DOCSLIB.ORG

Leader's Guide.Final

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Leader's Guide.Final ÁÅÒÉt Ï√u ‰@êbʼn “The real question is not why do we keep Passover but how do we continue to keep Passover year after year and keep it from becoming stultified! How can we be privileged to plan it so that, as Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook said, ‘The old may become new and the new may become holy.’” Leader’s Guide for IRA STEINGROOT A DIFFERENT NIGHT “One must make changes on By Noam Zion and David Dishon this night, so the children will notice and ask: ‘Why is this night different?’” MAIMONIDES “Only the lesson which is enjoyed can be learned well.” THE SHALOM HARTMAN INSTITUTE JUDAH HANASI JERUSALEM, ISRAEL Library of Congress Catalog 96-71600 American Friends of the Shalom Hartman Institute © Noam Zion and David Dishon 282 Grand Avenue, Suite 3, Englewood, NJ 07631 Published in the U.S.A. 1997 Fax: 201-894-0377 P.O. Box 8029, Jerusalem, Israel 93113 E-Mail: [email protected] 2CONTENTS a Table of Contents I.INTRODUCTIONS FOR THE II. SEDER SUPPLEMENTS LEADER OF THE SEDER Chapter 6 Chapter 1 The Four Questions in Depth: A Guide for the Perplexed: Ma Nishtana . 24 Clarifying the Roles • Maimonides: How to Activate Spontaneous Questions of the Leader of the Seder • Four Ideas to Stimulate Questioning by Noam Zion. 4 • In the Vernacular: Chapter 2 Ma Nishtana Translated in Many Languages The “Jazz” Haggadah . 8 • Interrogating a Famous Text: Questions and Answers about Ma Nishtana Chapter 3 • Quotations to Encourage a Questioning Mind Preparing for Seder Night: A Practical Manual . 9 Chapter 7 Chapter 4 Storytelling — Maggid . 30 Young Children at the Seder: • Roleplaying at the Seder: Age Appropriate Activities . 16 Experiencing the Exodus by Aliza Arzt Chapter 5 • Bibliodrama Short Cuts Through the Haggadah: by Peter Pitzele How to Pick and Choose . 20 • Chronicles: The Newspaper of the Exodus by Israel Eldad • The Inner Journey from Slavery to Liberation: Egypt and Exodus as Metaphors for Personal Growth by Joel Ziff CONTENTS 3 III. BACKGROUND ESSAYS Chapter 8 Chapter 12 Recalling Great Seders and On Passover and Family Education Great Exoduses of the Past . 47 by the Jewish philosopher David Hartman . 68 • The First Passover in Eretz Yisrael: • The Art of Storytelling Joshua at the Hill of Foreskins • The Covenant of Common Destiny: • Marranos Observe Passover in Spain and Portugal Leap of Solidarity (after 1492) • The God of Surprise: Next Year in Jerusalem • The “Seder” of Righteous Gentiles: • On Family Education: The Netherlands (1945) Memory and Values • Our First Seders in Israel: Soviet Jews (1990) Chapter 13 • The Exodus from Ethiopia (1991) Exploring Exodus by Micha Odenheimer by the Biblical scholar Nahum Sarna . 78 • The Legendary Seder in Katmandu (1991) Chapter 14 by Joel Zack Exodus and Revolution • My Parents’ Personal Passover Ritual (U.S.A.) by the political philosopher Michael Walzer . 83 by Danny Siegel Chapter 15 Chapter 9 “Here Am I” — A Personal Midrash The Four Children . 55 on Moses’ Search for Identity • Examining a Midrash: by Julius Lester . 87 The Biblical and the Rabbinic Four Children Chapter 16 • A Multigenerational Symposium on the Four Types of Children Moses and Herzl by David Golinkin . 91 Chapter 10 A Symposium about Slavery and Freedom: Permissions and Notes . 96 An Anthology of Quotations. 63 Chapter 11 Elijah’s Cup: A Time for Vengeance or for Reconciliation? . 66 4CHAPTER 1THE LEADER’S ROLE 1 PART I INSTRUCTIONS for the LEADER a Chapter 1 A Guide for the Perplexed: Clarifying the Roles of the Leader of the Seder I by Noam Zion he leaders of the seder often face contradictory demands often struggle among themselves to shorten the score in the Tfrom the heterogeneous “audience” at the table, on one middle of the performance. hand, and from the Jewish tradition embodied in the Yet everyone seems to have such high expectations of the Haggadah, on the other hand. Personally I feel like the conduc- seder. It is no surprise that I feel inadequate to the task at hand. tor of a symphony orchestra with a complex operatic score to After all, I am no rabbi. Yet my grandparents and all of Jewish perform. The Haggadah jumps from one movement to the next tradition peer over my shoulder insisting I carry on the torch, with very disjointed transitions. The audience is made up of a doing it all as it has been done for generations and engaging the diverse group: some dislike classical Jewish “music” altogether next generation to boot. and many cannot read the Hebrew libretto. Others remember What is the leader’s role at the seder? By what criteria the masterly performance of a beloved grandparent, against must you judge the evening successful? How do you which they measure my poor imitation and condemn my every concentrate on the main goal and avoid getting distracted by the innovation as an unforgiveable deviation. Non-Jewish guests details? Rabbinic tradition offers three models for the seder and young children are totally unacquainted with the leader: “program.” The age range produces differing attention spans and (1) the priest/rabbi who is the Master of Ceremonies many unscheduled intermissions. As for the hungry, and not-so- (2) the host of a symposium who is a Talk-Show Moderator silent majority of the audience, they sometimes prefer to end the “concert” after the first overture rather than demanding encores. (3) the parent educator who is a Skilled Storyteller The guests at the seder are, in fact, meant to be the musicians, yet they are often reluctant to participate in the concert. They CHAPTER 1THE LEADER’S ROLE 5 (1) The Priestly Seder: (2) The Symposium: Maintaining the Traditional Protocol A Lively, Thoughtful Discussion The final poem of the seder (o˙ÄÎÖÏщÖk Á¡ÒÉt ¯ecÑÒ Ï¡ÒáÁ) declares: The Rabbis envisioned an additional role for the leader of the “We have concluded the seder performed according to all the stan- seder very different from the religious legalist. They sought a 1 dards of Jewish law.” It reflects the satisfaction of priestly/ gracious and sophisticated host of a symposium. The meal, for rabbinic leaders who have completed all the steps of the seder on Greek upper classes and for Rabbinic scholars alike, was a place time without skipping anything. They fulfilled their duties not for intellectual discussion — serious and light at once. only to religious law but to the age-old tradition of their While reclining on couches (living room in Greek is grandparents. It was “done right,” with the same conscientious- tri-clinium — three beds or couches), sipping wine (“symposium” ness with which the priests once conducted the Pesach sacrifice means “drinking together”), and dipping vegetables in appetiz- in the Temple. Even though the age of sacrifices is over, the ing sauces, the host would propose a topic for discussion such as Rabbis codified the “seder” — which means “the order of rites” — the nature of love (as in Plato’s Symposium) or the origins of the to allow lay persons to transform their homes into miniature holiday being celebrated. Later the celebrants would sing songs Temples. After a religiously meticulous purification of the house to praise the Divine. The qualities demanded of the leader from chametz, the leaders become the stand-in for the priest at remind us of a top-notch talk-show moderator: this home service. Since Pesach is the covenant renewal The leader of the symposium “took pride in gathering about ceremony of the Jewish people, the punishment for a Seder him many persons of culture and entertaining them with improperly performed is figuratively karet — to be cut off from conversation . now proposing topics worthy of enquiry, now one’s people. disclosing solutions of his own; for he never put his questions In the twentieth century, rabbis are often hired to serve without previous study or in a haphazard way, but with the utmost critical, even Socratic acumen, so that all admired the priestly roles in synagogue rites, but on Pesach the home is the keen observation showed by his question.” synagogue and each parent must become the master of (ATHENAEUS, DEIPNOSOPHISTS, 2ND C. GREECE) Jewish ceremonies. Even if we are lax on kashrut or holiday observance generally, Pesach is not to be taken lightly. It cannot “Questions should be easy, the problems plain and familiar, not intricate and dark, so that they may neither vex the unlearned be just a social get-together. The table must become a kind of nor frighten them from speaking up . the discourse should be altar, and the atmosphere must be more formal, more sanctified. like our wine, common to all, of which everyone may equally However, choosing the priestly/rabbinic role often means partake.” fighting a rear guard action against all those who want to “get to “A symposium is a communion of serious and mirthful the food already.” Many leaders think that the seder requires entertainment, discourse and symbolic actions . (It furthers) them to read all the Hebrew even if incomprehensible. Under a deeper insight into the points debated at the table. For the time pressure, the priest-in-us may squelch adult discussions and memory of the pleasures arising from the food is shortlived . postpone the need to dramatize the story for the children. In but the subjects of philosophical queries and discussions the name of the demands of tradition, innovations may seem remain always fresh after they have been imparted.” threatening. The priestly leader may feel that without faithfully (PLUTARCH, QUAESTIONES, 2ND C. GREECE AND ROME) sticking to the order, the family seder will disintegrate and with The Rabbis, like the Greeks, loved to delve into the classics it perhaps the family cohesiveness.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Four Questions: a Seder Source-Pack
    There is a famous story about Isidor I. Rabi, the Nobel laureate in physics, who was once asked why he decided to become a scientist rather than a doctor, lawyer, or businessman like most of the other children from his immigrant neighborhood. Rabi credited his career choice to his Mom. He wrote, “My mother made me a scientist without ever intending it. Every other Jewish mother in Brooklyn would ask her child after school: ‘Nu? Did you learn something today?’ But not my mother. She always asked me a different question. ‘Izzy,’ she would say, ‘Did you ask a good question today?’ That difference – asking good questions – made me become a scientist.” (Donald Scheff, New York Times, Jan. 19, 1988) This week we finally arrive at the holiday of questions, the sacred festival of Passover which begins on Monday night. We will gather around seder tables with family and friends, telling the tale of the Exodus and reciting an ancient liturgy, adding our own personal songs and traditions, recipes and family stories into the mix. For many of us, the iconic moment of the Passover seder is the singing of the Four Questions, an age-old rite of passage traditionally reserved for the very youngest amongst us. Some of us will remember warbling out these lines for the very first time, perhaps taunted or encouraged by older siblings and cousins; others will reminisce about teaching these verses to our children and grand- children, delighting in their every word. Either way, the Four Questions are not only nostalgic but also essential.
    [Show full text]
  • Dngd Zkqn Massekhet Hahammah
    dngd zkqn Massekhet HaHammah Compiled and Translated with Commentary by Abe Friedman A Project of the Commission on Social Justice and Public Policy of the Leadership Council of Conservative Judaism Rabbi Leonard Gordon, Chair [email protected] Table of Contents Preface i Introduction v Massekhet HaHammah 1. One Who Sees the Sun 1 2. Creation of the Lights 5 3. Righteous and Wicked 9 4. Sun and Sovereignty 15 5. The Fields of Heaven 20 6. Star-Worshippers 28 7. Astrology and Omens 32 8. Heavenly Praise 41 9. Return and Redemption 45 Siyyum for Massekhet HaHammah 51 Bibliography 54 Preface Massekhet HaHammah was developed with the support of the Commission on Social Justice and Public Policy of the Conservative Movement in response to the “blessing of the sun” (Birkat HaHammah), a ritual that takes place every 28 years and that will fall this year on April 8, 2009 / 14 Nisan 5769, the date of the Fast of the Firstborn on the eve of Passover. A collection of halakhic and aggadic texts, classic and contemporary, dealing with the sun, Massekhet HaHammah was prepared as a companion to the ritual for Birkat HaHammah. Our hope is that rabbis and communities will study this text in advance of the Fast and use it both for adult learning about this fascinating ritual and as the text around which to build a siyyum, a celebratory meal marking the conclusion of a block of text study and releasing firstborn in the community from the obligation to fast on the eve of the Passover seder.1 We are also struck this year by the renewed importance of our focus on the sun given the universal concern with global warming and the need for non-carbon-based renewable resources, like solar energy.
    [Show full text]
  • Questions to Enhance Pesach 2021
    QUESTIONS TO ENHANCE PESACH 2021 © 2021 Areyvut | Reproduce and use with permission | (201) 244-6702 | www.areyvut.org TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .............................................................. 3 COMMUNITY .................................................................. 4 COVID-19....................................................................... 4 DAYENU ......................................................................... 5 DO YOU... ...................................................................... 5 DIASPORA ...................................................................... 5 EGYPT ............................................................................ 6 ELIYAHU HANAVI ............................................................ 6 EXODUS ......................................................................... 6 FAMILY ........................................................................... 7 FOOD ............................................................................. 7 FOOR FOR THOUGHT ...................................................... 7 FOUR SONS ................................................................... 9 FREEDOM ....................................................................... 9 GRATITUDE ..................................................................... 10 HAGGADAH ................................................................... 10 HUNGER ........................................................................ 10 KARPAS ........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • A Trilingual Humanist Haggadah for Passover
    A Trilingual Humanist Haggadah for Passover Compiled and edited by Cecilia Kremer and Sandra Mayo We have come together to honor our Jewish deep historic roots and its old important memories. Each of us is an extension of the past. We are more than individuals. We have connections. We receive our inheritance; we leave our legacy. We are here to remember the old story of the liberation of our people from slavery in Egypt (Mitzraim), a great struggle for freedom and dignity. We are here also to remember all people – Jews and non-Jews – who are still struggling for their freedom. To set the tone for the night, let us sing: Hee-nay Ma Tov ִהנֵּה ַמה טוֹב ַוּמה ִנָּעים ֶשׁ ֶבת ִאָחים ַגּם יַ ַחד Hine(y) ma tov u’ma-nayim Shevet ach-im gam ya-chad Behold, how good and pleasant it is For brothers and sisters to live together in unity 1 Welcome to our Seder Bienvenidos a nuestro Séder We come from many places. Our collective experience encompasses different cultures, faiths, traditions, and beliefs. We are in so many ways fundamentally different from one another. But just as we are different, so are we alike. We are all capable of loving, caring, being compassionate and empathic. We are all capable of hating, fearing, being blinded by prejudice and xenophobia. We all share feelings. Feelings of joy, feelings of sadness, feelings of wholeness, feelings of pain. Our lives are defined by the contrast between sweet moments and moments of sorrow. In spite of all that makes us different, let us be capable of sharing and receiving from one another.
    [Show full text]
  • OF 17Th 2004 Gender Relationships in Marriage and Out.Pdf (1.542Mb)
    Gender Relationships In Marriage and Out Edited by Rivkah Blau Robert S. Hirt, Series Editor THE MICHAEL SCHARF PUBLICATION TRUST of the YESHIVA UNIVERSITY PRESs New York OF 17 r18 CS2ME draft 8 balancediii iii 9/2/2007 11:28:13 AM THE ORTHODOX FORUM The Orthodox Forum, initially convened by Dr. Norman Lamm, Chancellor of Yeshiva University, meets each year to consider major issues of concern to the Jewish community. Forum participants from throughout the world, including academicians in both Jewish and secular fields, rabbis,rashei yeshivah, Jewish educators, and Jewish communal professionals, gather in conference as a think tank to discuss and critique each other’s original papers, examining different aspects of a central theme. The purpose of the Forum is to create and disseminate a new and vibrant Torah literature addressing the critical issues facing Jewry today. The Orthodox Forum gratefully acknowledges the support of the Joseph J. and Bertha K. Green Memorial Fund at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary established by Morris L. Green, of blessed memory. The Orthodox Forum Series is a project of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, an affiliate of Yeshiva University OF 17 r18 CS2ME draft 8 balancedii ii 9/2/2007 11:28:13 AM Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Orthodox Forum (17th : 2004 : New York, NY) Gender relationships in marriage and out / edited by Rivkah Blau. p. cm. – (Orthodox Forum series) ISBN 978-0-88125-971-1 1. Marriage. 2. Marriage – Religious aspects – Judaism. 3. Marriage (Jewish law) 4. Man-woman relationships – Religious aspects – Judaism. I.
    [Show full text]
  • Earth Justice Seder
    Earth Justice Seder THE PASSOVER HAGGADAH FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PREFACE We invite you to use this Haggadah companion to remind ourselves how Jewish tradition teaches us to care for all living things of the earth and all of our neighbors. You are free to use this adapted service either as a companion to your favorite Haggadah or as an independent Haggadah. We chose to focus on the frame of climate change and the celebration of our earth, as it relates to the agricultural celebration of Pesach. We recognize that there are missing pieces like Miriam’s Cup, and other modern adaptations of the Passover seder. We welcome you to add in or substitute any of the pieces included here, and hope that you may make the seder your own. This haggadah was compiled by Liya Rechtman of Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life, Elana Orbuch of AVODAH and Interfaith Power and Light-D.C. Maryland and Northern Virginia, Isabel Zeitz-Moskin of Lutheran Volunteer Corps and Interfaith Power and Light - D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia and Rachel Landman of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. We gratefully acknowledge all of our contributors: Adam Gorod, Joelle Novey, Rabbi Fred Scherlinder-Dobb, Rabbi Warren Stone, Stewart Vile Tahl and are grateful to Joe Gindi and Jackie Temkin for the editing of this project. 1 ORDER OF THE SEDER Introduction – Preparing for the Seder: Continuity with the Future, by Joelle Novey Kadesh – The First Cup: Access to Clean Water Urchatz – Handwashing: The Importance of Water Karpas – Dipping Greens: If the Earth
    [Show full text]
  • Below Are the Words to the Blessings and Songs Recorded by Cantor Strauss-Klein for Use at Your Seder
    Below are the words to the blessings and songs recorded by Cantor Strauss-Klein for use at your Seder. This document will help you in practicing as you prepare; all of these should also be in whatever Haggadah you are using. We wish you good health, blessing, and safety during the festival and beyond. Chag Sameach! May you have a blessed Passover! 1. Festival Candlelighting plus Shehecheyanu 2. Kadeish Ur’chatz 3. Kiddush plus Shehecheyanu 4. Blessing over Karpas 5. Ha Lachma Anya 6. Mah Nishtanah (Four Questions) 7. Avadim Hayinu 8. V’hi She’amdah 9. Dayeinu 10. B’chol Dor Vador 11. B’tzeit Yisrael-Mah L’cha Hayam (Psalm 114) 12. Blessing over 2nd, 3rd, 4th cups of wine 13. Blessing over Matzah (Motzi-Matzah) 14. Blessing over Maror 15. Eliyahu HaNavi 16. Adir Hu 17. Echad Mi Yodeia (verses 1 and 13) 18. Chad Gadya (in English) 19. L’shana Haba’ah 1 1. Festival Candlelighting and Shehecheyanu בָּרּוְך אַתָּהַאדֹנָּי אֱֹלהֵינּו מֶלְֶך הָּעֹולָּם אֲשֶר קִדְּשָּנּו בְּמִצְֹּותָּיווְּצִּוָּנּו לְּהַדְּלִיק נֵר שֶל יום טוב Ba-ruch A-tah Adonai E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ha'o-lam a-sher kid'sha-nu b'mitz-vo-tav, v'tzi- va-nu l'had-lik ner shel Yom Tov. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who taught us the way of holiness through Mitzvot, commanding us to light the festival lights. בָּרּוְך אַתָּהה' אֱֹלהֵינּו מֶלְֶךהָּעֹולָּם, שֶהֶחֱיָּנּו וְּקִיְּמָּנּו וְּהִגִיעָּנּו לַזְּמַן הַזֶה Ba-ruch A-tah Adonai E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ha'o-lam she-he-che-ya-nu v'ki-yi-ma-nu vi-hi-gi- ya-nu la-zman ha-zeh.
    [Show full text]
  • April-2019 Web.Pdf
    1836 Rohrerstown Road Lancaster, PA 17601 [email protected] 717-581-7891 www.tbelancaster.org Volume 71, No. 8 PASSOVER APRIL 2019 Mission Statement APRIL EVENTS The mission of Temple Beth El is to pro- April 2 Executive Committee meeting @7:00 PM vide a house of Conservative Jewish April 4 Sisterhood Calendar meeting @Randi Jacobs’ home @7:00 PM worship which fosters spiritual fulfill- April 7 Women’s Seder @3:00 PM ment, Jewish theology, life-long Jewish April 8 Temple Board meeting @7:15 PM education, and community support April 11 Ethical Life Course @7:15 PM - 8:45 PM throughout the cycles of the seasons. April 14 Men’s Club Board of Directors April 28 Parent–Child Text Study from 12 Noon to 1:15 PM Co-Pres. - David Ehrlich & Gary Kogon Schedule of Shabbat Services 2nd VP - Steve Gordon Secy - Harold Koplin April 5 Shabbat Services Treasurer - Samantha Besnoff 7:30 PM Weekend sponsors:Andi & Herb Shiroff in honor of their 35th Financial Secy - Linda Hutt Wedding Anniversary AND Lynn & Chris Brooks in honor of family birthdays Lynn Brooks, Bob Brosbe, Abshalom Cooper, Sue Friedman, Yitzie Gans, Arne April 6 Torah Reading:Tazria Ostroff, Dolly Shuster, Earl Stein & Marc 9:30 AM Weiner Sisterhood Rep. - Joan Goldman April 12 Shabbat Services 7:30 PM Weekend sponsors: Numa & Dick Lavy in memory of Numa’s Rabbi Daniela Szuster & father, M. Alfred Kolman Rabbi Rami Pavolotzky Principals - Rabbi Daniela & Rabbi Rami April 13 Torah Reading:Metzora Men’s Club - Steve Kleinman 9:30 AM Sisterhood - Sisterhood Board Membership - Susan
    [Show full text]
  • The Torah As an Enactivist Model: Legal Thinking Beyond Natural Law and Positive Law
    Ancilla Iuris Special Issue: Natural Law? Conceptions and Implications of Natural Law Elements of Religious Legal Discourse Prof. Dr. Ronen Reichman Dr. Britta Müller-Schauenburg (Guest Editors) Die Tora als enaktivistisches Muster: Rechtsdenken jenseits von Naturrecht und positivem Recht The Torah as an Enactivist Model: Legal thinking beyond natural law and positive law Asher J. Mattern* Translated by Jacob Watson Ancilla Iuris, 2017 Lagen des Rechts Synopsis E-ISSN 1661-8610 Constellations of Law DOAJ 1661-8610 ASHER J. MATTERN – THE TORAH AS AN ENACTIVIST MODEL Abstract Abstract Die abendländische, klassische wie moderne, Refle- The occidental reflexions on Law, classical as xion über das Recht wird durch den Gegensatz zwi- modern, is determined by the opposition between schen Naturrecht und positivem Recht bestimmt. natural and positive law. The Jewish understanding Das jüdische Verständnis des Gesetzes transzen- of Law transcends this dichotomy by projecting a diert diese Dichotomie durch die Projektion eines circular model: The divine Law is developped con- zirkulären Modells: Das göttliche Gesetz wird kon- cretely in the discussion of rabbinical scholars and kret in der Diskussion der rabbinischen Gelehrten this discussion has itself, as Oral Law, the status of entwickelt, und diese Diskussion hat selbst als being god-given. The Torah as the basis of the Jewish mündliches Gesetz den Status des gottgegebenen law is thus interpreted in the rabbinic tradition as Gesetzes. Die Tora als Grundlage des jüdischen the idea of a law in which the constructive interpre- Gesetzes wird also in der rabbinischen Tradition als tation is understood as a more precise discovery of die Idee eines Gesetzes interpretiert, in dem die kon- that what really is, that means an interpretation in struktive Interpretation als eine genauere Entde- which coincides with the invention and exploration ckung dessen, was wirklich ist, verstanden wird, d.h.
    [Show full text]
  • Humor in Talmud and Midrash
    Tue 14, 21, 28 Apr 2015 B”H Dr Maurice M. Mizrahi Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia Adult Learning Institute Jewish Humor Through the Sages Contents Introduction Warning Humor in Tanach Humor in Talmud and Midrash Desire for accuracy Humor in the phrasing The A-Fortiori argument Stories of the rabbis Not for ladies The Jewish Sherlock Holmes Checks and balances Trying to fault the Torah Fervor Dreams Lying How many infractions? Conclusion Introduction -Not general presentation on Jewish humor: Just humor in Tanach, Talmud, Midrash, and other ancient Jewish sources. -Far from exhaustive. -Tanach mentions “laughter” 50 times (root: tz-cho-q) [excluding Yitzhaq] -Talmud: Records teachings of more than 1,000 rabbis spanning 7 centuries (2nd BCE to 5th CE). Basis of all Jewish law. -Savoraim improved style in 6th-7th centuries CE. -Rabbis dream up hypothetical situations that are strange, farfetched, improbable, or even impossible. -To illustrate legal issues, entertain to make study less boring, and sharpen the mind with brainteasers. 1 -Going to extremes helps to understand difficult concepts. (E.g., Einstein's “thought experiments”.) -Some commentators say humor is not intentional: -Maybe sometimes, but one cannot avoid the feeling it is. -Reason for humor not always clear. -Rabbah (4th century CE) always began his lectures with a joke: Before he began his lecture to the scholars, [Rabbah] used to say something funny, and the scholars were cheered. After that, he sat in awe and began the lecture. [Shabbat 30b] -Laughing and entertaining are important. Talmud: -Rabbi Beroka Hoza'ah often went to the marketplace at Be Lapat, where [the prophet] Elijah often appeared to him.
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish Federation of Central New York of Central New York
    Jewish Observer» A month of remembering A publication of the Jewish Federation of Central New York of Central New York PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID, SYRACUSE, NY & ADDITIONAL OFFICES SYRACUSE, ISRAEL & THE JEWISH WORLD | WWW.JEWISHFEDERATIONCNY.ORG APRIL 2020 | NISAN-IYAR 5780 Ma Nishtana? LOOK: INSIDE: DON’T MISS: INHERITANCE PHOTO CONTEST WHAT I LOVE (6) WINNER ABOUT PASSOVER (8) (12) Jewish Observer April 2020 of Central New York Published by Jewish Federation of Central New York Editor’s Note Letter to the Editor 5655 Thompson Road DeWitt, NY 13214 Passover is my favorite holi- As a result of the turmoil caused by the corona virus pandem- day. There are services in shul, ic, there may be people in our community who will need to take phone: 315-445-2040 x116 but the highlight for me is our advantage of a very important Federation program. The Hebrew fax: 315- 445-1599 seder, which means “order.” It is Interest-free Loan Program of Central New York offers financial jewishfederationcny.org not just the order of the meal. stability and opportunity for Central New Yorkers by providing It is the order of a ritual dat- access to safe and affordable credit in the form of interest-free ing back thousands of years. It loans. HILP loans can make an immediate, concrete difference is also the order of what we do in the lives of borrowers, enabling them to meet emergency for the holiday – and the meal. expenses, invest in their education, start a business, and more. President/CEO ......................................................................................................Michael
    [Show full text]
  • The Pardes Companion to the Haggadah
    13lurc v,t The Pardes Companion to the Haggadah Introduction Yaffa Epstein Pesach is a time of inclusion. On seder night, there are two moments where we metaphorically open our doors and invite others in. One is at the opening of the Magid portion of the seder, when we say, “All who are hungry come and eat.” There is a beautiful message here: we were once slaves; poor and hungry, and we remember our redemption by sharing what we have with others. The other, comes towards the end of the seder, when we have the custom of pouring a fifth cup of wine, which we claim is for Elijah the Prophet.This is a statement of faith, a statement that says that although we are a free people, our redemption is not yet complete, and we believe that it will come. From the most downtrodden to the most celebrated, the message is clear: everyone is welcome, and everyone is necessary. Why is it that we go out of our way to include all at our seder table? Perhaps it is because when we make room for others, we have the opportunity to make room for ourselves as well. In fact, the Mishnah (Pesahim 10:5) teaches us that: In every generation a person is obligated to“ "בכל דור ודור חייב אדם לראות את ”.see themselves as if they left Egypt עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים." The seder presents us with the obligation of identifying with the generation that left Egypt and internalizing that experience. And through that internalization, we come to feel the redemption as if it was our own as well.
    [Show full text]