ב"ה

Rabbis' Blog

Behind the Scenes at the Splitting of the See

Sunday, April 28, 2024 - 12:25 PM

Sunday evening we begin celebrating the final two days of Pesach, known as Shvii Shel Pesach (Seventh Day of Pesach) and Acharon Shel Pesach (Final Day of Pesach) respectively. It will mark 3,336 years to the day the Jewish nation stood at the Red Sea, with the Egyptian army bearing down upon them with nowhere to escape.

At dawn G-d commanded Moses to lift his staff, a mighty wind blew the sea apart, the Jews crossed the parted sea on dry land while the Egyptians who chased after them drowned in its turbulent waters. It was quite a scene that made international headlines at the time and is considered one of the grandest miracles ever displayed by G-d. The grand finale of almost a year long process to securing the freedom of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery.

While we give thanks to G-d for those tremendous miracles, there is another part of the dramatic story that played out that night which has practical relevance to every Jew today.

Pinned against the roaring sea by the bloodthirsty Egyptian army, the Jews were paralyzed by fear, indecision and worst of all fragmentation. Some insisted on fighting the Egyptians while others moaned it was time to drown themselves at sea both preferring death over going back to slavery. One defeatist group even suggested returning to their wretched slave lives they had just left one week earlier while a more hopeful group claimed it was time to pray to G-d for salvation.

In response G-d told Moses all four groups were wrong. “Speak to the children of Israel and tell them to travel!” At the liberation the Jews were told they were headed to Mt. Sinai in order to receive the Torah. Why had they stopped traveling?

Before anyone knew the divine plans for a miraculous sea crossing, one man took initiative. If G-d said to continue traveling to Sinai, the fact there was a raging sea in the way was of no consequence. Nachshon Ben Aminadav, the leader of the tribe of Judah, jumped into the sea and started walking towards Sinai. His tribe and many others followed his lead and soon there were thousands of Jews jumping into the water with the intention of moving closer to Sinai. When the water reached Nachshon’s nose, G-d instructed Moses to lift his staff and split the sea, and the rest is history.

That night Nachshon set the Jewish standard for Jewish self-sacrifice. He did not seek drama or fame. If G-d instructed to reach Sinai nothing, not even a raging sea would stop him from getting there. Today, more than ever, we are called upon to be like Nachshon. Many Jews are faced with challenges unprecedented in the modern world. Challenges to our Jewish observance, identity and pride.

May this anniversary of Nachashon’s heroic jump inspire us to keep moving in the right direction despite all odds, until we reach the ultimate destination, the arrival of Moshiach when peace and tranquility will reign for all.

Encourage children to ask questions, and be prepared to answer them

Sunday, April 28, 2024 - 12:11 PM

My children are an inquisitive bunch, and as they grow older their questions get deeper and tougher to answer. Most information I can find on the internet but often their questions demand answers beyond facts and figures. That’s what makes the annual celebration of Passover so interesting for us.

Passover Seder is the longest-running annual family dinner in history. 3,336 years ago G-d instructed the Israelites to have a feast of roasted sacrificial meat, unleavened bread called Matzah, and bitter herbs on the eve of their redemption from Egyptian slavery. This marked the birth of the Jewish nation and the anniversary has been observed ever since with a choreographed festive dinner packed with many rules and traditions.

Storytelling is a major component of the seder schedule and, as biblically prescribed, the story of our exodus is meant to be told as a response to questions asked by children. “And it will come to pass if your child asks you in the future, saying, "What is this?" you shall say, "With a mighty hand G-d took us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 13:14).

This question-and-answer format is so integral to the Passover observance that our sages composed a text of four questions famously known as the “Ma Nishtana” recorded in every Haggadah (Passover seder guidebook). Children have been asking these questions to their parents during the seder for thousands of years: What makes this night different from all other nights? Why do we dip vegetables twice, eat unleavened bread exclusively, have bitter herbs, and eat and drink while reclining?

Placing the spotlight on the children during the most important religious family ceremony of the year has had profound positive ramifications in ensuring our heritage continues through the ages. Preparing them to perform that night is an educational priority as Passover approaches.

Four days before Passover in 1989 the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson celebrated his 87th birthday. It was Sunday, and following his long-standing weekly tradition, he greeted the thousands of people who came to receive his blessing by handing each one a dollar bill to be given to charity. I recently watched a compilation of six conversations he had with parents and children that Sunday afternoon.

The Rebbe asked whether the children were prepared to ask the Four Questions at the seder - a standard pre-Passover inquiry - but then asked whether the parents had already prepared the answers. It struck me that with this follow-up question, the Rebbe was teaching us all an important lesson in education and parenting. If you encourage the children to ask questions you must be prepared to answer them. Although our children are trained to ask a boilerplate text of questions and we will recite the traditional text from the Haggadah in response, we must appreciate that each child is asking something unique, and as their elders, we must be prepared to answer the child and not the question.

When we celebrate liberty children want to understand what liberty is all about, not only through historical facts and figures but through learning from the example of their parents and educators. We must be prepared to answer their questions about living moral and ethical lives, anchored in divine truths and faith in G-d, dedicated to the betterment of society and the entire world.

This is why the Rebbe’s birthday is observed each year as Education and Sharing Day, in tribute to his outstanding dedication to education. A time to pause and reflect on our duty and opportunity to enhance the moral and ethical education of all our children. It’s about creating conversations that matter around dinner tables, in classrooms, and wherever we interact with our young ones.

I am thankful that the El Paso County Commissioners' Court and the El Paso City Council issued proclamations, joining the president, dozens of governors, and numerous local governments around the country in recognizing the Rebbe’s birthday, April 19 as Education and Sharing Day.

Let us reflect on our collective obligation and opportunity to enhance the true education of our children. To serve as proper role models of how we take concrete action in bringing more goodness and kindness into our world. This is the perfect way to apply the cardinal lessons of Passover throughout the year and make a real difference.

In the El Paso Times: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/opinion/2024/04/18/apply-the-lessons-of-passover-throughout-the-year-rabbi-levi-greenberg/73338828007/

On ElPasoMatters.org: https://elpasomatters.org/2024/04/18/opinion-rebbe-menachem-schneerson-passover-lesson-children/

On AOL: https://www.aol.com/let-us-reflect-obligation-enhance-120112005.html

In Spanish: https://diario.mx/opinion-el-paso/lecciones-de-la-pascua-judia-mas-alla-de-las-preguntas-20240420-2171745.html

What's the deal with hand-baked Shmurah Matzah?

Friday, April 12, 2024 - 2:52 PM

There are two types of Matzah. The round hand-baked Matzah and the square machine-made Matzah. Many wonder about the difference between them and why it’s highly recommended you specifically get hold of round hand-baked Shmurah Matzah.

Both Matzahs are made of the same ingredients: flour and water. However, having the right ingredients is not nearly enough to have a legitimate Matzah for Passover. From the time the flour meets the water the leaven fermentation process starts happening and if the dough is not handled and baked properly, it can become “Chametz” which is Hebrew for “leaven” and strictly prohibited throughout Passover.

This brings us to an important nugget of consumer information: not all Matzah sold in the supermarket is kosher for Passover! That’s right. The companies won’t lie to you. If the Matzah is prepared for Passover, it will say so on the box. If not, it will state that as well. And if there are other ingredients in the Matzah, while it may be kosher for Passover, it cannot be used at the Seder. Check the boxes well!

While regular Matzah is closely regulated from the time the flour meets the water in the baker’s bowl, “Shmurah Matzah” means the regulation begins from the harvest. The wheat is harvested during the summer in dry conditions to ensure no moisture could render the kernels unusable. Every step of the process is closely watched until the Matzah comes out of the oven.

We Jews have been baking Matzah for 3,336 years and for most of that time, the only option was for it to be done by hand. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, a machine was invented to bake Matzah. While it made Matzah production cheaper and easier, and the product may be consumed on Passover because it is not Chametz, many wondered if the machine Matzah could be used to fulfill the obligation to eat Matzah during the Seder. Here’s why:

Matzah is not just unleavened bread - it’s a Mitzvah food. Mitzvah needs intention and machines can’t think. The people involved in the baking process must focus on the fact that these Matzahs will be used to fulfill G-d’s commandment for us to commemorate the exodus from Egypt. If you dig a little deeper, the spiritual element of Matzah lends itself to personal human involvement and not a cookie-cutter machine process.

According to tradition - when eaten on Passover - Shmurah Matzah represents “food of faith” and “food of healing.” These two crucial areas of life require constant nurturing and monitoring and despite universal dogmas, everyone’s individuality is expressed in them as well. While there are specific textbooks for faith, these beliefs manifest differently in our unique consciousness. While medicine is a textbook-based discipline, every person’s body is different and nothing can replace in-person doctor checkups.

That’s why it’s recommended you have at least some hand-baked Shmura Matzah for the Seder. Allow the experience of true liberty to permeate your body and soul from a rugged human perspective that appreciates and values your spiritual and physical individuality. Please reach out to learn how you can get Shmura Matzah for your Seder.

In these unprecedented times, the messages and spiritual properties of Shmurah Matzah are especially pertinent, and may they serve as a conduit for G-d's blessings of good health, spiritual growth, and material prosperity for us all.

Best wishes for a Kosher and happy Passover.

How the Eclipse Contextualizes the Latest Israel Hysteria

Friday, April 5, 2024 - 2:05 PM

As we anticipate the upcoming Great North American Eclipse this Monday the global hysteria over the terrible war Israel must wage now seems to be climaxing and many are anxious about the near future. G-d carefully choreographs everything that happens in this world, and through the Torah, we can at least glean insight into how to contextualize what is going on at all times.

This Shabbat during synagogue services, in preparation for the upcoming holiday of Passover, we will read from two Torah scrolls. In the first, we will read the weekly parsha of Shemini, in the second we will read G-d’s instructions to the Israelites to prepare a Passover sacrifice in anticipation of their upcoming exodus from Egyptian slavery.

This extra section, called “Hachodesh,” opens with the details of the Jewish calendar. One of the most defining characteristics of the Jewish calendar is that it follows the lunar cycle. The year is generally comprised of 12 lunar months (approximately 354 days and not 365 days) and the Jewish dates, which define our holidays and life cycle events, give you an idea of how the moon looks that night. Since Rosh Hashanah is the first day of the month of Tishrei you will always see the tiniest sliver of the moon on Rosh Hashanah eve (if at all), whereas the Passover Seder night, which is on the fifteenth of Nissan, will always have a full, bright moon.

Judaism emphasizes our intrinsic connection to our calendar to the point that the Jewish nation is often compared to the moon whereas the rest of the nations are likened to the sun. One of the most obvious correlations is size: The moon is much smaller than the sun, and Jews have always been and always will be a fraction of a minority in a world of billions. But despite our comparatively meager numbers, we have survived everyone and everything for over three thousand years.

Not only that, the tiny moon can even eclipse the much larger and more powerful sun.

This brings me to the newest developments about Israel. Diving into the details of the latest moral finger-wagging and righteous indignation the world is directing toward us would be a total distraction and wise people should not take the bait. But when nations with overwhelming numbers or with superior resources seek to dictate how Israel can defend itself by claiming the moral high ground and leveraging their physical and financial superiority, it’s understandably intimidating.

The convergence of the solar eclipse and the reading of Hachodesh reminds us that our legitimacy has nothing to do with our population size, resources, or brute force. 3,336 years ago G-d designated us as a luminary with the resilience of the moon to bring the divine beauty and moral clarity of the Torah to all humanity. A cursory read of our long history proves that there is nothing we haven’t dealt with before and nothing can ever destroy us. As the Passover Haggadah so poignantly states: “In every generation, they rise up to destroy us, but G-d saves us from their hands.”

Enjoy the eclipse!

Looking for older posts? See the sidebar for the Archive.