The Calendar and Holidays (incl. Sabbath)
- Chanukah
- Other Holidays and Fasts
- Passover
- Purim
- Rosh HaShanah
- Shavuos
- Sukkos
- The Jewish Calendar
- The Sabbath
- Yom Kippur
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Sell Chametz
What does it mean to “Sell your Chametz”? Getting all leavened products out of your possession is part of the observance of Passover, and selling those things which you might want to re-purchase afterwards is part of this process. Read…
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The Seder Plate
Why are there places on the Seder plate for the Bitter herbs, horseradish and Charoset? What is the distinction? That’s a wonderful question. I often wondered why there were two places for horseradish (albeit they are given different names), and…
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The Last Days of Passover
What occurs on the last 2 days of the Passover festival? The last two days are observed as a standard Festival, with extended prayer services and 2 festive meals each day. Tradition tells us that the end of Passover is…
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Species for the Bitter Herb
What did we originally use for bitter herbs for the Pesach seder? There’s a list of five types of plants (in the Mishna) which are suitable for use as bitter herbs: “Chazeret” – considered by most authorities to be the…
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The Haftorah Before Passover
What is the correlation between the Haftorah in Malachi read before Passover and the Passover holiday? We read from the last Chapter of the Prophet Malachi (chapter 3, from verse 4 to the end) on Shabbos HaGadol (lit. “The Great…
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Passover Greeting
I have no religious affiliation but would like to offer Passover greetings to my close Jewish friends. What would be a proper greeting? “Happy Passover” would be appropriate. If you want to sound really with-it, say “Happy Pay-sach” (“sach” rhymes…
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Afikomen
Could you tell me the history of the “Afikomen”, when it was established and why? When the Holy Temple in Jerusalem stood, the Passover offering was the last item eaten at the Seder. The Afikomen, which means dessert, has been…
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Garlic on Passover
Is it permitted to eat garlic on Passover? If not, why not? There are different customs regarding the use of garlic on Passover. Believe it or not, the basis for the stringency that some have of not eating garlic is…
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Hallel
What is Hallel? Why do we say Hallel? When do we say Hallel? Hallel is a group of Psalms, written by King David about 2500 years ago. The primary theme is that G-d controls the ups and downs of life.…