How valuable is a word of prayer? Imagine also that 2-karat diamonds are scattered all over the pavement of a downtown sidewalk. There are so many of these gemstones that people treat them with the same indifference as they would pebbles. This is no exaggeration; it might even be the understatement… [Read more...]

King David spoke from the soul. As the Almighty's anointed, his soul contained the sparks of all of our souls. His exquisite words are the protocols of his intimate discourse with the Almighty. These words illuminated his soul in the darkness that he faced his entire life. Therefore, when we say… [Read more...]

Is the Seder night important for a Noahide? Let’s find out. The Seder night is when we tell the story of our Exodus from Egypt. This is one of the Torah’s 613 commandments that one can fulfill only once a year on the first night of Passover (and the 2nd night as well, outside of… [Read more...]

The account of the four sons in the Passover Haggadah is like a kaleidoscope where we see how four general types of people relate to emuna. What's more, we learn about four facets that are in each of us. As such, the Passover Seder and the story of the Exodus are as relevant today as they were… [Read more...]

Passover is our freedom holiday. On Passover night at the Seder, we tell the story of how the Almighty liberated us from slavery in Egypt. But are we free today? Half the world's Jews live under foreign regimes. The other half live in Israel, which is far from independent today, living under… [Read more...]

The Divine Presence and its accompanying archangels hover over every Seder table where the Passover story is told, and hear every voice raised in gratitude and every child asking a question. It is, the Zohar tells us, Hashem’s most beloved night of the entire… [Read more...]

Once a year, during the Hebrew month of Nissan, we make a special blessing when seeing fruit trees in bloom. We recite this blessing, the Birkat Ha’ilanot, or “Blessing of the Trees,” only once a year. As springtime is arriving, we praise Hashem’s ongoing renewal of… [Read more...]

On the eve of the Exodus, it wasn't enough for someone to say, "I have emuna in my heart. I don't need all these rituals." A person like that would have died in Egypt on Passover night. Hashem wanted the Israelites to be proactive in fulfilling His… [Read more...]

A person’s name is far more than a label. In Jewish tradition, a name reflects the nature of a person’s soul and their mission in this world. A name also carries the history of a family, the memory of a people, and a thread of identity that connects us to every generation before… [Read more...]

Rebbe Nachman teaches us a lesson about Passover, which is a lesson for life. The bitter herbs are an integral part of the Seder, and of life as… [Read more...]

When Moses delivered Hashem's message of "Let My people go" to Pharaoh, the Egyptian king retorted, "Who is Hashem that I should listen to Him? Besides, I've never heard of Hashem before" (Exodus 5:2). With such unprecedented arrogance, Pharaoh was inviting… [Read more...]

There was a rich Jew in Hungary who went bankrupt. When he had money, everyone would kowtow to him. But, now that he lost his money, no one would even say "good morning" to him. The unfortunate person went to the Chasam Sofer and complained that no one paid the slightest attention to… [Read more...]