Passover

Ann Arbor Reconstructionist “Hav” Sponsors Shabbaton with Rabbi Alan Lew

Abby Weinberg — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:56:18 -0500

Start: Apr 4 2008 - 6:00pm

End: Apr 6 2008 - 2:30pm

Rabbi Alan Lew, a leader in the budding Jewish meditation movement, will be visiting Ann Arbor from April 4-6, 2008. All are invited to partake in this weekend of pre-Passover spiritual preparation. The weekend will include several talks, text study, and experiential components to take place at several Jewish venues around Ann Arbor, MI.Alan Lew 2/08

Erev Shabbat will begin with a Shabbat Dinner at 6 pm, followed by Shabbat Services including a sermon by Rabbi Lew. On Shabbat morning services will be based on a traditional model but will include considerably less text, and considerably more chanting and silence. Saturday afternoon themes of discussion will be “The Four Cups of Freedom; Four Aspects of Spiritual Liberation,” and “Leave-Taking; The Biblical Pre-Requisite to Spiritual Liberation.” The afternoon program will conclude at Beth Israel Congregation with a seudah sh’lisheet (third meal).

Sunday morning will be devoted to a meditation workshop based on his most recent book, Be Still And Get Going. "It will be an examination of Yetziat Mitzraim (the Exodus from Egypt)," says Lew, "the seminal moment of Biblical leave-taking, and the extraordinary Five-Step program for transformation that we find there."

Rabbi Alan Lew served many years as the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco, where he is currently the emeritus rabbi. He is also the founding director of Makor Or, a center for Jewish meditation adjacent to Beth Sholom. He has published several books, travels and lectures extensively, and has won numerous awards.

The cost for the whole weekend is $36. For more information, please contact Devon Fitzig at 665-4744 or dfitzig@templebethemeth.org, or see the attached flyer.

The Journey to Find Wheat Free Matzah

Rabbi Shai Gluskin — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:52:04 -0400

Vote for RachelOur own Rachel Robbins, currently working at JRF as an administrative assistant, has entered Public Radio Talent Quest with her story of finding wheat free matzah.

It's a fun, funny and insightful story.

To listen and vote, you will need to
1. Register at: http://www.publicradioquest.com

2. Go to this link and listen and vote for me: http://www.publicradioquest.com/node/2096

Go Rachel. You are awesome!

Technique for Leaven Search

Rabbi Shai Gluskin — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 10:12:57 -0400

View the video.

Fun 25-second video showing a technique for picking up a piece of bread as part of the search for leaven (chametz or cho’metz in Yiddish pronunciation) that takes place on the night before the first seder.

The Mishna in Pesachim 1:1 instructs that a house be searched by the light of a candle on the 14th of Nisan. The Mishnah seems to discourage obsessive cleaning as it instructs, "No place to which hametz has not been brought need be inspected."

The Mishnah lends no validity to the kind of thinking that would lead one to ponder, "what if an animal brought chametz from one location to another?" It says that such thinking would create a situation in we could never rest for fear that the dreaded chametz could be anywhere.

And indeed, after the search for hametz has been completed, the ritual has us declare that all remaining hametz that has been been left in our posession is now no longer chametz, but is officially considered "dust of the earth."

The message seems to be, "Try your best, but then let go."

Have a sweet and liberating Passover.

Two New Passover Recordings Available for Free Download

Rabbi Shai Gluskin — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 00:35:58 -0400

Shabbat UnpluggedHappy Passover Everyone!

Two new recordings are now available in the resources section of this site. The first is for Hassal Siddur Pesach, the concluding prayer of the Hagaddah. The second is a recording of the Kiddush (prayer sanctifying the beginning of the holiday). Enjoy!

Allegorical Interpretation of Song of Songs

Rabbi Leah Richman — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 23:58:30 -0400

Rabbi Leah Richman: Spiritual Leader of Oheb Zedeck Synagogue in Pottstown, PA.The Song of Songs, sometimes called or The Song of Solomon, is one of the five scrolls read on various holidays throughout the year. It is designated as the scroll we read for the holiday of Pesach. The entire book is a series of love songs in poetic form.

This book is unique in the books of the Bible in that not only does it not mention G-d, it also doesn't deal with religious themes explicitly. While the book of Esther also fails to mention G-d, the spirit of nationalism and the Jewish people pervades that book in a way which is lacking here.

Although this book is unique in the Bible, it is common among literature of the Ancient Near East. There is a long history of love poetry in Egypt and Mesopotamia, and Israel was probably no exception. The song has many of the common features of Hebrew poetry but does seem to have been weaved together from many sources given its different types of Hebrew.

Despite how short the book is, much has been written about it. Part of the reason for this is that people feel compelled to explain why it is included in the Bible in the first place given its seemingly secular nature.

Around the close of the 1st century CE there were great debates about whether or not it should be included in the Biblical canon. Even with all the discussion and scholarship, there is still a great deal of debate about the book's unity, origin, purpose, date, how many characters are speaking and who they are.

So why do we read this book on Passover and what can we learn from the Passover story by reading the Song of Songs? One explanation is that the Song of Songs is really an allegory for G-d's love for the people Israel. Since the story of the Exodus is also the beginning of the love relationship between G-d and Israel, Passover is an appropriate time to learn about this love.

The lover in the song is taken to be G-d, and the beloved is the people Israel. This allegorical reading was widespread among the rabbis in our tradition by the 1st century CE. The song was ascribed to King Solomon because of the few times his name is mentioned in the book and because there are references to a king. The strongest support for the allegorical interpretation comes from Rabbi Akiba who said this book was the holiest among all of the writings.

The song has also been variously interpreted for the Christian church, as a drama, as a cultic liturgy, or on its literal level as a secular love song.

In the allegorical interpretation however, we can learn more deeply about the love of G-d for Israel which is our connection to the lessons from the Passover story.

Rashi's introduction to the song puts the book in perspective of other allegories in the bible. He says that King Solomon had a type of inspiration from G-d or where he could foresee the many exiles Israel would have in the future. He also foresaw that Israel would lament the situation which had been caused by her own sin and want to return to G-d. For example, Hoshea 2:9 says that Israel is like a wife who has strayed saying, "I shall return to my first husband for it was better with me then than it is now." Hoshea was not the only prophet who described the relationship between G-d and Israel as that of a faithful husband and a straying wife. According to Rashi, the Song of Songs is this same type of allegory.

In this poetry we see that G-d has not forgotten Israel, but rather that Israel is still G-d's beloved. This is a message of hope and consolation and was interpreted in each generation as needed. In times when it seems that G-d has left us we can remember the G-d who began by saving us from Egypt with miracles and who continues to love us according to the prophets and the allegory in the Song of Songs.

When we read Song of Songs this year, one kavanah (intention) we can have is to think about this love and how it can be relevant to our times and lives today both on the national level and the personal level.

The Tension Between Law and Redemption on Passover

Rabbi Shai Gluskin — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 17:03:01 -0400

Image from Searching the Leaven: by Shai Gluskin. See the leaven searching video.Read the article.

In this article I argue that the tension between law and rebellion, between status quo and the desire to bring redemption now, is played out richly and artfully in the liturgy of the Passover Seder.

Specific references to the text are explained in this light.

Read the article.

Learn Seder Symbols with Rabbi Dan Ehrenkrantz

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 13:59:56 -0400

Study the symbols of the Passover seder plate with Reconstructionist Rabbinical College President Rabbi Dan Ehrenkrantz. A 30-minute audio file and companion PDF text are downloadable from the RRC's web site.

Family is at the Root of Passover Commandments

Aaron Seidman — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:30:41 -0400

Kosher for Passover Coke: by Mark H. AnbinderThis week's portion is Tzav and it falls on Shabbat Hagadol (The Big Shabbath), when it is traditional to talk about Pesah (Passover), rather than the parashat hashavua (the portion of the week). In this case, however, the week's reading relates to the coming hag (holiday), although not necessarily in an obvious way. The title is taken from the imperative form of the Hebrew verb, 'to command,' which has the same root as the noun for command, mitzvah, and is the first distinguishing word in the parashah.

It begins (Leviticus 6:1):

Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying "Command Aharon and his sons thus: This is the torat olah (the teaching about the burnt offering) ...

The Torah continues, discussing the precise technique to carry out this and other sacrifices. These details are, in some ways, analogous to the rules we follow for Passover.

For many people, Pesah seems to elicit a great concern for ritual. Some who are casual about kashrut (Jewish dietary laws) the rest of the year are compulsive about cleaning out all the places in which crumbs might possibly have fallen. I had a conversation a few years ago with someone who went to work on the holiday (which is forbidden by Jewish Law), but insisted that nothing come into his house during Pesah that was not strictly kosher for Passover.

Some people work like a slave, concerned to obey a vast array of strictures in preparation for the hag. Indeed, some prepare in advance almost all the food they will need, because halakhah (Jewish Law) tells us that in case a tiny bit of hametz (forbidden food or ingredients on Passover) gets into food prepared in advance, we can disregard it, but food prepared during Pesah must be 100% hametz-free. The up side of this, of course, is that when they finally sit down to the seder, they can really experience a feeling of liberation; this process is a kind of re-enactment of the going-out from Mitzraim (Egypt, literally: the narrow places).

We hear the tzav, the command, to purify our houses and our hearts and a lot of us act on the command. But why? We put a great deal of effort into preparing to commemorate an event that may or may not have happened, brought about by a supernatural being whose existence many of us doubt.

I think it is a matter of belonging. Mordecai Kaplan, whose writings laid the foundation for the Reconstructionist movement, argued that belonging—meaning belonging to the Jewish people—comes first. Pesah is primarily a family affair, not a community event. We hold services on the hag, but it is not really a synagogue holiday in the way Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are. It is not the stylized agricultural holiday that we encounter on Shavuot and Sukkot. It is not a regular occurrence like Shabbat.

It is a celebration centered on the home. We first belong to family, and only secondarily to the community. Most of us were involved in some aspect of Pesah preparation and participation as children, strengthening the link between the holiday and the people to whom we felt closest. It is a link that brings us back, year after year, either to family or to others whose similar affinity for Pesah makes them surrogate family.

It is my contention then, that it is this feeling of belonging that creates the sense of commandment. It starts with the family and expands to include the community. Pesah is perhaps the most extreme instance, but we also find it in our commitment to tzedakah (social justice work), our commitment to each other in times of joy and times of trouble. We do not have to believe in the supernatural to believe in the force of commandment.

Searching Out the Leaven on the Night Before Passover

Rabbi Shai Gluskin — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:23:43 -0400

Play the Video. There is a Jewish ritual of searching out any remaining bits of bread on the night before the first night of Passover (Pesach). This video is a series of stills put to an iPhoto slideshow with music. The images were photographed without flash in almost total darkness as my children did the search with their grandparents.

Audio track is by RebbeSoul and is used with permission.

The ritual is described in the Mishnah in a section that starts, "Or le'arbah asar, By the light of the fourteenth." That is in the evening of the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan, which is 24 hours before the start of the Passover holiday with the Passover Seder. It is traditional, after cleaning the house of all bread and other forbidden products that one lays out 10 pieces of the forbidden foods and invites the children to search them out with a candle and a feather (to sweep up the evil stuff).

Passover Resources

Rabbi Shai Gluskin — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:02:34 -0400

Article: Next Year In Jerusalem?
By Leslie Brenner, Rabbi Jeffrey Schein
An article and dicussion questions reflecting on possible interpretations of the phrase that ends the Passover seder: "L'shanah haba'ah biyerushalayim -- Next Year in Jerusalem."
Audio Interview: Passover: The Holiday
By Rabbi Jacob Staub, Rabbi Shawn Zevit
Rabbis Jacob Staub and Shawn Zevit discuss the basis for the holiday of Passover, how it developed over the centuries to become the most celebrated Jewish festival today, the major themes that the exodus and Passover convey to us from a Reconstructionist perspective. An episode of Heart, Mind and Spirit, the first regularly scheduled Reconstructionist radio show in the history of the movement.
Audio Interview: Passover: The Seder
By Rabbi Richard Hirsh, Rabbi Joy Levitt, Rabbi Shawn Zevit
An overview of the structure, development and religious meanings of the haggadah and the Passover seder with Rabbis Joy Levitt and Richard Hirsh. Includes a special behind-the-scenes look at the new Reconstructionist Haggadah A Night of Questions and accompanying music CD. An episode of Heart, Mind and Spirit, the first regularly scheduled Reconstructionist radio show in the history of the movement.
Class Activity: Hebrew Slaves And Israeli Foreign Workers
By Rabbi Amy Klein
Torah text and newspaper articles draw connections between contemporary Israeli foreign workers and ancient Hebrew slaves. Includes discussion questions and links to Israeli human rights organizations' websites.
Class Activity: Make Your Own Haggadah And Seder Plate!
By Rabbi Amy Klein
Encourages kids to get creative and make their own guide to the Passover seder.
Dvar Torah: Circles and Cycles
By Rabbi Steven Pik-Nathan
Last month we celebrated Purim with joy and abandon. This week we rejoice in freedom and redemption with a mixture of celebration and serious contemplation. As we sat at the seder table this past week ...
Dvar Torah: Family at the Root of Passover Commandments
By Aaron Seidman
How can we explain why some people observe Passover so strictly even when they don't observe much else? Aaron Seidman argues that it is the home-based family nature of the holiday that creates the commandment that people are more willing to follow.
Dvar Torah: The Miracle of Freedom
By Rabbi Emanuel S. Goldsmith
Pesah occurs in the spring which "has always been suggestive of the beginning and the survival of the Jewish people. ... As the springtide of nature fills each creature with joy and hope, so Israel'...
Dvar Torah: The Tension Between Law and Redemption on Passover
By Rabbi Shai Gluskin
Rabbi Gluskin argues that the tension between law and rebellion, between status quo and the desire to bring redemption now, is played out richly and artfully in the liturgy of the Passover Seder. Specific references to the text are explained in this light.
Lesson Plan: Aytz Hayim We: Song of Songs Lesson
By Rabbi Erin Hirsh, Rabbi Jeffrey Schein
Lesson Two from the Aytz Hayim We: Song of Songs adult education curriculum. The full curriculum is available for purchase from the JRF Press. This lesson helps participants get "on the same page" and then set off on an exploratory journey that includes midrash, secular writings, expository analysis of the text and lots of questions.
Music: Hassal Siddur Pesach
By JRF
Melody for the penultimate prayer in the Passover Haggadah, Hebrew text, transliteration, translation, and mp3 are provided.
Music: Kiddush for Passover
By Shabbat Unplugged
Recording of the kiddush sanctification prayer said at the beginning of major holiday.
Program Description: Tzedakah And The Jewish Holidays: Giving For Social Change
By Rabbi Shawn Zevit
Ideas for giving opportunities throughout the Jewish year. Connects each Jewish holiday to the concept of tzedakah and recommends a relevant type of benficiary to support.
Recipe: Multicultural Haroset Recipes
By Rabbi Amy Klein
Three haroset recipes from Ashkenazic, Morrocan and Egyptian traditions.
Ritual: Passover Reading on Darfur Genocide
By Rabbi Michael Strassfeld
Written for the April 30, 2006 rally to stop the genocide in Darfur, this prayer is a riff on the Passover song, "Who Knows One?" Each verse delineates another horror taking place in Sudan. Our knowledge of these facts cannot be denied. Action is the only alternative.
RT Article: Exodus in Our Time
By Sheri Linder
Sheri Linder's re-figuring of the Exodus from Egypt is for children, "especially for those who will begin their journeys soon."