On the first Shabbos after Pesach we bless the new Hebrew month of Iyar. Iyar is when the manna began to fall from heaven. There is a minhag to bake shlissel challah (shlissel means “key” in Yiddish.) Some people bake the challah in the shape of a key. Others bake the [...]
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“This month shall be for you the beginning of the months..” (Shemos 12/1) This refers to the month of Nissan. G-d tells the Jews that Nissan will be “for you” the month of your redemption. Without experiencing the bitter darkness of slavery, we would not know, or appreciate, the light of true freedom.
Ever wonder what a “heifer” is? Well, it is a young female cow that has not born a calf. This Shabbos we read the third of the four parshiot, Parshas Parah. This is read on the Shabbos immediately preceeding Parshas HaChodesh (which is read the Shabbos before Rosh Chodesh Nissan.)
On the Shabbos before Purim we are commanded to remember what Amalek did to us as we were leaving Egypt. The nations of the world feared the Jews after the miracles that G-d wrought for them in Exodus from Egypt. Amalek “came along” and struck the weak from behind, “cooling” the fear that [...]
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Imagine you were busy the whole week trying to make a living. It was a hard week. Things maybe didn’t go the way that you wanted. You get to the end of the week and G-d so to speak says, “Come, you deserve a break. Let’s spend Shabbos together, this one is on Me…”
Throughout the week, we are immersed in the trials and tribulations of trying to make a living, building a home or family, staying healthy and alive. We want to have a good life. We try to do whatever we can to make that happen. By constantly running and doing, we think we are in control. We can get confused and lose sight of the Hand of the Creator in Creation.
In his family, the custom was to serve the kugel right at the beginning of the meal. Friday was a busy day. Anyone who peeked into the pots of delicious food was told that the pot’s contents were reserved for Shabbos Kodesh. By the time the men got home from shul, they were always very hungry. So, serving the kugel first took the edge off of their hunger,
In the Shabbos morning prayers we recite chapter 92 of Tehillim (Psalms). Adam, the first man is credited with having composed this psalm. Adam sinned in the afternoon of the sixth day. When he saw the sun setting, he believed that the impending darkness was the permanent result of his having sinned. When the sun rose the next morning, he was overcome
This week is Shabbat Shekalim. This is the first of the four special parshiyos: shekalim, zachor, parah and hachodesh. We read the Torah commandment for Jewish males over the age of twenty to contribute one half-shekel to the communal offerings brought in the Tabernacle. Since no longer have a Temple, we now read this parsha instead.
Hashem blessed Shabbos by providing a double portion of manna on Friday so that the Jews would not need to collect it on Shabbos. He sanctified Shabbos, making it special and Holy, by refraining from providing the manna on that day. This is a model for how we are to relate to our livelihood on Shabbos. Hashem provides for all of our needs. He takes
