Nisan 5769 (March-April, 2009) | Volume I, Issue VII |
Chokhmah
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In this issue... |
| Torah Readings |
| Upcoming Holidays |
| Main Article |
| Biblical Archaeology News |
| Place of the Tanach |
| This Month's Holidays |
| Biblical Quote |
| Person of the Tanach |
| Book of the Month |
| Website of the Month |
| Chairty of the Month |
| Hebrew Words |
| Upcoming 10 Minute Topics |
| Newsletter Dates of Issue |
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Torah Readings
March 28: Vayikra (Leviticus 1:1-5:26)
April 4: Tzav (Leviticus 6:1-8:36)
April 11: 3rd day of Pesach (Exodus 33:12-34:26) Maftir (Numbers 28:19-25)
April 18: Shemini (Leviticus 9:1-11:47) |
Upcoming Holidays
April 9-16: Pesach
April 21: Yom HaShoah
April 28: Yom HaZikaron
April 29: Yom HaAtzmaut
May 12: Lag B'Omer |
Main Article
Pesach (Passover) is a Biblical festival that begins on 15 Nisan (in March or April). Pesach is an eight-day holiday that celebrates the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt and our freedom from oppression in modern days. The holiday is also referred to as Chag he-Aviv (the Spring Festival), Chag ha-Matzoth (the Time of Our Freedom). It is the first of the three pilgrimage festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Shavuot and Sukkot). Agriculturally, it represents the beginning of the harvest season in Israel. The primary observances of Pesach are related to the Exodus from Egypt after generations of slavery. This story is told in Exodus, Chapters 1-15. Many of the Pesach observances are instituted in Chapters 12-15. Probably the most significant observance related to Pesach involves the removal of leaven/chametz (the five major grains-wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt) from our homes. Ashkenazi Jews also avoid kitniyot (rice, corn, peanuts, and legumes-beans) as if they were chametz. We may not own, benefit from, or eat chametz during Pesach (this includes food for the animals). All chametz, including utensils and other kitchen accessories used to cook chametz, must either be disposed of or sold to a non-Jew (they can be repurchased after the holiday). This commemorates the fact that the Jews leaving Egypt were in a hurry, and did not have time to let their bread rise. The process of cleaning the home of all chametz in preparation for Pesach is an enormous task. To do it right, you must prepare for several weeks and spend several days scrubbing everything down, going over the edges of your stove and fridge with a toothpick and a Q-Tip, covering all surfaces that come in contact with foil or shelf-liner, etc. After the cleaning is completed, the morning before the seder, a formal search of the house for chametz is undertaken, and any remaining chametz is burned. The grain product we eat during Pesach is called matzah which is unleavened bread, made simply from flour and water and cooked very quickly. This is the bread that the Jews made for their flight from Egypt. The day before Pesach is the Fast of the Firstborn, a minor for all firstborn males, commemorating the fact that the firstborn Jewish males in Egypt were not killed during the final plague. It is traditional to study a tractate of Talmud during the night which then allows these men to avoid the fast (one must celebrate when finishing a tractate of Talmud). On the first night of Pesach (first two nights for Jews outside Israel), a seder is held. Pesach lasts for seven days (eight days outside of Israel). The first and last days of the holiday (first two and last two outside of Israel) are days on which no work is permitted. Work is permitted on the intermediate days (Chol Ha-Mo'ed).
Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, occurs on 27 Nisan (in March or April). Yom HaShoah is a one-day holiday that celebrates the remembrance of the Shoah during the 1930s and 1940s. It is celebrated by special prayers, reading the names of those who perished, and visiting museums and other places of remembrance. Each family and community has its own way of remembering those who perished in this genocide as well as those who survived. |
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This Month's Holidays
This month we celebrate Pesach and Yom HaShoah. |
Biblical Quote
HaShem spoke to Moses, in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the second year from their exodus from the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying: "The Children of Israel shall make the pesach-offering in its appointed time. On the fourteenth day of this month in the afternoon shall you make it, in its appointed time; according to all its decrees and laws shall you make it. (Numbers 9:1-3) |
Person of the Tanach
Miriam (Miryam) -
Daughter of Amram and Jochebed, Sister of Aaron and Moses, Prophetess
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Book of the Month
Light of Redemption: A Passover Haggadah Based on the Writings of Rav Kook
"This Passover Haggadah presents the ideas of the great Israeli rabbi and thinker, Rabbi Kook, on the Haggadah and on Passover in general, making them available to the English speaking public for the first time." |
Website of the Month
The Jewish Magazine
"The Jewish Magazine is your monthly Jewish information resource on the Web! Jewish articles, Jewish authors on Jewish and Israel topics each month and now in our Twelfth year!!" |
Charity of the Month
Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation
"Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, Gift of Life is one of the nation's public bone marrow, blood stem cell and umbilical cord blood registries. Through its life-saving work, Gift of Life is a world leader facilitating transplants for children and adults suffering from many life-threatening diseases, among them leukemia and lymphoma." |
Hebrew Words
Afikoman -
Greek A broken piece of matzah that is the last food eaten at the Passover Seder
Hallel - Hebrew Psalms of thanksgiving
Pesach - Hebrew An eight day holiday celebrating the Exodus
Yom Tov Sheini Shel Goliut - Hebrew [lit. Second Holiday of the Diaspora] Second day of the holidays celebrated outside Israel |
Upcoming 10 Minute Topics
March 29: Shabbat
April 5: Jewish Calendar
April 12: Fast Days
April 19: Fall/Winter Holidays |
Newsletter Dates of Issue
Iyar, 5769 (April-May, 2009) - Available April 19, 2009
Sivan, 5769 (May-June, 2009) - Available May 17, 2009
Tammuz, 5769 (June-July, 2009) - Available June 21, 2009
Av, 5769 (July-August, 2009) - Available July 19, 2009 |
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