B"H
Tuesday, Adar 25, 5781 / March 9, 2021
Q. On Shabbat and holidays we eat the meal right after reciting the Kiddush. Yet, at the Seder we recite the Hagadah after Kiddush, before eating the meal. Why don't we eat the meal immediately after the Kiddush, and recite the Hagadah after?
A. Our rabbis instituted this order to make sure that the participants stay awake for the entire Seder. If we would eat the meal first, there is a good chance that people will become drowsy and not tell the story of Passover and not perform the Seder properly.
Q. Matzah is mentioned the first time in the Torah much before the Exodus. With whom?
A. In Parshat Vayeira, (Genesis19:3) the Torah tells us that when the two angels came to Sodom, to destroy the city, Abraham’s nephew, Lot, invited them into his home and he baked matzah for them and they ate. The story with the angels and Lot, which took place 400 years before the Exodus, happened on the same day as the Exodus, 400 years later.
Q. We always wash our hands before eating bread. Yet, at the Seder we wash our hands twice. In addition to washing our hands before making the blessing over the matzah, we also wash our hands before dipping the vegetable into the salt-water. Why?
A. It is a Halachic custom to wash our hands before eating something which we dip into liquid. Thus, before dipping into the salt-water we wash our hands.
Q. How old was Moshe when G-d sent him to command Pharaoh to let the Jewish people free?
A. Eighty years old. He led the people through the desert for 40 years. He passed away at age 120.
Q. How many people left Egypt at the time of the Exodus?
A. The Torah relates that over 600,000 men over the age of twenty left. In addition, there were women, children, the elders and a multitude of people from other nations that went out with them. It stands to reason, that a few million people left Egypt at the time of the Exodus. According to our sages, only one fifth of the Jewish people came out of Egypt. The other four fifths didn’t want to leave. They died during the plague of darkness.
On the lighter side:During an earthquake, Mollie and Hymie got trapped in their basement.
When the rescuers finally reached them, they hit the wall with a hammer.
Who is there? Mollie asked. The Red Cross,” came the reply.
“We already gave!” screamed Hymie.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY & SUCCESSFUL DAY