Pesach is the season of freedom, humility, and telling the Pesach story to children who mostly do know what’s about to happen but still perplexed with all the ceremony. For most children, parents are their most trusted source of guidance during their formative years. Hear several esoteric essays of the Sefas Emes about this pinnacle chapter of our Nations' birth.
Which universal character trait generates flexibility of thinking plus extra energy to act? And how does making the effort to shrink one's ego relate to the central elements of seder night? Rebbetzin Heller walks us through the basic stages of the Seder, tying together many of the threads using humility and freedom.
The name Pesach is quite literal. It was named at the time Hashem 'passed over' the Jewish homes during the 10th plague. Likewise, this chag of freedom helps us leap over our own obstacles to growth that are more difficult to reach otherwise. Once again Rabbi Krohn entertains us with his boundless enthusiasm and razor-sharp stories.
A good story can often hammer home the point of a lesson. And who can better teach us how to tell a powerful story than master teacher and storyteller Rabbi Pesach Krohn. Hear how to make a story a knockout, how to build up your repertoire of tales, and how to know which story to tell 'when' and 'to whom.' A great skill for communication in general.
The very first commandment we were given as a nation was to sanctify the new moon, which carried with it the responsibility for the dates of the holidays that fall within each month. What connotation does the cycle of the moon and our relationship to it carry about our spiritual greatness, and how does it connect to the holiday of Passover that this portion precedes?
On this night, we are told: Tell your children all the events of our redemption from Egyptian bondage. The Pesach Seder is the optimum time for embedding our beliefs into their lives. Hear the rock-bottom, essential message that children need to hear - mainly from their parents, and throughout the year as well.
What is it about the number four that so often connotes negativity and physicality? Rabbi Lopiansky discusses this first attempt at expansion, and analyzes when this moving beyond self can be a negative or positive act, depending on a connection with the original source. An excellent class that helps shed light on the fours of Pesach, and Parshas HaChodesh.
There are many questions that revolve around why “Sefer Vayikra” needs to be read in shul before Pesach. One of the many dilemmas discussed are: when a year has two Adars, in which month won’t Purim happen? Another highlight of this class is how the Egyptians brought upon themselves the ten plagues - mida–keneged–mida.Great moments of drama for Layil Ha-seder.
24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva died during the 33 days between Pesach and Lag b'Omer. During this mourning period we attempt to correct the reason for their deaths. Hear the significance of their passing during the period of counting the Omer towards Kaballas HaTorah. Learn why honoring the Torah has more importance than just accepting it.
Rabbi Zweig identifies the two methods of speech we use on the Seder night – one a soft language of storytelling, and one that is harsh and demanding. Don’t the two contradict? Pesach night can be a time of glorious memories of freedom, but the night can’t stop there. How do we direct it toward the future?