B"H

Friday, Nissan 7, 5778 / March 23, 2018

This Shabbat we read from the Torah Parshat Tzav – the second Parsha in the Book of Leviticus.

This Shabbat, being that it is the Shabbat before Pesach. is called, “Shabbat Hagadol” – “The Great Shabbat.”

One reason it is called “The Great Shabbat,” is that the Exodus from Egypt took place on a Thursday. On the Shabbat before, Jews experienced a great miracle, when the first-born Egyptians, realizing that they will soon be afflicted by the plague of the first-born, fought with Pharaoh's men to let the Jewish people out of Egypt. Thus, the Shabbat before Pesach is called, “The Great Shabbat,” as the great miracle of the process of the Exodus began then.

In this week’s Torah portion, Tzav, the Torah describes many of the sacrifices which were offered in the Holy Temple.  One of them was the "Korban Toda" - "Thanksgiving offering". 

Korban Todawas brought by an individual in thanks for G-d's kindness in one of the following four categories:

1) When one is freed from prison;

2) Recovered from a serious illness;

3) When someone made it to safety after a sea voyage;

4) Traveled safely through the desert.

Since, with the destruction of the Temple, there are no sacrifices, we recite the special blessing of "HaGomel," at the Torah, to thank G-d for delivering us safely from one of the above situations.

Offering thanks to G-d for the good He does for us is basic to Judaism.  We recite Psalm 100: "A Psalm of Thanksgiving," each day (except for Shabbat and holidays) during the daily morning service. This reminds us to appreciate the miracles which G-d performs for us daily. These daily miracles are those we take for granted. They are veiled in what we call nature.

Pesach humor: Before Pesach Abe goes to his boss and says, "We're doing some heavy house-cleaning tomorrow for Pesach. My wife needs me home tomorrow to help with moving the stuff."

"But we're short-handed, Abe," the boss replies. "I just can't give you the day off."

"Thanks, boss." says Abe, "I knew I could count on you!"

SHABBAT SHALOM

Montrealcandle lighting time: 6:53 / Shabbat ends: 7:56 

Monday, Nissan 10, 5778 / March 26, 2018

The lighter side of Pesach

The Afikoman  -  One of the most exciting moments at the Seder is when the children hide (I don’t like using the word “steal”) the Afikoman and later negotiate a reward in exchange for its return.  The reason for this practice is so that the children will remain involved in the Seder and stay awake until the end when we eat the Afikoman. 

Little Heshele was known to be an exceptionally bright child.  Once, at the Seder table, Heshele hid his father's Afikoman as always.  When it was time to eat the Afikoman, his father asked for it.

"I will return it in exchange for a new coat!" Heshele replied mischievously.  After some discussion, his father agreed, but decided to teach his son a lesson about asking for such an expensive gift.

Upon receiving the Afikoman, Heshele's father distributed a piece to every one at the Seder table except to his young son!

"I will be glad to give you a piece... but only if you take back your request for a new coat!" his father said to Heshele, smiling triumphantly.

Now it was Heshele's turn to smile.  "I suspected you might make such a condition, so I saved a piece of the Afikoman for myself before I gave it back!"

*****    *****     *****

The Four sons-  Four times, with different expressions, the Torah commands us to tell our children about the Exodus.  Thus, in the Hagadah at the Seder we are told that The Torah speaks about four sons; the wise son, the wicked son, the simpleton and the child who doesn't know what to ask.

Four elderly women are sitting on a bench in Florida. No one is saying a word.  A half hour goes by, an hour... two hours.  Finally one of them sighs, "oy"; the other one says "oy vei"; the third one responds, "oy vei is mir."  The fourth one looks at them and says, "Enough talking about the children already!"

*****     *****     *****

Before Pesach we do a thorough cleaning of the house. We clean everywhere, even the cabinets.

It’s amazing what influence, his Jewish children, Jared and Ivanka, are having on the President. This why, now before Pesach, Trump is cleaning out his cabinet…  

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

B"H

Tuesday, Nissan 11, 5778 / March 27, 2018

At the beginning of the Seder we recite the following passage, “This is the poor bread which our fathers ate in the land of Egypt.  Let anyone who is hungry come in and eat.  Let anyone who is needy come in and make Pesach.  This year we are here; next year we will be in the Land of Israel.”

It is important to make sure that the one’s who are in need, should have the necessary supplies for every holiday. This is especially true for Pesach, when the prices for the necessities for the Seder and the week of Pesach are so much more expensive.

This is why every community has a special “Maot Chitim” fund, to raise funds to help those in need.  

The story is told of Rabbi Naftoli of Ropshitz that upon returning home after delivering his annual pre-Passover fund raising appeal (“Maot Chititm”) to the members of his congregation, to help the poor and needy, his wife asked him, "Was your appeal successful?"

"At this point I can only say that it was half successful," he answered.

"What do you mean 'half' successful?" his wife wondered.

"You see,” replied Rabbi Naftali, “In the mitzvah of charity there are two parties; the poor who receive and the wealthy who have to give.  I was successful with the first half -- in that the poor are willing to receive.  I’m still not sure about the other half -- whether the rich are willing to give!"

Q.  What do the shank bone and the hard boiled egg on the Seder Plate represent?

A.  At the time of the Holy Temple, Jews would offer two sacrifices in honor of the Passover holiday -- the Peasch sacrifice ("Korban Pesach") and the Chagigah sacrifice ("Korban Chagigah"). The bone recalls the Pesach sacrifice; the hard-boiled egg symbolizes the Chagigah sacrifice. 

Another reason: Our Sages tell us that at the time of our rejoicing, we must also remember the destruction of the Holy Temple.  Our happiness cannot be complete without the Temple.  Although we have gathered at the Seder table to rejoice and celebrate our freedom, at the same time, we also remember our Holy Temple and mourn its destruction.  This is symbolized by the egg which a mourner eats at the first meal when starting Shiva. The egg is round and symbolizes the cycle of life.

The night of the Seder is always the same night of the week as the 9th of Av ("Tisha B'Av"), when both Temples were destroyed. Thus, the egg is placed on the Seder Plate to remember the Temple. 

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY