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Elijah was one of the greatest prophets in Jewish history, and, most notably, he did not die! Rather, he rose to the heavens in a chariot of fire! Because he did not die, Rabbinic scholars believed he was kept alive for a special reason - to hail the arrival of the Messiah! So Elijah will have a extremely important job - but why invite him into our house tonight? We live in an unprecedented time in Jewish history - Jews of...

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The first reference to the Afikoman is the talmudic warning not to serve fancy desserts or go partying after partaking in the Passover meal (Epikomos).  Afikoman was what you were not supposed to do - go from party to party carousing. Eventually, however, afikoman became something you had to have - a piece of matzah that would be the final thing you ate at the completion of the meal. Originally, a piece of the Passover lamb was the last thing eaten....

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Jerusalem was in turmoil in the period prior to its destruction (70 ACE). The Romans had it under siege. The Jews themselves were divided into multiple factions and sects - some held to elite establishment of the Priests (Sadducees), others sided with the rabbinic scholars (Pharisees) who tried to popularize Judaism and develop a code of Jewish law that governed all aspects of Jewishlife. The Sicarii (dagger men) assassinated anyone they perceived as a Roman sympathizer and gave rise to the...

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The story of the Jewish people begins with Abram son of Terach, an Aramian from Mesopotamia who broke with his pagan past and pledged his belief to one almighty god. G-d rewarded Abram’s belief with the promise (known as the Covenant or Brit) that he would make his descendants into a great and prosperous nation in the Land of Canaan. Abram and his wife Sarai were instructed by G-d to journey to Canaan. In the process, their names change to Abraham...

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Three pieces of matzah are placed in front of the leader of the Seder. Two pieces are used for the Hamotzi, as is tradition for any holiday or Shabbat. The third piece is now broken into unequal sized pieces. The larger piece will serve as our dessert - the Afikomen. The smaller piece is known as Lechem Oni (Hebrew), Lachma Anya (Aramaic),Bread of Affliction (English) - the poor bread of slavery. The Rabbis wanted us to remember and feel what it...

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Passover is one of the 3 great harvest or pilgrimage festivals of the Jewish Year. It is also referred to as Chag HaAviv - the Spring Festival, in recognition of the Spring harvest. Because of its agricultural role, we say a blessing over a green vegetable, typically parsley. BUT we need to link this act with the overall theme of our redemption from slavery to freedom. Thus, we dip our parsley in salt water, to remember the bitter tears shed during...

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We perform a ritual washing of our hands WITHOUT reciting the blessing traditionally associated with the washing of hands. Why no blessing you might ask? Jews are required to recite the blessing for hand washing prior to reciting the HaMotzi blessing and eating bread. Because we are eating parsley at this point in the Seder, we need not recite the blessing for hand washing. So why wash our hands at all?? An excellent question!! Remember when the Seder was formulated...around the...

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Today, many people are troubled by the story of the plagues. Why did G-d have to cause such destruction? Why did G-d have to ‘harden the heart’ of the Pharaoh so that he would not permit the Jews to leave? Why did G-d have to kill innocent children? On One Hand: The Joys of Justice! Rabbi Jacob Halevi Moulin (15th c, Germany an era of pogroms and expulsions) "The sixteen drops refer to the sixteen facets of God's avenging sword." 1....