31 March 2018 15 Nissan 5778

Volume 30 No. 28 Pesach Candle-lighting for the second night of Yom Tov should not be before 8.12pm. Yom Tov ends in London on Sunday night at 8.22pm. Shabbat and Yom Tov end in Jerusalem at 7.34pm.

In loving memory of Harav Yitzchak Yoel ben Shlomo Halevi

The Birds' Head , Southern Germany circa 1300

“This is the bread of poverty that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Anyone who is hungry should come and eat, anyone who needs should come and partake of the Pesach sacrifice” (Pesach Haggadah). 1 Sidrah Summary: Pesach Days 1 & 2

First Day Torah Reading (Shemot 12:21-51) lasts seven days, we eat matzot. The first and last This reading is a section of parashat Bo, in which days are Yom Tov, on which we refrain from Moshe relates the laws of the Pesach offering. specific prohibited activity (melacha). The blood on the door frame will ‘indicate’ to God On the second day of Pesach, the barley Omer to ‘pass over’ the Israelite houses and only smite offering is brought. There is a (Sefirat the Egyptians. HaOmer) to count 49 days from 16 Nisan (the The tenth plague strikes Egypt at midnight, second night of Pesach) until the night before leaving no house without a death. Pharaoh Shavuot. The mention of Sefirat HaOmer is why searches frantically for Moshe and Aharon (Rashi) this section from parashat Emor was chosen for and tells them to leave. The Jews take their the second day reading. dough with them before it has time to rise. The On Shavuot itself, the double bread wheat Egyptians agree to let them take gold and silver offering (shtei ha’lechem) is brought. Rosh items. The nation travels from Ra’amses to Hashanah is called ‘a day of shofar blasts’. Yom Succot. They bake the unleavened dough and Kippur is a day of fasting. On Succot we take make matzot. the four species (arba’a minim) and dwell in temporary booths (succot). The seven days of Maftir – First and Second Days (Bemidbar Succot are followed by Shemini Atzeret. On 28:16-25) all festival days, melacha is forbidden; the Maftir is read from a second Sefer Torah, from punishment for doing melacha on Yom Kippur is the section of parashat Pinchas detailing the more severe. extra offerings brought during Pesach. Question: Which animal offering accompanied First Day Haftarah the barley Omer offering? (23:12) Answer on bottom of page 6. The reading is taken from three different chapters of the Book of Yehoshua (Joshua). 40 years after leaving Egypt, all uncircumcised males fulfilled Second Day Haftarah the mitzvah of brit milah in a place called Gilglal. From the Book of Kings II, the haftarah relates the The nation then brought a Pesach offering and righteous deeds of King Yoshiyahu (Josiah) ate matzot. The preparations for conquering towards the end of the First Temple period. Jericho then began. Inspired by hearing the words of the Sefer Torah, he took major steps in eradicating the wide- Second Day Torah Reading (Vayikra 22:26- spread idolatry that had been encouraged by his 23:44) evil grandfather, King Menashe. An excerpt from parashat Emor, the reading begins by specifying that an animal cannot be Point to Consider: Why is this haftarah read on offered in the Temple until it is at least eight days Pesach? old. The mitzvah to sanctify God’s Name (Kiddush Hashem) is given. The laws of Shabbat and the festivals are listed. On Pesach, which

United Synagogue Daf Hashavua Produced by US Living & Learning together with the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue Editor: Rabbi Chaim Gross Editor-in-Chief: Rabbi Baruch Davis Editorial Team: Ilana Epstein, Michael Laitner, Sharon Radley Available also via email US website www.theus.org.uk ©United Synagogue To sponsor Daf Hashavua please contact Loraine Young on 020 8343 5653, or [email protected] If you have any comments or questions regarding Daf Hashavua please email [email protected]

2 Lavish for Others, Modest for Ourselves by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis

How do we spell ‘matzot’ We learn this principle from our Patriarch, in Hebrew? This is a Avraham. After a decisive battle in which question which is not as Avraham and his allies were victorious, the King straightforward as it might of Sodom offered him the spoils of battle, which appear. were rightfully his. As a man of deep principle, Avraham declined, declaring, “I refuse to take Fascinatingly, there are two even a thread or a shoelace or anything that is different spellings in the Torah. Sometimes, yours, lest you claim that you made me rich”. matzot appears with a vav ( ) and sometimes However, he went on to insist that those with without ( ). him would still receive the spoils due to them, “Aner, Eshkol and Mamre – let them take their Remarkably, in one passage both spellings are portions” (Bereishit 14:23-24). featured just three verses apart. In Shemot 12:15 the Torah states: “For seven days you shall eat For his own reasons, Avraham opted out of the unleavened bread ( )”. Then (12:18), the Torah spoils of battle, but he demanded that others continues: “In the first month, on the fourteenth around him would receive their dues. In similar day of the month in the evening [i.e. at the Seder] vein, we might choose to experience Pesach with you shall eat unleavened bread ( )”. the most lavish of celebrations or opt for a more modest festive experience. Regardless, we must Rabbi Yisrael Salanter (d. 1883) gave a marvellous never forget our responsibility to provide for the explanation for this. The first reference to matzot rest of the community. is the mitzvah for them to be available for everyone to eat throughout the festival of Pesach, In that sense, Pesach stands as a lesson for while the second reference is to the individual the whole year. Our uncompromising generosity mitzvah for each one of us to eat matzah. Any one should be an ongoing feature of Jewish life to of us is entitled to decide, perhaps for practical, benefit those who need practical, emotional and dietary or economic reasons, that we will financial support. What is kosher for Pesach, moderate the amount that we will eat ourselves, needs to be kosher all year round. hence the symbolism of the shorter form of spelling – . However, we can never abrogate our responsibility to ensure maximum provision for the community as a whole, as symbolised by the longer form spelling – .

In memory of Chaya Rachel bat Moshe Ben-tzion 3 Tzafun – Why do we Hide? by Rabbi Baruch Davis, Chigwell & Hainault United Synagogue; Editor-in-Chief of Daf Hashavua

The focus on children at many matzah symbolises our future redemption, which of our Seder Nights begins will be even greater than from Egypt, with their recital of Kadesh but, for now, is hidden from us. Urechatz, the song of the 15 stages of the Seder. Some of God not only saved us from Egypt. He has these words, such as Matzah rescued us many times since and will ultimately and , are very familiar to bring Mashiach (the Messiah), announced by us, others less so. Tzafun Eliyahu the prophet. This is why we open the (hidden) is one of those less familiar. Coming door to welcome him. And this is why we save between Shulchan Oreich (the Meal) and Barech most of Hallel until after the meal, since it talks (Grace After Meals), it refers to the hiding of the about our final redemption. This is also the theme larger piece of matzah, the Afikoman, broken off of several of the songs in the second half of the from the middle matzah at the start of the Seder. Seder, such as Chasal Siddur Pesach, Leshana Searching for the Afikoman keeps our children Haba’a and . By not eating after the alert and involved in the events of the Seder. As Afikoman and allowing its taste to linger, we are we shall see, however, there is another reason carrying with us into the future the taste of why we hide this matzah. freedom from Egypt to become God’s people.

First, let’s understand what the Afikoman stands We end the Seder with the song , for. One view is that it represents the Pascal lamb a rhyme with numerous interpretations, one of which was consumed at the end of the Seder which speaks to this central theme. Many meal in Temple times (Rabeinu Asher empires (symbolised by the cat, the dog, and d. 1328). Another view is that it represents the so on) attacked the Jewish people, but they are matzah that was eaten with the Pascal lamb gone and we (the goat) have endured*. Our final (Rabbi Shmuel ben Meir d. 1158). Either way, redemption awaits us. Exactly how and when is we are not permitted to eat anything after we tzafun, hidden from us, but God has promised have eaten the Afikoman. This allows the taste of that it will happen, just as He promised he would the matzah to linger in our mouths, which redeem us from Egypt. extends the sensory associations of the evening – slavery and redemption. *For further details and other explanations on Chad Gadya see the Rabbi Sacks Haggadah. Why do we hide the Afikoman? I once heard that the two pieces of matzah broken early in the Seder are like two pieces of a puzzle. We have a story to tell, to piece together. We know some of it, but there is always more to uncover. As we progress through the Seder, we put pieces of the puzzle together and emerge with greater knowledge and understanding of the Pesach story. Thus, the hidden becomes revealed.

On a deeper level, the Sefat Emet (Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter d. 1905) suggests that the smaller part of the broken matzah symbolises the entire story of the Exodus. The larger, hidden

In memory of Yisrael Shmuel ben Yirmaya Yehoshuah 4 Surviving and Prospering by Rabbi Chaim Gross, Editor of Daf Hashavua

On Pesach, our Kiddush Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe (d. 2005) explains what and our prayers include happened at midnight on 15 Nissan in Egypt in a the phrase ‘mikra kodesh, similar vein. The Egyptian firstborn, as their zecher l’yitsiat mitsrayim’ – ‘family representatives’, epitomised all that was meaning ‘a holy assembly, a corrupt about Egyptian society and were worthy remembrance of the Exodus of the ultimate punishment. Yet how exactly did from Egypt’. These words they die? The Haggadah quotes the verse make obvious sense when (Devarim 26:5) which refers to the “great awe” said on Pesach. In seven weeks’ time, on (morah gadol) of that night. The Haggadah says Shavuot, we will say the same words; we can this “great awe” was the revelation of God’s also understand the importance of ‘remembering Presence (shechinah). Rabbi Wolbe understands Pesach’ on Shavuot, as the Sages tell us that that this awesome revelation itself killed the leaving Egypt was the beginning of the journey Egyptian firstborn. The Israelites, albeit lacking to receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai. any great merits of their own, survived this revelation of the shechinah. That itself elevated Yet on Succot, six months’ later, we will also say the nation forevermore. They could survive God’s that it is ‘a remembrance of the Exodus from Presence, even in such an intense form. What Egypt’. However, the link will be harder to make was the downfall of the Egyptians was the – how is Succot linked to Pesach? So too when making of the Israelites. we will say these words on Rosh Hashanah, we may ask ourselves what the Day of Judgement This explains why we mention that every festival has to do with the fact we left Egypt. On Yom is a “remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt”. Kippur, this phrase will again be mentioned in our Only a nation that had been able to coexist with prayers, yet how is the Day of Atonement linked the shechinah could receive the Torah at Sinai to the Exodus? and could renew that commitment every year. Only such a people can brave the elements to On June 30 1859, Jean François Gravelet, better dwell in succot, face up to the strict judgement of known as Charles Blondin, became the first man Rosh Hashanah and gain atonement on Yom to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. Kippur. The great events of the night of the Watched by 25,000 people, holding a long Exodus paved the way for the annual cycle of balancing pole, he took 23 minutes to make the Jewish life to this day. 350m journey, with the unforgiving waters 50 metres below him. This was the first but not the last of his crossings. On one subsequent occasion, he made the journey with his manager on his back; on another occasion he crossed the Falls blindfolded. Engraving of Blondin Yet sadly not everyone who tried to cross Niagara crossing a tightrope Falls was successful. In 1886, Stephen Peer, over the Niagara River a resident of Ontario, attempted a night-time while piggy-backing crossing, failed, and fell to his death. his manager. circa 1883 If we ask ourselves the question, ‘what secured Blondin’s greatness?’, the answer is ‘crossing Niagara Falls’. Yet that very same thing was the cause of Peer’s tragic end.

In memory of Yehuda ben Yaakov HaCohen 5 Spending a Year in Yeshiva or Seminary: An Introduction by Rabbi Gideon Sylvester, United Synagogue Israel Rabbi

Every year, hundreds of keep kosher, Shabbat or other mitzvot, they will young British Jews board not stumble for an answer. More importantly, aeroplanes for a year or students have an opportunity to become clear in more of Torah learning in a their own minds about their faith, why they keep yeshiva or seminary in it and why they should pass it on to another Israel. Tribe Israel offers generation. support to these students, with welcome events, a Yeshiva and seminary students often return to giant Shabbaton, regular visits and support. England with an infectious love of Judaism which they can pass on to our communities, sometimes As Yom Haatzmaut approaches, this series will formally as youth leaders and campus focus on these important institutions that the ambassadors. Some even go on to full-time State of Israel hosts. We will share a taste of some careers as Rabbis and educators. of the different types of yeshivot and seminaries which are popular among young British Jews. For the United Synagogue, the journey that these gap year students take is no small thing. Our There is a vast array of alternatives. Our students young people grow up in a very open society with choose from yeshivot which also host Israeli a broad secular education and a dazzling array of students who divide their time between study and opportunities. Tradition for tradition's sake was military service, to institutions specially tailored to once enough to ensure that people perpetuated the needs of students from abroad. There are family traditions. This is seldom the case today. If seminaries where women supplement their we want our faith and traditions to continue, then studies with art and music, as well as classic our youth must imbibe a rich appreciation for their Lithuanian yeshivot where every waking hour of heritage, a well-informed love of Judaism and a the day is devoted to study. deep connection with the State of Israel. This is richly provided by a year in a seminary or yeshiva. Whereas once, the stereotypical yeshiva was not so state-of-the-art, today many students are housed in modern campuses where they are well fed and comfortable. They are also taken on trips across Israel to see the sites where the Biblical and Talmudic stories took place.

Yeshivot and seminaries are built around the mitzvah of Torah study and the rich spiritual worlds that it opens up. So what specifically do our yeshiva and seminary students gain during their year of immersion in Torah studies?

Students who spend a year or two in yeshiva or seminary acquire the ability to read, understand, analyse and enjoy the literature of the Jewish people – the foundation of our faith. They also study the meaning of our prayers, and learn about the overall philosophy of Judaism. If they will be

asked by non-Jewish friends why observant Jews Answer: an unblemished lamb in its first year first its in lamb unblemished an Answer:

In memory of Yaacov ben Shmuel 6