Pesach is one of the most joyful times in the Jewish calendar, but historically it has also been blood libel season, when Jewish communities around the globe were accused of murder in the name of using the blood of Christian children to make matzos. While blatantly untrue, this falsehood has persisted for centuries and in […]
I wasn’t expecting my declaration of ‘it’s time to clean the car for Pesach’ to be met with a cheer of delight from my 4 year old. It stood out to me, in stark contrast to what I had been hearing from some of the women that I teach about how much they dread the […]
During the maggid portion of the haggadah, we recite Rabban Gamliel’s tripartite obligation of retelling our redemption from Egypt. Rabban Gamliel says one must refer to three symbolic elements of the seder: pesach, matzah, and maror. Pesach, as represented by the zeroa [shankbone], refers to the korban pesach [paschal lamb] that the Jews sacrificed in […]
Kadesh, urchatz, karpas…tzafun, barech, Hallel, nirtzah. Kiddush, washing, karpas…afikomen, grace after meals, Hallel… Many of us have been singing the steps of the seder for as long as we can remember – which is great if we want to remember what to do, but not so great if we want to think about why we […]
Dear Jew in the City, My family’s Pesach traditions are so strict and burdensome that I don’t want to observe the holiday anymore. The work is too much and I’m starving the whole time. Is there room for me to be more lenient? -A.E. Dear A.E, Thanks for your question. As I mentioned last […]
Dear Jew in the City, I saw in Unorthodox a kitchen covered in tin foil. Why do Orthodox Jews do this? Thanks, Brad Dear Brad, Thanks for your question. Whenever I receive a question that starts “Why do Orthodox Jews…,” my initial reaction is, “They don’t” because such questions usually represent gross generalizations. This was […]
