The Gemara states that we are more concerned about one who employs a ruse than one who violates a rabbinical prohibition intentionally. The reason for this logic is because one who violates a rabbinic ordinance will most likely not cause others to act similar to him, as he is not justified for violating the rabbinic ordinance….
The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Hag HaMatzah) is the fifteenth day of the month of Nisan, which is the day following Passover (Pesach). It is a seven-day festival to the L-rd (Leviticus [Vayikra] 23:6-7; Exodus [Shemot] 12:7-8,14-17). On the fifteenth of Nisan and for the next seven days, G-d forbade the people to have any…
Shabbat HaGadol (“Great Shabbat” שבת הגדול) is the Shabbat immediately before Passover. There is a special Haftarah reading on this Shabbat of the book of Malachi. Traditionally a lengthy and expansive sermon is given to the general community in the afternoon. Various reasons are given for the name of this Shabbat: 1) The Midrash Rabbah states: “When they…
The Gemara states that one can separate both Terumah Gedolah and Terumas Maaser with a thought and one does not need to physically or orally designate the terumah. There are certain mitzvos which require one to contemplate the mitzvah, such as loving HaShem, fearing HaShem and other such mitzvos. There is even a situation where…
The Gemara quotes a verse in Yirmiyah that states and do not carry out a burden from your homes on the Shabbos day The Gemara states that Rabbi Yochanan maintains that Bais Shammai and Bais Hillel disagree as to whether we say that since carrying was permitted for a food-related purpose, it was also permitted when there…
The Symbolic Explanation of the Bread and Wine at Passover and Jesus’ Last Supper We are left with only one important parallel (Jeremias’s 14th) that can be explained in terms of a Seder: the surprising fact that Jesus at his Last Supper engaged in symbolic explanation of the bread and wine, just as Jews at…
On the morning of the Fourteenth of Nissan, meaning this year (5774) which falls out on this coming Monday morning, one must eliminate Chametz before the last time to do so arrives. (In New York City, the end time for burning and renouncing Chametz is at approximately 11:35 AM according to the Sephardic custom. All…
The Laws of Searching for Chametz On the eve of the Fourteenth of Nissan, which will fall out this year (5774) on this coming Sunday night, one must search for Chametz by candlelight. The candle must be made of wax (or congealed paraffin oil, common nowadays) as per the enactment of our Sages. If one does…
Rashi writes that amei haaretz, ignorant people, despite the fact that they are suspected of laxity in observing the laws of taharah, ritual purity, on a Yom Tov they are not suspected of being lax, and if an am haaretz touched food on Yom Tov, it does not become tamei. We find that an am haaretz is believed on Shabbos to say…
The Gemara states that if one does not chose the doves prior to Yom Tov, there will be times that he will come to take doves on Yom Tov and all the doves will be lean, and he will not take any of the doves. This decision will result in one not being able to…
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