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The Maror (bitter herb) was an adjunct to the Passover sacrifice, rather than a mitzvah in and of itself. By rabbinic enactment, it was instituted to be eaten at the Passover Seder, in memory of the bitterness of slavery, as well as to inculcate...
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The measurements used in the Torah (cubit, span, hin, and others) are only known approximately. Those used in the Talmud would seem to be more straightforward; the bulk of an olive (k'zayit), the bulk of an egg (k'beitzah), the hand breadth...
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When I was a child, my parents warned me not to tell my non Jewish friends that there is no Santa Claus. I never did, but somehow, they eventually did find out. Some confided in me that although they were disappointed, what really hurt was that...
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A great debate has raged over the last one hundred and eighty years, regarding matzah made by machine, rather than by hand. The fact is, however, that the early responsa on the subject are actually irrelevant, as the nature of the machine process...
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From the Talmud, we can see that matzah looked very different at that time than what we are now familiar with. First of all, there were no matzah bakeries. Each family baked their own, throughout the holiday. (This is still done in many Yemenite...
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The Torah has two mitzvot relating to matzah. One is that the Passover sacrifice must be eaten together with matzah and maror. There is, however, a second command to eat matzah "in the evening" (of the first night of Passover), aside from that...
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Passover (Pesach) is NOT the Biblical name for the holiday, but rather "Hag HaMatzot" (The festival of unleavened bread". Pesach is actually the name of the sacrifice, which was offered on the afternoon BEFORE the actual beginning of the holiday,...
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The prohibition of owning chametz is stated in the Torah "there shall be seen no leaven or sourdough in your homes", which appears several times in the Torah, albeit with slightly different wording. One who possesses chametz, even if not in his...
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Although all agree on the definition of chametz, many other foodstuffs have become "forbidden" by custom. These customs took on a life of their own. This is especially true of Ashkenazim, but not exclusively so. The classic example of this is...
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The Exodus from Egypt is one of the most central themes in Scripture. Many of the commandments specifically are done "as a memorial of the Exodus". We are often reminded in the Torah "I am HaShem who brought you up out of Egypt". Although all of...
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