The recital of the Haggadah opens with the words: “This is the bread of affliction which our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry enter and eat, and all who are needy come and celebrate the Passover.” This declaration is, in fact, in accordance with a law in the Shulchan […]

The Chernobyler Rebbe used to perform his Pesach Seders in an interesting way. During the year he would record in a notebook personal miracles, as they occurred to him. Then, on the Seder night, he would go through the Haggadah at a fast pace, and spend the rest of the evening reading from this notebook […]

One of the most frustrating things that can befall a rabbi is that, while looking for a good topic for a talk during one Yomtov, he comes across something suitable for another Yomtov! (This is reminiscent of that well-known occupational hazard of pulpit rabbis, “trep zikoren”, where you remember a great thought to include in […]

The following drasha was given at the Saranac Synagogue in Buffalo on the seventh day of Passover, 5747 (1987), and transcribed from memory by Jeffery Zucker. Comments and questions are very welcome. The Pesach Haggadah, in recounting the history of the Jewish people, talks about the children of Isaac: “And I gave to Isaac Jacob […]

Before we say Yizkor, I want to share a thought with you that I read in the journal, “Dos Yiddische Vort”. It was an article by Rabbi Moshe Sherer, the head of the Agudas Yisrael in America. He describes how he was travelling by plane, together with Rabbi Yaacov Kaminetzky of blessed memory, to New […]

The following drosha was given at the Saranac Synagogue in Buffalo on the eighth day of Pesach 5747 (1987), before Yizkor, and transcribed from memory by Jeffery Zucker. Comments and questions are very welcome. In Hallel, we read a description of how the Red Sea parted: “The Sea saw and fled” (Ps. 114). The Gemara […]

It’s not until the end that we see that all the random events come together, as a result, if one would read the megillah backwards they wouldn’t be yotzei. Part seven of eight from the Torah Dimensions box set on Purim Themes.