Prophetess, Leader, Musician
Apr 29, 2016 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Pesah
Joy is the theme of the hour as God鈥檚 praises are sung during the completion of Hallel. The image that bursts forth in our mind鈥檚 eye is that of Miriam the Prophetess and the women celebrating their newly found freedom on the banks of the Reed Sea. While the moment is solemn, it is also one of intense elation.
Shevi鈥檌 Shel Pesah: Living at the Frontier
Apr 29, 2016 By Lauren Henderson | Commentary | Pesah
On the seventh day of Passover (Shevi鈥檌 shel Pesah), we reached the frontier of our existence: Yam Suf, the Sea of Reeds. We had known slavery intimately, becoming deeply comfortable in Egypt even as we clamored to leave. And after all the plagues and darkness and death, we arrived, trembling, at the water鈥檚 edge, about to surface and breathe the unfamiliar air of freedom for the first time.
A Noble Freedom
Apr 22, 2016 By Tim Daniel Bernard | Commentary | Pesah
Many Virginians of middle and upper ranks aspired to behave like gentlemen. In the early seventeenth century an English gentleman was defined as one who could 鈥渓ive idly and without manual labor.鈥� The words 鈥済entleman鈥� and 鈥渋ndependent鈥� were used synonymously, and 鈥渋ndependence鈥� in this context meant freedom from the necessity of labor.
Read More鈥擠avid Hackett Fischer, Albion鈥檚 Seed: Four British Folkways in America, 366
Beyond the Exodus from Egypt
Apr 15, 2016 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol | Pesah
Most of us, at one time or another, have asked the question about the Passover seder that the Haggadah attributes to the 鈥渨icked son鈥�: What is the point of all this? At such moments of skepticism, we probably understand why an annual family gathering is worthwhile, we perhaps remember fondly the seders of our youth, and we may even confess to being moved by the rituals reenacted at the seder table year after year: reciting the four questions, dripping wine from cup to plate at the recital of the ten plagues, singing Had Gadya. But really, we ask: Why is the event of Israelite slaves leaving Egypt over 3,000 years ago (if it ever happened in the first place) so important that an entire holiday is devoted to it (not to mention countless daily prayers)?
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