Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com. Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein             The holiday we generally refer to as Shavuot has in fact several names each reflecting a different aspect of the holiday, either spiritual or agricultural. However, one common name seems to have no relevance today, Chag Habikurim/the holiday of the first fruit. Certainly Torah […]

Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com. Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein It was the ultimate moment of redemption. Hashem Himself came down and smote the Egyptian firstborn. The Torah says, “I shall go through Egypt…, I shall strike every firstborn…, I shall mete out punishment, I am Hashem” (Shemot 12:12). The Haggadah drives this point home: […]

Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com. Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein It is customary to set a beautiful table for the Pesach Seder, to adorn the table with silver vessels and any beautiful utensils and dishes one may have, gold, silver, crystal. What is unusual is that the Jews are not an ostentatious people. At no […]

Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com. Purim is unique among the holidays, for, as Chazal tell us, while all the other holidays will be nullified after the arrival of Moshiach, Purim (and according to some Yom Kippur as well) will continue to be celebrated. Yet Purim is not even a Biblical holiday. Why does it deserve […]

Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com. Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein Most of us are familiar with the law that states, “A man should become intoxicated on Purim to the point of no longer being able to differentiate between ‘Cursed be Haman’ and ‘Blessed be Mordechai.’ ” The question arises as to why Purim is the […]

Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com. Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein We are all familiar with the miracle of Chanukah, how, after their victory over the Greeks, the Chashmonaim returned to find the devastation the Greeks had wrought on the Temple, how the Greeks had desecrated it and defiled and broken every jug of pure oil […]

Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com. Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein In Sichot B’Avodat Hashem, Rabbi Eliezer Meizlish quotes the idea that every year before daybreak of Shavuot Hashem asks our souls, “Who wants to accept the Torah?” At that moment, the souls of Bnei Yisrael respond again, “Na’aseh v’nishma – we will do and we […]

The Gemara instructs us that on the night of the fourteenth of Nissan we are to search for chametz throughout the house by the light of a candle. We are also told that in each generation every one of us is obligated to consider himself as if he himself left Mitzrayim. How are we to […]

Among the different groups of four in the Haggadah we find the four sons. Each is different. One is wise, the second is wicked, the third is simple and the fourth is unable even to ask. The Torah speaks to each child, notes Rabbi Yehuda Kosbeh, for Hashem is “All encompassing” (Sha-dai) and has invested […]

Every event in history, every story in life has a main plot line set in a supporting background that lends it both credibility and richness. The Passover chronicle is no exception. While the main theme of Pesach is the story of our redemption and of our unflagging faith in Hashem both before the redemption and […]