Rabbi Levin's Blog

  Happy Chol Hamoed (the intermediate days of Pesach.) There is an age-old custom that was originally secret and known only to great Kabbalists.  The Baal Shem Tov revealed it to the community, and over the years it has become increasingly popular.  This custom gradually spread throughout the Chassidic world over the generations, and has now been accepted amongst a broad range of Jewish communities. I am referring to the Feast of Moshiach, celebrated at the end of Pesach, this year on the coming Sunday in the early evening.  I can't think of a more moving and inspiring way to end this beautiful holiday.  We eat Matzah and drink four cups of wine, similar to the Seder at the very beginning of the holiday.  What is the meaning of this celebration and why are we having a meal for Moshiach who has not yet been revealed? As we know Pesach is the holiday of liberation, when Hashem sent Moshe to us and took us out of the bitter Egyptian exile.  This was follo...

With Pesach a couple of days away I will discuss a few practical things relating to the next few days.  This year we have the rare occurrence of Pesach beginning on Saturday night.  (The next time this will happen will be in 2045.)  This adds a layer of complication to the pre-Pesach preparations.  Typically we check the house for Chametz on the night before Pesach, then in the morning we eat a Chametz breakfast and then burn the leftover Chametz, and begin to observe the Kosher for Pesach rules.  This year, however, we can’t burn the Chametz at the time the Pesach laws take effect because it is Shabbat.  At the same time, we need to have our Shabbat meal with bread, and we are not permitted to eat Matzah on the day before Pesach.  So let’s review the things that we should be doing between now and the Seder.  (This is by no means a comprehensive list, but some of the major highlights of things not to forget.) Cleaning and inspecting the house:...

I think it’s safe to say that Pesach is on all our minds.  Whether it is starting to clean the house, ordering supplies for the Holiday, creating a Seder guest list or deciding where to go for the Seder, planning menus or preparing interesting insights into the Haggadah, Pesach is now in the air. So let’s take a look at an interesting, often questioned and discussed phenomenon in the Haggadah.  This issue relates to the Seder itself, but also has relevance to the time leading up to Pesach.  The first section of the Haggadah that we say after Kiddush, the vegetable and breaking the Matzah is Hei Lachma Anya (some say Ha Lachma Anya) - “this is the bread of affliction...”  The opening section of the Haggadah, even before the Four Questions, includes two lines that seem to be completely out of place: “Anyone who is hungry come and eat, anyone who is needy come and participate in the Passover service.”   What is the purpose of saying this passage now that we ar...

After the Mishkan (the portable Sanctuary in the desert) was completed, the Torah tells us in this week’s Parsha, the builders brought it to Moshe.  The beams, the bases, the poles, the hooks and everything else.  Moshe then set the Mishkan up single-handedly.  This was a miracle because it is not possible for one person to lift an entire wall of wood beams, approximately 35 feet long.  In fact, during the seven day period when the Kohanim (priests), Aharon and his sons, were being trained to do the service by Moshe, the Mishkan was set up each day by a team.  It was only on the eighth day, the day that the Kohanim took over the full service, that Moshe himself set up the Mishkan.  There must have been a reason for this miracle. Another verse that ties into this subject states that after the Mishkan was set up, Moshe blessed the people: “Moses saw that they had indeed done all the work exactly as G-d had commanded, and Moses blessed them.” (Shemot 39:43.)...

Of the four special Parshas that we read related to Adar and Nissan, the third is called Parshat Parah - the "Parsha of the Cow." This Shabbat we use two Torahs. In the first we read the regular Parsha of the annual cycle, Vayakhel, and in the second we read Parshat Parah. ”The Cow” is referring to the red cow, usually referred to as the Red Heifer, that was slaughtered outside of the City of Jerusalem and then burned. The ashes were then used for a special ritual purification service.  Next Shabbat, the day before Nissan, we will read the special Parsha which details the practice of the Pesach offering. We therefore read Parshat Parah the Shabbat before, because this purification was a prerequisite to the Pesach offering.  We are not permitted to enter the grounds of the Holy Temple after having come in contact with a corpse, whether physically touching it or being under the same roof. This law still applies today. Other prohibitions for anyone who is “Tamei” - ritually impu...

It was a comfortable time for the Jews under Achashverosh’s rule.  Yes, the first Temple had been destroyed and they were living outside of the Holy Land of Israel, but their political position in Persia was secure.  King Achashverosh had invited the Jews as equal guests to his feast, and even dropped his requirement that everyone drink a full goblet of wine, knowing that the Jews would be uncomfortable with non-kosher wine.  He had even allowed the Jews to begin rebuilding the Temple. One of the most prominent and respected officers in the government was Mordechai, the leader of the Jews.  The new queen Achashverosh chose was a Jewish woman, and the Jewish position in the country was secured.   And then at the drop of a hat all of that ended and there was a rude awakening.  The building of the Temple was stopped with Haman’s advice, and then they were threatened with genocide - the complete annihilation of all Jews.  The Talmud says that Achashve...