B"H
Monday, Adar2 18, 5779 / March 25, 2019,
The holiday of Pesach (Passover) is in less than four weeks. The first Seder will be celebrated Friday night, April 19. The second Seder (in the Diaspora only) will be celebrated, Saturday night, April 20.
Our sages tell us that thirty days before the holiday of Pesach we have to begin studying the laws of Pesach. There are many laws and customs associated with the Pesach holiday. We should be prepared for the holiday properly.
The Pesach Seder shouldn’t only be an excuse for another delicious meal. It must also have a religious flavor too. It is a time when we celebrate not only our physical freedom, but also our spiritual freedom. Our children and grandchildren deserve to benefit from the spiritual beauty of the Seder. Just like the food needs preparing, so too, to make the Seder meaningful needs preparation.
The prohibition of chametz (leavened foods such as bread, cakes, alcohol beverages etc.) during Pesach is very strict. Thus, it is very important to make sure that all products purchased for Pesach should have a reliable kosher certificate.
The holiday of Pesach has four names;
1. Chag Ha-Aviv- The holiday of spring.
2. Chag Ha-Matzot- The holiday of matzot.
3. Chag Ha-Pesach- The holiday of Pesach (Passover).
4. Z'man Cheiruteinu- The season of our freedom.
Pesach is Chag Ha-Aviv - The holiday of spring. This is the reason why we have an extra month (leap year) every few years (like this year) in the Hebrew calendar. to make sure that Pesach is celebrated in the spring. Without the extra month Pesach would have been this year in the winter.
Q. The Torah usually refers to the holiday as "Chag Ha-Matzot" - holiday of matzot. We, on the other hand, call the holiday "Chag Ha-Pesach" - holiday of Passover. Why is this so?
A. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Barditchev explains it this way. We call the holiday Pesach, which means to Pass-over – thus we give praise to G-d for sparing the Jewish people by passing over their homes when He afflicted the Egyptians.
G-d, on the other hand, calls the holiday Chag Ha-Matzot; with this name He gives praise to the Jewish people, for the trust they had in G-d, leaving Egypt in haste, without even preparing food for their journey. They only took out their raw dough which the sun baked into matzot. This shows their great faith in G-d that He would provide for all their needs in the desert, as G-d indeed did.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY