Retold by Rabbi Pinchas Stolper Our Sages teach that when the Messiah arrives the festivals will cease to be observed, but Purim will continue to be observed. The Midrash (Mishlei 9) derives this unusual conclusion from a statement in Megillat Esther, (9:28) “the memory of Purim will never cease from among their descendants.” Why should […]

“Anyone who eats chametz, that individual will be cut off from the Jewish people” (Shemos 12:15). Why is Matzah so basic to the celebration of Passover? Why is Passover called by the Torah and in the Siddur, the holiday of matzos? Why is this simple food a foundation of Jewish experience and ideology? Why has […]

Two unique moments of high emotional intensity punctuate the Jewish year, Neilah on Yom Kippur and Kiddush at the beginning of the Passover Seder. To the spiritually sensitive person no other moments of the year compare to these special experiences in sheer depth and overwhelming emotion. Each of these moments arrives after we have invested […]