The Talmud tells us that the two happiest days in the Jewish calendar are Yom Kippur and the fifteenth of Av (Tu B’Av) because on those days the single woman of Jerusalem would go out into the vineyards wearing borrowed (so as not to embarrass the poorer girls) white dresses and call out to the young men, “lift up your eyes and see what you are choosing. Don’t look at outer beauty but rather look for a good upbringing and family.” Tu B’Av, then, is the ultimate Jewish singles event! At the end of the chapter relating to Tu...
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At the Seder we read about the four sons and learn how to relate to each of them. When the wise son asks us to explain the laws and customs of Passover, we respond by teaching him the laws beginning with the regulations relating to the Afikomen. Out of all the fundamental laws relating to Passover, why do we begin with a relatively minor one? The word Afikomen is derived from the Greek word meaning dessert. The reason for this is because the Afikomen represents the actual Pascal lamb, which was eaten after the main meal on a full...
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One of the most powerful questions that arises from the story of the Exodus is how could God harden Pharaoh’s heart without stripping him of his free will to decide between good and evil? I’d like to convey two answers offered by one of the greatest Torah scholars of the early twentieth century, Rav Shlomo Yosef Zevin ZT”L, in his classic “La-torah V’La-Moadim”. 1) We are all born with innate characteristics, or Middot. It is up to us to decide how to apply them. For example, someone who is born with a tendency toward spilling blood, can choose to...
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