The three most important words of the Seder
פסח, מצה ומרור
Raban Gamliel says that there are three fundamental concepts to be mentioned in the Seder to meet the minimum requirement to transmit...
More ideas for the Pesah Seder
והגדת לבנך היום ההוא לאמור
MATERIAL FOR PASSOVER
√ To find many educational games for children, including a huge list of questions for Pesah you can...
How to have a successful Pesah Seder?
והגדת לבנך היום ההוא לאמור
THE MISSION
Friday April 22 at night, and Saturday night April 23, will probably be the two most important nights of...
PESAH: Preparing our kitchen for Pesah. Part 1: “Invisible Hamets”
הגעלת כלים
Today, we return to the subject: "Hamets". During Pesah, we do not use the same utensils or the same dishes we use throughout...
PESAH: Regular Matsa vs. Matsa Shemura
מצות אכילת מצה
Matsa (in English "Matzah") is a special unleavened bread made of a flat dough. The dough is prepared with flour and water,...
NON-EDIBLE HAMETS: Cosmetic, medication, pet food.
For Sephardim, it is allowed to keep in their possession or use during Pesah any product that is not edible, i.e., which is not...
PESAH: What is (and what is NOT) Hamets, and what is...
איסור החמץ ואיסור השאור שבו מחמצין, אחד הוא
מ"ת הלכות חמץ ומצה א: ב
Out of the eight Mitsvot of Pesah we mentioned yesterday (see below),...
PESAH 5776: The eight Mitsvot of Pesah
Pesah is less than a month away. The first Pesah Seder will be held B'H Friday night, April 22, 2016. The laws and customs...
ESTHER 5:13 Haman’s downfall
וכל זה איננו שוה לי
The villain of the Purim story is Haman ben Hamedata, a descendant of Amaleq. King Ahashverosh appointed Haman as his...
Rabbi Shelomo Oliveyra (1635-1708) and the importance of learning Hebrew
Amsterdam Synagogue
Rabbi Shlomo ben David de Oliveyra haLevy, came from Lisbon, Portugal, from a family of anusim, converts in Spain, whose original name was...
ESTHER 1:11: Ahashverosh: money or ego?
להראות העמים והשרים את יופיה
Yesterday, we began to analyze the dysfunctional character of King Ahashverosh and how his psychological problems affected the decisions, that...
ESTHER 1:5: Ahashverosh’s dangerous vulnerability
ובמלאת הימים האלה עשה המלך לכל העם
In the coming days we will concentrate on the King Ahashverosh, who was not a paragon of virtue,...
ESTHER 1:1-3: Who was Ahashverosh?
To appreciate a little better the story of Megillat Esther, we are analyzing some historical data that will help us understand the events recounted...
TEHILIM 20: When a King of Israel goes to war
PASUQ 1: To the director, Psalm for David.
According to several commentators, including Eben Ezra and RaDaQ, this psalm of Tehilim was not written "by"...
Rabbi Ya’aqob Yehuda León (1602-1675) builds a Bet haMiqdash
Yesterday we explained that Rabbi Yahacob Yehuda Leon was born in Portugal and lived in Amsterdam. We mentioned that among his many works are:...
Rabbi Ya’aqob Yehuda León (1602-1675) and his translation of Tehilim
Today we will learn about Rabbi Ya'aqob Yehuda Leon. Born in 1602. Some say he was born in Hamburg, which at the time belonged...
12th PRINCIPLE: When is the Messiah supposed to come?
האומר הריני נזיר ביום שבן דוד בא .... הרי זה אסור לשתות יין לעולם
We continue to explore the views of Maimonides on the subject...
12th PRINCIPLE : what do we know about the messianic times?
Last week we wrote about the penultimate chapter of Mishne Tora, where Maimonides discusses the subject of the Messiah, specifically the person of the...
12th PRINCIPLE: Was Yeshu the Messiah?
Today we'll talk a little more about the Messiah, and next week, BH, I will write on what Mishne Tora says about the "Messianic...
The last words of Isaac de Castro Tartas (1623-1647)
Dear reader, 5 years ago I started writing Halakha of the day, and usually, once a week, I write about unknown Sephardic rabbis. This...
