Kook, Haggadah shel Pesach)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
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