RJ Blog

Each year during Passover tradition tells us to rid our houses of chametz (items that are not Kosher for Passover) and stock up on Kosher for Passover foods like macaroons, fruits and vegetables, and of course matzah. We all know that matzah can be purchased by the box or case, but did you know that you can actually make your own matzah?

by Lisa Chinsky Passover is super early this year. (I know, I know, it’s always either late or early, but never “on time.”) The first night is March 25! No, that’s not a typo; the first seder is Monday, March 25! I started to think about what that means in our house and to our family, and I realized that it doesn’t really matter when it is because we already know what we are going to do. Every year, we do the same thing. We eat matzah. We dip parsley in salt water. We ask the four questions. We make [...]

Last year the Tu BiShvat seder at Temple B’nai Torah was so successful that this year it was incorporated into our 8 p.m. Shabbat service this past week. A committee of hardworking and dedicated volunteers coordinated everything so we all could participate in a traditional Tu BiShvat seder—including nuts, wine (grape juice), and fruits associated with the holiday—as part of our Shabbat service, which—because of the seder—was held in the social hall. As is our custom for special services, the portable ark, including a Torah from the sanctuary, was brought into the social hall, and tables and chairs were set [...]

…So I know the sea was not split in vain Deserts not crossed in vain – If at the end of the story stand Daddy and the kid Looking forward and knowing their turn will come. -from “The Kid of the Haggadah” by Nathan Alterman (trans. Arthur Waskow and Judy Spelman) It is interesting to consider the power of the seder. The Jewish people don’t agree on much – and the Jewish people here in the land of Israel seem constantly to be screaming at each other over issues of religion and ideology, even to the point of violence. But on seder [...]

by Cantor Alane Katzew A congregational seder is a wonderful way for a small congregation to build community while sharing the experience of the Exodus. While it can be daunting for one person, when the work is shared and delegated among many according to their interests and abilities, the results can be awesome, educational and fun. We developed this easy to use guide specifically to provide small congregations with the basics. Of course, contact us if you’d like to discuss in more detail, and discuss below what ingredients you would add to this recipe for your community. Ingredients of the [...]

By Greg Weitzman Every spring the celebration of Pesach enters the homes of Jews around the world. The observance of the Pesach seder, originally commanded in Exodus 12:14, for many Jews is a highlight of their year as families and friends come together around the table to commemorate the Exodus of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. For many reasons, the dramatic themes in the observance of Pesach resonate with Jews around the world, making it one of the most widely observed holidays in the Jewish calendar. According to the 2000-01 National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS), 67% of Jews [...]

by Marc Rosenstein(Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah and Galilee Diary) Order Now! And when you enter the land that the Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall observe this rite. And when your children ask you, “What do you mean by this rite?” You shall say, “It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, because He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but saved our houses.”         -Exodus 12:25-27 Notes on Passover in the land, 2011: Schools close a week before the holiday, for a two week vacation.  [...]

by Naamah Kelman(Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah and Reform Voices of Torah) Only in Israel are there kosher-for-Passover buns at McDonald’s. Onlyin Israel do non-Kosher restaurants offer you a choice of bread and/ormatzah. Only in Israel do we have shelves overflowing with everypossible variation of the full range of kosher-for-Passover foods; fromthose who eat legumes to those who will not put matzah meal in anything.It’s on this holiday in Israel that we obsess about food. Consideringhow humble the biblical Passover matzah was in origin, today we now havea wide variety of egg, spelt, whole wheat, and so on, [...]

by Rabbi Rebecca Yaël SchorrOriginally posted on Frume Sarah’s World A family-favorite Passover song, to the tune of “Clementine,” introduces them. One was wise and one was wicked,One was simple and a bore. And the fourth was sweet and winsome,he was young and he was small.While his brothers asked the questionshe could scarcely speak at all. (Courtesy Wikimedia Commons) But what about the fifth child? At our recent model seder, as the rabbi was exploring possiblereasons for the four cups of wine we drink at the seder, a student beganto wave frantically, jumping out of her seat with agitation. Typicalbehaviour [...]

by Linda K. WertheimerOriginally Posted on Jewish Muse Why could this Passover be different for my family this year than last? Our son is now 3. He can speak in complete sentences. He can sing several Hebrew prayers, and he mimics well. Maybe, maybe our little boy will chant some of the Four Questions. But how far should we nudge him? Neither my husband nor I grew up chanting the Four Questions at Passover. I was a Sunday school dropout at age 12. My family did a Cliff Notes version of a Seder, much shorter than the 30-minute Seder I [...]

by Ben Dreyfus (Note: The information in this post applies to the holidays of Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot, and Shemini Atzeret, but not to Rosh HaShanah. Rosh HaShanah has a different set of issues that would require a whole separate article to explain.) When does Pesach end? Why do some calendars say it ends April 25 this year and others say April 26? The answer in most Reform Jewish communities is April 25, but the history is complicated. The festival calendar in the Torah is clear: Pesach begins on the 15th of Nisan and lasts for 7 days, and the 1st and [...]

by Marc Rosenstein(Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah and Galilee Diary) Order Now! The mountainsides were festooned with multicolored wild flowers. The Bedouin shepherds led their flocks to graze along the lush valleys. 85% of the Jews of Israel (according to surveys) sat down to observe the seder ritual – and among them the Hilazoner Rebbe and his flock of disciples and their families. There was warmth and light, good fellowship and robust singing in the room that evening. Delicious food, pungent herbs from the local community-supported-agriculture co-op, kosher-for-Passover tofu for the vegetarians; questions and more questions, stories and [...]

As the frigid temperatures that have gripped much of thecountry this winter ebb into the warmth of spring, it is finally time to getexcited about Passover. For me, every year Passover is about an Exodus: from my home to what my parents have long thought to be the Promised Land – LosAngeles. It is also about strict family tradition. For millions of Jews in North America, Passover is “the”home holiday.  We all eat the same foods, plus or minus something new fromsome magazine. We stuff our familyand friends into a space built for about a third of the people who [...]

by Alan S. YoffieTemple Emanuel, Worcester, MA Passover Seders in my family were always large affairs. Strangers (who had no place to go for Seder) and Christian friends joined family members in giving thanks for freedom. Whether conducted by my grandfather (mostly in Hebrew), my parents (much more in English) or my father-in-law (a Reform Rabbi who used a healthy mix of Hebrew and English), we joyously celebrated together. Several years ago, I was asked by my synagogue (Temple Emanuel in Worcester, MA) to attend a seminar given by the Outreach Training Institute (OTI) in Boston. The OTI conducts courses [...]