passover guide · 2008. 3. 26. · passover guide 12,13,14,15-22 nissan, 5768 • april...

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SomePassoverThoughTSwhat separates the men from the boys? The assumption, of course, is that “the boys” are “small” people, while the men are “big” people with big personalities.

A child is busy with himself or herself and cannot see beyond their own needs and desires, and often they withhold from sharing their belongings with others.

An adult, on the other hand, makes room for another person, accepts the ideas and critique of others, and shares with others. In fact, the “bigger” one is the more he or she gives to others, and even puts the other’s needs before his or her own.

(Indeed, don’t we as parents feel “small” when we respond to our teen’s behavior in kind, building up a head full of steam and stooping to their emo-tional level – when all they really want, expect and deserve is a mature parent. or consider the inappro-priate role reversal that takes place when we put our interests before – and even at the expense of our own children’s good – blurring the line between child and parent.)

The ability to consider others before one’s own interests makes one a “big person.” And the bigger the person, the greater is the span of his or her con-cern and the further is his or her reach.

I am drawn to these thoughts in the context of the upcoming holiday of Freedom and the personal liberation we are meant to experience.

As we mature, as we grow “big,” we discover that the more liberated we are inside, the less encum-bered is our relationship with others. The more “free” we are , the less busy we are with our own selves, the more giving we are toward our family, our peers, our community and the world at large.

The celebration of Passover is for me closely bound with the days before it, when my friends and I would celebrate the anniversary of the birth of our dear Rebbe, Rabbi meanchem m. Schneerson, of righteous memory.

The proximity of this auspicious anniversary to the holiday of Passover is, I think, quite appropriate.

For the Rebbe was, by all accounts, a very “big”

man. he was also a truly liberated person. he per-sonified freedom. When observing the Rebbe’s conduct in extending himself to all, in reaching out to the furthest corners of the globe, in freely offering his personal counsel to all who sought it, one could not but be struck by the spirit of openness with which he did it all.

he gave freely of his ideas, allowing – nay, encour-aging – all to copy them. he never copyrighted them and he would often say to use someone else’s name if it would be more effective.

he was a free Jew and he imparted his freedom to all.

he opened our eyes to the true meaning of free-dom. even now, almost fourteen years after his physical passing, the potency of his message only increases with the passage of time. his liberty is contagious.

If you will, the creation of this brochure is, in part, an illustration of this spirit.

A number of years ago, when I learned about a new, exciting Passover guide created by Lubavitch of the West Coast, I asked them to allow us to print it in our Celebration brochure. They immediately responded positively without asking for anything in return.

In the spirit of this brochure (see The 15 Steps, pages 7-19), their spontaneous response brought to mind the following thoughts:

Bondage Mentality: We worked hard on it. It’s ours. It is a gorgeous piece, and we should be the first to publish it. We should get all the recognition and credit for it. Freedom Mentality: This is for all Jews to appreciate the Seder and Passover. It was created in order to be shared with all. So, please be our guest, it’s yours as well as ours.I remember thinking how lucky we are. This is

the sense of freedom the Rebbe imparted to us all. Reach out to everyone everywhere, help, elevate, lend a hand, without consideration of self. By doing this you will truly be free.

Following in the Rebbe’s footsteps indeed leads to Yetziat Mitzrayim, to personal redemption, to free-dom from smallness and moving toward the liberty of sharing and giving. It helps us experience the injunction “in each generation one must see himself, as if he himself has gone out of egypt.”

Best wishes for a happy & kosher Passover.Rabbi Yisroel Shmotkin

2 Check out our weekly online magazine at www.LubavitchofWI.org

Celebration!3 reBBe’s MessaGe

Matzah After Midnight

4 Four questions before you BeGin tHe seder

5 tHe seder The Practical How, What and the Meaning of Items on the Seder Plate

7 souLFuL seder Join us as we perform the Seder; as our bodies and souls experience and celebrate liberation and freedom today

20 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU passover and durinG tHe HoLiday How to prepare for Passover and what to do once it’s here, for the duration of the holiday

24 STORIES: THe reBBe and wic; tHe reBBe’s advise How the Rebbe helped America’s poor.

26 wHat’s HappeninG at LuBavitcH oF wisconsin A photo gallery of recent events

30 PASSOVER SCHEDULES AND BLessinGs

31 countinG oF tHe oMer scHeduLe

31 saLe oF cHoMetZ certiFicate

Celebration! Vol. 39 #4 March 2008

Published 6 times a year by Lubavitch of Wisconsin

3109 N. Lake Drive • Milwaukee, WI 53211 Phone: (414) 961-6100 FAX: (414) 962-1740 e-mail: [email protected] www.chabadwi.org

Special Passover presentation at www.LubavitchofWI.org/Pesach 3

Pre-Passover CheCklist❒ kosher for Passover food & supplies❒ storing Chometz (see page 20)❒ sell Chometz (Please see page 20 for instructions and

page 31 for a certificate of sale of Chometz)❒ B’dikas (search for) Chometz set ❒ other preparations (listed on page 21 - 23)

to obtain any of these or any other Passover needs go to www.chabadwi.org and visit our store today.

seder CheCklist❒ kosher for Passover wine❒ special shmurah matzah❒ kosher for Passover matzah❒ shankbone or chicken neck❒ hardboiled egg❒ salt water❒ horseradish or lettuce❒ apple and nuts and make charoses❒ onion or cooked potato❒ haggadah❒ kiddush Cup❒ ritual washing cup

The Rebbe’s Message

Matzah After MidnightAdapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M.

Schneerson, OBM, by Yanki Tauber

A child is blessed with faith. The world is good, people are good, and being good is simply a matter of following the dos and don'ts of life which G-d had told Mom and Dad.Then the child grows up, encounters some bad stuff, and

finds that following the rules doesn't always pan out the way one imagines. Morality muddles into an amalgam of maybes, ifs and usuallys. Faith alone isn’t enough anymore: one also needs intellect, sensitivity, feeling, will and desire to navigate this thing called life.

When one first marries, they are blessed with faith. A husband or wife is the most good-hearted, intelligent, beautiful, talented, caring and loving person in the universe. Love for each other will get them through anything. Then the marriage ages, acquires wrinkles, an irregular heartbeat and bouts of dementia. Love alone just isn’t enough anymore: one also needs intellect, sensitivity, feeling, will and desire to maintain the relationship.

One begins in faith, and moves on to experience. But there is also a third stage: a stage in which the faith reemerges. A stage in which is discovered that one’s spouse really is the greatest, most wonderful person in the universe. A stage in which one discovers that the world is good, that people are good, that the G-d-given dos and don’ts are the formula for a meaningful life. No, it's not as simple and straightforward as youthful faith sees it. But this mature, complex, thoughtful, willed and inspired faith has something that youthful faith didn't have: it has a density, a texture, a taste. A richness.

One returns to that original faith, that same faith which shone so bright and hard because it wasn't saddled with knowledge and experience. Now, however, faith coexists with – indeed feeds upon – knowledge and experience. The roots of faith reaches deeper than them, its crown towers higher than them, but it also leans against them and is fortified by them.

• • • • •Matzah is the most basic icon of the festival of Passover. The

biblical name for Passover is “The Festival of Matzahs.” For eight days, this flat, “unleavened bread” displaces all leavened forms of the staff of life. And on Passover eve, the three seder matzahs, enthroned on their special plate at the head of the table, take center stage in the seder rituals.

The sages of the Talmud and the Kabbalah give matzah different – even conflicting – names: “The Bread of Affliction,” “The Bread of Poverty,” “The Bread of Humility,” “The Bread of Instruction,” “The Bread of Faith,” “The Bread of Healing.”

And then there's the matter of timing: Just when was the matzah born? At the beginning of the seder we announce, “This is the bread of affliction which our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt...” But later in the evening, we recite: “This matzah which we eat, for what reason [do we eat it]? Because the dough of our fathers did not have time to become leavened before the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to them and redeemed them.”

Thus we have pre-Exodus matzah and post-Exodus matzah. Or, as they're referred to in the teachings of Chassidism, pre-midnight matzah and post-midnight matzah.

For matzah, the bread of faith, has two faces. It is the faith of “poverty” which thrives in pristine souls free of the tangles of intellect and the burdens of experience. And then, when it emerges from the other side of the night, it is a faith enriched by the very elements that stifled it in its years of exile.

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Four questionsbefore

you begin the Seder What makes this night different?

One: Is the Passover Seder a mere ritual commemorating the enslavement and exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt 3320 years

ago? Is it an “excuse” to get family and friends together? Is it a time for

nostalgia, for remembering our history?

tWO: We’re instructed “in each generation” and “every day” to “envision as if we just left Egypt.” Most of us have never been to Egypt. Why is it

so important to envision as if we are now leaving Egypt?! Why should

we be reliving experiences that happened in another part of the world,

in a completely different part of history, completely removed from our

contemporary lives?

three: What is freedom anyway and how is it achieved? What makes a people and why should me need and/or desire to belong to one?

fOur: How do the various Passover observances – the prohibition against chometz (leaven), the three matzos, and the entire Seder plate,

the four cups of wine etc. – access and facilitate our freedom and

identity as individual Jews and members of the community of Israel.

Passover, like all Jewish traditions, has a body and a soul. The body

consists of the rituals, laws, and structure of tradition. The soul is its inner

meaning and significance. The body of Passover is commemorating

the exodus from bondage in the land of Egypt. The soul of the holiday

is freedom. The entire objective of the Passover Seder is to achieve

transcendence.

These are the issues explored in this Passover guide. We have attempted

to translate the laws and customs the make-up of the Seder and it’s

various steps into “today’s language”. We trust you will find it to be as

informative as it is enjoyable.

You will also find the practical how, what, and why of Passover celebration.

How to conduct a Seder; insights into the meaning and significance of

the numerous details and practices thereof; how to prepare as Pesach

approaches; and what to do once the holiday has arrived.

We wish you a very happy and kosher Passover.


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Passover Seders are on April 19 & 20We look forward to celebrating together!

The Seder

on the first two nights of Passover we conduct a Seder. We affirm our desire to elevate this night above all that is mundane. With it we declare to ourselves and all who are present that, this is “the

season of our freedom.”The entire Seder, beginning with the Seder

Plate, provides us with tools to achieve personal transcendence; to experience emotional and spiritual freedom.

the Seder plate and itS ingredientSSeder in Hebrew means order. Everything we do tonight has a distinct and important order.

The first thing we do is construct a Seder Plate. The plate consists of ten items; Three matzos. On a cloth spread over them, six food

items are placed; ze’roa, a roasted shank bone or chicken neck, is placed on the top right; opposite of it on the left, the beitzah, an egg, is placed. Beneath them is the maror, bitter herbs. Beneath the ze’roah, on the right is the charoset, a pasty mixture of fruits, nuts and wine. On the opposite left, below the egg, is the karpas, a vegetable, such as an onion or potato. Under the maror is the chazeret, salad; bitter herbs.

Thus, the final Seder Plate is comprised of three matzos, lying one on the other, which cradle the six food items that form two triangles. All together there are nine items

and the ke’ara, the plate underneath completes the number ten.

body and SoulEach of these items represents a historical event and has its practical application, its body. It also has its soul; its meaning and its relevance in our journey of freedom. Generally the ten elements of the Seder plate reflect the structure of human

consciousness, which is comprised of ten dimensions

– in Kabbalah, the ten sefirot – the “spiritual DNA” of all existence

and of man.

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MatzosThe matzos are the centerpiece of Passover, symbolizing the unleavened food that the Jewish people ate as they escaped Egypt.

The three Matzos represent three categories within the Jewish people. Each Matzah represents a different group: Cohen, Levi, Israel. It also represents our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The key to freedom is humility, which allows you to take it easy, to free yourself from being manipulated by subjected emotions.

Matzah is called the “food of faith”, for only with this unleavened food did our ancestors leave Egypt, relying faithfully on the Al-mighty to provide the sustenance for the whole nation of a few million – men, women and children.

The matzah itself symbolizes humility and faith. The matzah is not enriched with oil, honey or even salt. It is rather, simple flour and water, and may not be allowed to rise. Similarly, the only “ingredients” for faith are humility and submission to G-d, which comes from the realization of our nothingness and “intellectual poverty” in the face of the infinite wisdom of the creator.

Zeroah (Shankbone)The Zeroah is a shankbone or chicken neck, commemorating the pascal lamb our ancestors were commanded to eat on the eve of the exodus from Egypt, and later on brought as the Passover offering in the time of the Temple, which was roasted and eaten as part of the Seder night meal.

Unlike the other items, the Zeroah is not eaten. It remains on the Seder plate until the end.

Beitzoh (Hard-boiled Eggs)The hard-boiled egg represents the festival offering (chaagigah) in the days of the holy Temple, which was also eaten on the Seder night. The egg is a symbol of mourning. Mourners eat hard-boiled eggs at their first meal after a funeral to show that life is like a cycle. Even in this happy festival we remember that our Temple is in ruins.

Like an egg, the Jewish people – the more we are in hot water, the tougher we become.

The egg will be eaten at the beginning of the meal (See page 17).

Maror (Bitter Herbs)Bitter herbs – Horseradish, Lettuce, Endives, or a mixture of them – remind us of the bitterness and harshness of the slavery, which the Jewish people endured in ancient Egypt.

The lettuce, as a bitter herb, teaches us a lesson about bondage and freedom. The leaves in a young fresh lettuce are sweet. Nonetheless, the lettuce grows from a green-white stalk, which is bitter. The crisp, sweet leaves represent freedom and the bitter stalk represents slavery.

The Maror will be used later on, before the beginning of the meal (See page 15).

Charoses (Chopped Nuts and Fruit with Wine)Its color is that of the mortar used to make bricks and clay when we were enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt. Charoset is a mixture of fruits and nuts. The fruits used in the mixture – apples, pears and dates – are symbols of the Jewish people, who

are affectionately referred to in the Bible by these names.

The Charoses is used as a dip for the Maror and Chazeres (See pages 15 & 16).

Karpas (Vegetables)Onion, parsley or cooked potato - to be

used later in the Seder as an appetizer. (Its significance is explained in Step #3 on page 9).

Chazeres (Romaine Lettuce)Horseradish, Lettuce, Endives or a mixture of them is used. The Chazeres is used in the Koresh sandwich. (See page 16).

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Four Cups oF WineDuring the course of the evening we will be treated to four cups of wine. The four cups represent the four elements of redemption we experienced during the Exodus. These four levels are alluded to in the four expressions of “deliverance” or “freedom” mentioned in the Torah in connection with our liberation from Egypt: (1) I will bring you out; (2) I will deliver you; (3) I will redeem you; (4) I will take you as my people (Ex.6:6,7).

Wine is used as a symbol of joy when welcoming the Festival, the Season of our Freedom.


Soulful Seder THE 15 Stepsof THE Body & Soul Partnership Seder

The Hebrew word for Egypt, “Mitzrayim,” is

rooted in the word “meitzar,” meaning

boundaries, limits, restrictions. Egypt represents

constraints and confinements: psychological,

emotional and spiritual. Anything, from within

or from without that inhibits our free

expression is a form of mitzrayim.

Exodus is the most important element in life:

The ability to free ourselves from our confines

and get out of the rut. What better time to

reaffirm G-d’s promise to Abraham that we will

be freed from Mitzrayim? This promise was

true for the first Exodus from Egypt and is true

today, for in “Each generation one must

envision himself as if he just left Mitzrayim.”

The Seder provides us with the keys to open

the doors of freedom. “Passover Seder” is an

oxymoron: The word Pesach (Passover) means

to leap, to bypass the normal order; whereas,

Seder means order and organization! The

Seder is an order that allows us to transcend

order. Like music: By playing the defined

musical scale, we can create infinite musical

combinations and songs.

The fifteen Seder steps represent fifteen keys

to open doors freeing us from our

confinements.

The Seder begins by welcoming the festival with “a toast” to the Al-mighty1. KadeshSeparate/Sanctify; Make this night different

BodyIt’s been a busy week, or a busy year. The first step tonight is to forget the noise and leave it behind. Tonight we enter a timeless space, where we experience the Seder together with our great-grandparents, and Moses. We begin by welcoming the festival with a “toast” to the Al-mighty with a full cup of red wine. A cup filled with generations of rejoicing and tears and celebration and wisdom.

We affirm our desire to elevate this night above all that is mundane. With it we declare to ourselves and all that are present that this is “the season of our freedom”.

Fill a cup with wine (or grape juice). That’s cup #1.You can have someone else fill your cup. Then return the favor. This way, we are all like nobility, whose cups are filled by someone else. Make sure your cup holds at least 86 mil. (a little more than three ounces).Everyone stands and says Kiddush or listens to the seder leader.The rest of the year, one person says Kiddush and everyone takes a sip. Tonight, each man, woman and child drinks their own full cup. Please note: when a Festival occurs on a Saturday night the “Vatodianu” – Havdalah blessing is added to the Kiddush. You will find it in the Haggadah.Get ready for some serious relaxing. Recline on a cushion to your left side, and drink.Remember the ancient times, when we used to recline on our couches while sampling grapes? That’s what we are dramatizing by reclining now. We are not just free; we are our own masters.

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2. UrchatzWash your hands; Purify

BodyFill a cup with waterMany Jewish homes have a special two-handled cup designed for this. You could leave the table to go to the kitchen or you could bring a basin and towel to the table.(What? We just sat down and now we have to get up and leave already? Well, that’s a fairly standard Jewish migration pattern.)Pour the water over your right hand three times, then over your left hand three times.Tonight we do like the Kohanim (Temple staff/priests) who washed before eating the trumah tithing especially designated for them.Dry your hands.The rest of the year we say a blessing after washing our hands, but not now. When we wash the second time before eating the matzo, we’ll say it then.

SoulHands are instruments that allow the mind to interact with their environment. Our hands reflect our mental state and act according to our emotions: love, fear, compassion, the urge to win, to be appreciated, to express ourselves, to dominate.

But too often the aspects of our psyche sit compartmentalized, detached from one another. The mind sees one way, the heart

feels another, and our interface with the world is disoriented.

Water symbolizes wisdom. Flowing downward from on-high, everything in its stream is affected

by its pure and simple essence. We pour water over our hands so that our

heart and emotions may be touched by wisdom, and from there shape our interaction with the world.

A wise rabbi asked, “Wouldn’t it make more sense to wash first and then say Kiddush? To first purify, so you can then sanctify

yourself?”Then he answered,”You need first to get out of

the pit, and then clean up your act. That’s why G-d first took us out of Egypt and only then had us purify ourselves for 49 days in the wilderness to prepare us for the revelations at Mount Sinai.”

Personal ApplicationBondage MentalityJust react. Let your instinct be your guide.

Freedom MentalityCount to ten. Let your mind and heart talk things over with one another.

SoulEvery journey begins with a separation. You’ve got to leave somewhere to get somewhere else. In this way, separation is the first step towards freedom. By ignoring the negative voice of Pharaoh’s mockery that says, “Who are you to begin such a journey?” we’re ready to leave Egypt behind. Separation is the first meaning of the word “kadesh”—to transcend the mundane world. Once you’ve set yourself free from those things that hold you down, you can achieve the second meaning of “kadesh”—to return and sanctify it. Spiritual freedom is achieved through sanctifying the material world, using its elements as physical expressions of a higher purpose. The first two steps of the Seder, Kadesh (separate/sanctify)

and Urchatz (purify), describe what we set out to accomplish through this night: to rise above the restraints of our world in order to elevate it.

Personal ApplicationBondage MentalityLook, I’m a down-to-earth kind of person. I’m trying to manage real life. I can’t get into this spirituality stuff. Let’s just get to the matzo.

Freedom MentalityI can master my world by staying above it. I come to the Seder to get that strength.

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3. KarpasEat the vegetable; A taste of humility

BodyTake a small piece of some vegetable (potato, onion, parsley).The rest of the year, we would be getting to the meal now. But we’re doing things differently tonight, principally to spark questions from the small children. If they ask, “Hey mom and dad! Aren’t we supposed to eat real food now? Why the funny green stuff?”—you know you’re doing things right.How do you answer them? “We are doing this so that you will ask questions.” And if they say, “Well, so what’s the answer?” “You can’t learn if you don’t ask. And the first thing to learn is that not all questions have immediate answers.” This is one of the most distinctive elements of Jewish education: more than teaching our children how to answer, we teach them how to ask—and how to be patient in their search for answers.Dip it into saltwater.These are our tears, and the tears of all our people beginning with the tears of our labor in Egypt.

If you know some Hebrew, look at the word Karpas and read it backwards. Samach PeReKh. That refers to the backbreaking labor (PeReKh) of the 600,000 Jewish slaves (Samach=60 x 10,000).Say the blessing that is said over the vegetable, and munch it down.Munch good. You’re not going to get much more for a while.

SoulIn order to liberate ourselves from Egypt, we need to taste its harshness again, because this harshness prepares us for freedom. This labor gives us the humble spirit to accept wisdom.

Personal ApplicationBondage MentalityI owe, I owe, so off to work I go.

Freedom MentalityThrough my work I appreciate the higher things of life.

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on the night that we left Egypt, we were like a newly hatched chick, breaking out of our shell to discover life and the light of day. It is with those fresh eyes that we were able to experience wonder, to travel forth with faith and innocence and trust. So tonight, again, we enter the mind and heart of a child.

The child is the most important participant at the Seder. In fact, the entire Seder with all its customs revolves around the child. The mitzvah of the Haggadah, V’higaddeta, is “tell the story to your child.” The child asks, we respond.

But more than the child learns from us, we learn from the child. We awaken the mystical child within us, the place that is still innocent and fresh and able to grow, to be amazed, to sense awe.

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4. YachatzBreak the Matzo; The poor man’s bread

BodyRemove the middle matzo.We need the top matzo to remain whole because we’ll make a blessing on it later on. (Blessings are said on whole things.)Break it in two different-sized pieces. Put the smaller piece back between the two complete matzos.The piece you put back is the “poor man’s bread” over which the tale of our slavery is recounted. Poor people’s bread is, intrinsically, never whole.Break the remaining (larger) piece into five pieces and wrap them in a cloth. Hide the package until the end of the Seder when it will be eaten as the Afikoman, or dessert.In many houses, the children hide the Afikoman and the adults have to find it at the end of the meal. In others,

the adults hide it and the children find it. Either way, it keeps the kids awake and in suspense until the end of the Seder.Many Sephardic Jews follow the tradition of tying the Afikoman under the arms of the children, who carry it like that all night, just like when we left Egypt.

SoulWhy is so much broken in this world? Why did the Creator make a world where hearts break, lives shatter, beauty crumbles?Because a whole vessel can only contain its measure, while a broken one can hold the Infinite. Matzo is called the poor man’s bread. He is low and broken. And it is this brokenness that allows him to open his

soul and escape his Egypt. As long as we feel whole, there is no room left for us to grow. When we realize that

we are just a fragment —that we need the others around us, that so much of ourselves is missing —then miracles can begin.

Personal ApplicationBondage MentalityI know who I am. Look what I have achieved.

Freedom MentalityThere is much that I am lacking. I have only started to grow.

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5. MaggidTell the Story; Experience ExodusThis is it, folks. This is why it’s called a Haggadah. Now we get to the meat and potatoes your soul is longing for. (As for the other meat and potatoes, you can probably smell them simmering in the kitchen. Hold on, we‘ll get there soon.)

BodyFill your cup with wine (or grape juice). That’s cup #2There are “four sons” at the Seder table, as described in the Haggadah. The second cup corresponds to the

second child—the “wicked” child. This is the cup the story is told over. The “wicked” child is one who needs this story the most, and one who can really appreciate it. Children ask the Four Questions.Of course, they can always ask more. No children at your Seder? Let an adult ask. There’s just you? You be the child, and G-d will be the Father. While you’re at it, ask Him a few other difficult questions for us all.

Continue recounting the Passover story, as written in your Haggadah.Hey, you’re not limited to the Haggadah! That was written so that everybody would have something to say. But now is the chance to get creative. Tell every story you know about the Exodus. Examine every word of the Haggadah and get into its deeper meaning. Keep it real —make it profound.

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Mah nishtanah halailah hazeh...

“Why is this night different from all other nights?” our children ask us at the Passover Seder. Because, we answer, we were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and G-d set us free.

free? Are you free?

Can a person with a mortgage be free? Can a person with a job be free? Can a person without a job be free?

freedom! Is there anything more desired yet more elusive? Is there a need more basic to our souls, yet so beyond our reach? How, indeed, do we achieve freedom from the demands, cares and burdens of daily living?

But look at your child. observe her at play, immersed in a book, asleep and smiling at her dreams. Assured that father and mother will feed him, protect him and worry about all that needs worrying about, the child is free. free to revel in her inner self, free to grow and develop, open to the joys and possibilities of life.

This is why Passover, the festival of freedom, is so much the festival of the child. for it is the child who evokes in us the realization that we, too, are children of G-d, and are thus inherently and eternally free. It is the child who opens our eyes to the ultimate significance of Passover: that in taking us out of Egypt to make us His chosen people, G-d has liberated us of all enslavement and subjugation for all time.

The child is the most important participant at the Passover Seder. The entire Seder is constructed around the goal to mystify the child, to stimulate his curiosity, to compel him to ask: Why is this night different from all other nights?

The child asks, and we answer. But there is another dialogue taking place – a dialogue in which we ask, and the child explains.

Take a good look at your child this Passover. Pay her close attention – enter her mind, view reality from her perspective. for how else might we taste freedom?

From Chabad.Org

Basic rules of telling the story:• Get the children involved.

• Start with Abraham and Sara and work your way through the Egyptian scene until we receive the Torah at Mount Sinai.

• Tell it in the first person, in the now. Instead of, “Long ago, the ancient Hebrews…” say, “When we were slaves in Egypt, the perverse system crushed our sense of self.” Everything that happened in Egypt parallels something in each of our lives. We are truly living it now. We are simply examining our own lives in the dress of ancient Egypt.

• It’s all about miracles. Moses and his signs and wonders. The Ten Plagues. The Splitting of the Sea. These miracles happened so that we would look at the events of our lives and recognize that they, too, are miracles.

• Tell it like it is. We are a people born of miracles, who endured this long by abrogating natural law. The very fact that we are here now telling this same story to our children in an unbroken chain of 3,314 years is beyond human comprehension.

• Offer a few words of praise to G-d. After telling the story of the Exodus say the formal blessings (see Haggadah) before drinking the second cup.

We drink the second cup of wine at the end of this step.

SoulThe Exodus is not simply an event that happened to us. It is an event that we became. It is who we are. It is the life of each one of us, occurring again and again, in our wrestling match with the world, in our struggle with our own selves. We embody freedom in a constant mode of escape. Perhaps that is why Jews have always been the rebels of society. The experience of leaving Egypt left such an indelible mark on our souls that we never stop doing it. A Jew who stops leaving Egypt ceases to allow his soul to breathe.To tell the story is to bring our essential self into the open, and to come face to face with who we really are.

Personal ApplicationBondage MentalityI’m free already. I live in a land of freedom. Who needs more freedom than that?

Freedom MentalityMy body is free because my soul is free.

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6. RochtzoWash your hands; Purify again

BodyFill a cup with water.Again? Yes, again. It’s been a long time since the last washing. (Who knows what those hands may have touched? Anyway, it’s good to get up and stretch a little.)Pour the water over your right hand three times, then over your left hand three times.Say the blessing: “Blessed…concerning the washing of the hands.”Dry your hands.

SoulAs long as we live in this world, freedom remains elusive. While moving forward, we are free. Stop, and we are bound and fettered again. That is why freedom is something that you cannot buy o r steal. Never can you put freedom in your purse and say, “Freedom is mine forever!” Spiritual freedom is like a marriage between our finite selves and the Infinite, providing the power to transcend the material world while working inside of it. It is a marriage of heaven and earth, spirit and matter, soul and body. And like any marriage, it is kept alive through constant renewal. Our release from slavery was only the first step of our Exodus. We were granted eternal freedom—the power to perpetually transcend Egypt.That’s the order of the Seder tonight: Kadesh, Urchatz, Transcend and Purify. Over and over. Rise higher, then draw that into deeds. Rise higher again, draw even more. Never stop rising. Never stop applying.

Personal ApplicationBondage MentalityPassover? Been there, done that.

Freedom MentalityEach year at the Seder, I discover new things that I just never saw before.

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“He took us out from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to festivity, from deep darkness to great light, and from bondage to redemption.” – The Haggedah

In each one of us there is an Egypt and a Pharaoh and a Moses and Freedom in a promised land.And every point in time is an opportunity for another Exodus.

Egypt is a place that chains you to who are you are, constraining you from growth and change. And Pharaoh is that voice inside that mocks your gambit to escape, saying, “Why should you want to attempt being today something you were not yesterday? Aren’t you good enough just as you are? Don’t you know who you are?”

Moses is the liberator, the infinite force deep within an impetuous and all-powerful drive to break out from any bondage, to always transcend, to connect with that which has not bounds.

But Freedom and the Promised Land are not static elements that lie in wait. They are your own achievements which you may create at any moment, in anything that you do, simply by breaking free from whoever you were the day before.

Last Passover, you may not have yet begun to light a candle… Or some other Mitzvah still waits for you to fulfill its full potential. This year, defy Pharaoh and light up your world with unbounded light.


7. MotziThank G-d for bread; Remember your roots

BodyGet ready Seder Leader, techie matzah instructions to follow:

Grab all three matzahs—the top one, the broken middle one and the bottom one—and pick them up.

Say the blessing: “Blessed…Who brings bread out of the earth.”

This blessing, “He makes bread come out of the earth,” may seem ordinary, even odd. But think about it: the earth upon which we tread germinates all the nutrients a human being needs to survive—it is the substance that powers our thoughts, creativity, music, art, philosophy, meditation, prayer.

SoulWe feel an affinity with the food we eat: we, too, are a miracle out of the earth.

We share a common journey with bread. The bread begins as a seed buried beneath the ground. And then, a miracle occurs: as it decomposes and loses its original form, it comes alive, begins to sprout and grow. As Spring arrives, it pushes its way above the earth to find the sun, and then bears its fruit for the world.

We, too, begin buried in Egypt, our identity all but lost. But that furnace of oppression becomes for us a firing kiln, a baker’s oven, and the womb from whence we are born as a nation in the Spring. In our liberation, we bring our fruits of freedom to the world.

Personal ApplicationBondage MentalityI’m stuck here under ground. Life is rotten.

Freedom MentalityMy challenges in life help me discover the strength of my soul.

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8. MatzahSay a blessing for the matzah; Eat to your soul’s content(Hold it! Didn’t we just say a blessing on the matzah bread?That was a blessing for giving us what to eat. Now we go on to bless and praise Him for connecting us to Him through the mitzvah of eating matzah.)

BodyTechie instructions continued: carefully release the bottom matzah. (Continue orbiting while it makes its descent to the table.)

Recite the blessing on the top whole matzah and the broken middle matzah: “Blessed…and commanded us concerning eating matzah.”

Break off a piece from each of these two matzahs for yourself and for each of those sitting at your table. Pass them around.

Everybody eats at least two thirds of a matzah. (To do this, they will need to help themselves to an auxiliary reserve of matzah.)Hey, it’s a mitzvah after all!Don’t forget to lean to the left while you munch—just like with the wine.

SoulSince the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, matzah is the only opportunity we have to actually eat a mitzvah. That’s right, the matzah you are eating is pure G-dliness.

The Zohar calls matzah Bread of Faith and Bread of Healing. “Faith?” Well, actually, that’s a rather feeble translation. “Emunah” is the word in Hebrew, and it means a lot more than “I believe.” Faith can often be something

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people claim when they don’t care to think too much. Emunah is when you go beyond thinking to a place your mind could have never brought you.Emunah means touching the place where your soul and the essence of the Infinite Light are One. It’s a place that nothing can describe. Where there are no words. No doubts, no uncertainty, no confusion, nothing but a magnificent Oneness before which nothing else exists, and the challenges of life withdraw.Eating matzah is a way of tapping into that reservoir. Your physical body digests the Emunah of your soul, everything is integrated back into One, and your body and spirit are whole and harmonious.

How on earth can a mixture of water and wheat baked in an oven contain such a spiritual cure? Welcome to Judaism,

where there is no dichotomy of spirit and matter, soul and body. Where the spiritual transforms into the physical, and material objects become spiritual in a perpetual chemistry of exchange. Where the body is healed through empowering the soul, and the soul is nourished with the rituals of the body. (After all, we live in the world of One G-d.)

Personal ApplicationBondage MentalitySure, I’ ll eat a little matzo because that’s the tradition.

Freedom MentalityI can’t get enough of this stuff! Feed me matzo! Feed my soul!

You’re trapped in your marriage. You’ve said certain things, she’s said things, both quite unforgivable. So now you’re imprisoned in this cube of tense silence you used to call “home,” and the only place to go from here is down. Yes, there is a way out — just yesterday there was a moment, a fleeting opportunity for reconciliation. But you were too big to squeeze through.

You’re trapped in debt. There’s the house redo you just had to do, the car you absolutely had to have, the vacation you simply wanted (you deserve something for yourself, too). The bills are closing in, and the only place to go from here is down. Yes, there’s a small opening, through which a tiny voice inside you sometimes beckons, “You don’t really need this.” But you’ve gotten too big to squeeze through.

You’re trapped in your life. Whichever way you turn, you encounter walls—unshakable habits, antagonistic colleagues, elusive desires. The only direction that seems not to be closed to you is down — the direction leading deeper into the quagmire.

Sometimes, the weather clears enough for you to see the escape hatch set high up in the wall — the way out to freedom. But it’s so small. Actually, it’s not so much that it’s small but that you need to make yourself small — veritably flatten yourself — to fit through. You need to deflate your selfhood enough to say to yourself, “Wait a minute! I’ve got the wrong idea of what it’s all about! It’s not about me, it’s about Us. It’s not about what I can be and have, but what I can do and accomplish.”

We celebrate the festival of Passover by eradicating all chometz (leavened foods) from our home and replacing it with matzah, the unleavened bread. The Chassidic masters

explain that in order to re-experience the freedom of the Exodus — the moment in history that liberated our souls from all and any future forms of slavery — we must eradicate the chometz from our souls and replace it with matzah.

Chometz — grain that has fermented and bloated — represents that swelling of ego that enslaves the soul more than any external prison. The flat, unpretentious matzah represents the humility, self-effacement, and commitment that are the ultimate liberators of the human spirit.

hxm matzah Xmcchometzh hei c chet

The liberating quality of matzah is also shown in the forms of the Hebrew letters that spell the words “chometz” and “matzah.” The spelling of these two words are very similar (just as a piece of bread and a piece of matzah are made of the same basic ingredients) — chometz is spelled chet, mem, tzadi; matzah is spelled mem, tzadi, hei. So the only difference is the difference between the chet and the hei — which, as the illustration above shows, is also slight. Both the chet and the hei have the form of a three sided enclosure, open at the bottom; the difference being that the hei has a small “escape hatch” near the top of its left side.

Which is all the difference in the world.

From Chabad.Org


Wishing You a Happy & Healthy Passover!

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9. MarorEat a bitter herb; It’s okay to experience bitterness

BodyGrab some of that bitter herb (such as horseradish.) Take enough to make the size of an olive if you were to crunch it into a ball.

Dip the bitter herb in the Charoset. Shake off any excess.It’s a careful balance: you want bitter herbs, but you want to sweeten the bitterness. Yet it still has to be bitter herbs—not a sumptuous Charoset hors d’oeuvre.Say the blessing: “Blessed…and commanded us concerning eating bitter herbs.”

Eat the bitter herb(Don’t worry if it doesn’t taste that great—it’s not supposed to.)

SoulWe can never get used to Egypt. We never belonged there. We can never say, “They are the masters and we are the slaves, and that’s the way it is.” It must remain something we feel bitter about, something that is unjust and needs to change.

If we get used to Egypt, it’s very hard to leave. In fact,

many Jews said, “Egypt is our land. How can we leave it?” And they stayed and died there.

As for the rest of us, when Moses came and told us we were going to leave, we believed him. It was our bitterness that had preserved our faith.

This is the sweetness we apply to the bitter herb: bitterness alone, without any direction, is self-destructive. Add some life and optimism to it, and it becomes the springboard to freedom.

Personal ApplicationBondage MentalityLook, this is what I’m used to. I can’t change.

Freedom MentalityI don’t belong to my habits.

The Midrash relates: When the Jewish people fled Egypt, after crossing the parted red Sea, they sang in praise to G-d. He welcomed their song and incorporated it into the Torah. When the heavenly hosts wished to offer a song to G-d, He told them, “My creatures (the Egyptians) are drowning in the ocean, and you sing?”

Why did G-d accept the song of the Jewish people but not that of the angels?

The angels never suffered, but the Jewish people demonstrated their loyalty to G-d even while suffering pain and their lives and the lives of their children were at stake. Their song is a true praise to G-d, rather than an expression of self satisfaction.

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10. KorechHave the Hillel sandwich; Bring it all together

BodyBreak the bottom matzah into two pieces.If you’ve followed the instructions until now, the bottom matzah should still be whole.Take an olive-sized amount of the bitter herb, put it in some romaine lettuce and dip it into the Charoset. Shake off any excess.Now you know what the romaine lettuce on the Seder plate is for.Place the bitter herb and lettuce in-between your two pieces of matzah.

Say the words: “This is what Hillel did, at the time that the Holy Temple stood. He wrapped up some Pesach lamb, some matzah and some bitter herb and ate them together.”(And you thought it was because they packed fast-food sandwiches to leave Egypt in a hurry.)Hillel understood the words of the Torah about the Pesach lamb, “On matzah and bitter herbs you shall eat it,” in its literal sense. And so, he invented the sandwich. (Or should we call it a Hillel?)Lean to the left while you eat.

SoulThe world, when viewed from within Egypt, looks to be a mess of fragments. It’s a “Passoverly-Challenged” perspective. Plain materialism. Mitzvahs appear to be a mishmash of do’s and don’ts; the Jewish people are a collection of irreconcilable individuals; daily life is a cacophony of hassles and just, well, stuff.

Once we escape materialism’s gravitational pull, we can look back and see a whole new perspective. Mitzvahs are multiple expressions of a single spiritual path; Jews are multiple faces to a single soul; the elements of today’s journey harmonize together as a symphony playing a delicate melody.

After we make ourselves into a temple for the Divine, then the bitter, the sweet, and the tasteless responsibilities of life wrap together in a single package.

Personal ApplicationBondage MentalityI have to take care of career, family, health, hobbies, handball, friendships, parents, taxes, studies, the house, the car, the cat.

Freedom MentalityI am a conductor and the world is my orchestra to play a symphony for its Creator.

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S A v E T H E d A T Ean unforgettable evening of

Song & SpiritTuesday, July 1, 2008

On the Eve of the Rebbe’s,Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of Blessed Memory

14th Yahrzeit Anniversary

for more information please call 414-961-6100, or email us at [email protected]


11. Shulchan OrechLet’s Feast!

BodyTime to really eat. You know how to do this, right?

Oh, don’t forget the tradition of eating the hard-boiled egg on your Seder plate, dipped in some salt water. Most do this at the very beginning of the meal.A hard-boiled egg is a sign of mourning. However, on every festive occasion, we remember to mourn for the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem.

SoulThis step, along with Korech before it, marks the re-entry we mentioned at the beginning (in Kadesh). We’ve escaped Egypt and reached a higher vision.

But freedom consists of more than escape. Complete freedom is when you can turn around and liberate all the elements of your world from their pure material state, and make them transcendent as well.

That’s what we do when we eat every day—we take foods grown from the earth, say a blessing over them, and bring them into our journey as human beings. And when it’s a Jewish holiday or Shabbos, we elevate them further, into the realm of pure spirituality. As for tonight, this meal is going to be truly Divine.

So don’t imagine we’re just feasting. We’re reaching a higher state. And it’s a great way to do it.

Personal ApplicationBondage Mentality I am a slave to food. I live to eat.

Freedom Mentality I am a food liberator. I eat to live.

The FeastIt was the first night of Passover and, as I was accustomed from my parents’ home, I wished to participate in a seder. My friend never experienced a seder. I convinced him to come along with me to the synagogue, on the first night of Passover. After services we were both invited to different homes for the festive ceremony of the seder.

Hours later we met in a predetermined place in the local park. But to my amazement, my friend was blazing mad.

“What did you do to me?” He shouted. “It was torture!! It was hell!”

“What do you mean? What happened?” I asked.

“What happened? You know! religious Jews are crazy–that’s what happened! first we drank a glass of wine. I like wine, but on an empty stomach... My head started spinning a bit but I figured that any second we would begin the meal. The smell of the food from the kitchen was great. Then we ate a bit of parsley. Then they started talking, and talking, and talking. In Hebrew. All the time I’m smiling and nodding my head as if I understand what they’re saying–like you told me to–but my head is really swimming and hurting from the wine and I’m dying of hunger.

“The smell of the food from the kitchen is making me insane, but they don’t bring it out. for two hours they don’t bring anything out! Just talking, and more talking. Then, just what I needed.... another cup of wine! Then we get up, wash hands, sit back down and eat this big wafer called matzah that tastes like newspaper, leaning to the left (don’t ask me why...). I started choking, almost threw up. And then finally they give me this lettuce, I took a big bite and wham! My mouth was on fire. My throat! There was horseradish inside! nothing to eat but horseradish! You guys are crazy....

“Well, I just got up and left. Enough is enough!”

“Ah, I should have told you.” I replied. “What a shame! After the bitter herbs is a glorious meal. You suffered so long; you should have just held out for a few more minutes...!”

Jewish history is a seder. We’ve had our appetite teased with small moments of triumph. But mostly we’ve had plenty of “bread of faith” that our palates can’t really appreciate. And generous helpings of bitter herbs.

But, you need patience to be a Jew. And since we’ve swallowed the maror already, we might as well hold out one minute longer and get to the feast and then we will come to realize why we waited so long and how good it is to be Jewish.


13. BerachGrace after the Meal; Thanks for having us

BodyIf you’re still awake now, you know it’s getting late. Adults are falling asleep. Kids are having a great time taking advantage of that. But it’s not over. There are songs and wine, and Elijah the Prophet is on his way….

Fill your cup with wine or grape juice. That’s cup #3.

Say the Grace After Meals as printed in your Haggadah.Say a blessing on the wine and drink it all down.Lean to your left.

SoulThe theme of the Grace After Meals is confidence. Confidence in a Higher Force that is with us in our daily lives. Why did miracles happen in Egypt? Because we believed they would. Those who didn’t believe in miracles saw only plagues. To see a miracle, you need an open heart and mind, open enough to receive the Infinite. That is the opening we make when we thank G-d for the miracle of our food.

Personal ApplicationBondage MentalityI thank G-d for giving me what I need.

Freedom MentalityI thank G-d for letting me know what He needs.

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12. TzofunEat the Hidden Matzah; Lost and found

BodyGrab that last bite.Be sure you’ve eaten enough, because the only thing to pass our lips after this step of the Seder tonight is another two cups of wine.(Oy.)Retrieve that hidden matzah.If you can’t find it, you may have to enter into negotiations with your kids to get it back. (Well, if they fell asleep, you will be “forced” to just eat some other matzah).Eat another two-thirds of a matzah. Lean to your left.With the first matzah, we fulfilled the Mitzvah to eat matzah. This one is also in place of the Pesach offering, which is meant to be eaten on a full stomach.

SoulThere is the body, there is the soul, and then there is the essence. If the soul is light, then that essence is its source of light. If the soul is energy, then the essence is its generator. The Kabbalah teaches that this essence remains elusive. It is called “tzofun,” meaning hidden, concealed, locked away and out of reach. It is unlikely to experience it.

We dance around that essence-core, like a spacecraft in orbit, unable to land. We can be inspired, we can meditate, we can pray, but to touch this inner core—the essence of our soul—takes a power from beyond.

On Passover night, we have that power. But only after we have taken all the proper steps: destroying our internal Chometz, preparing our homes for liberation - the previous eleven steps of the Seder. Then, when we are satiated with all we can handle, connecting every facet of ourselves to the Divine, that’s when that power comes to us. Whether we sense it or not, tasteless as it may seem, the matzah we eat now—the matzah of Tzofun—reaches deep into our essence and transforms our very being.

Those things you find inspiring and nice may take you a step forward. But to effect a real change, you need to do something totally beyond your personal bounds.

Personal ApplicationBondage MentalitySeeing is believing.

Freedom MentalityBelieving is seeing.

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15. NirtzoThe acceptance; Next year in Jerusalem!

BodyThis last step of the Seder is easy: expect a miracle.This is His job now.

Look up from your wine. The table’s a delicious mess. Uncle Irving is snoring in his Haggadah, serenaded by the first chirping of dawn. As you carry the little ones to their beds to the sound of matzah crunching beneath your feet, you wonder, “Who will carry me to bed?”

Was it the best Seder that could have been? Look, it had its highlights. A few times, the kids got a little over-excited. And the horseradish and chicken soup didn’t mix too well. Grandpa told some great stories, but we heard them last year. We all had fun with the songs. We told the tale again with new embellishments, just like we have for 3,300-plus years. We did what we are supposed to, in our own human way.

And now, let the Creator do what He has promised to do: a re-run. Starring us, in the Ultimate Redemption. With lots of miracles. But this time, forever.

SoulIf G-d wanted us to be perfect, why did He create such imperfect beings?

Because what He wants of us is our very humanness. Sometimes we do good. Sometimes we fall. But we keep on struggling, and eventually make some real change in order to create a perfect world.

And then, once we have done all we can, like a kind parent help-ing with the homework, He makes sure to touch up our work and make it shine.

For 3,300 years we have been leaving Egypt. For 3,300 years we have been doing our human job of transforming the darkness of His world into light. And now it is His turn to banish darkness forever, to make our work shine

Personal ApplicationBondage MentalityYaaaaawwwwwwn! Well, there goes another Passover night under the belt.

Freedom MentalityI’m done with Pharaoh; I’m through with Egypt. Take me to Jerusalem!

14. HallelPraise the L-ord; Sing along

BodyPour a special cup of wine and set it in the middle of the table. You won’t drink this one—it’s for Elijah the Prophet.Elijah comes to announce the imminent and final Redemption, with the arrival of Moshiach.Now fill your cup with wine or grape juice. That’s cup #4.Yes, you can handle it.The kids open the front door to wel-come Elijah the Prophet. Recite the prayer, “Pour out Your wrath…” from the Haggadah. Watch Elijah enter. (Can’t see him? Maybe you’ve had too much wine.)Tonight is a called “Leil Shimurim”—a night of protection —when we are secured by G-d’s Gentle Hand. We open our front door in the middle of the night with confidence and trust that no harm will befall us.On that very first Passover in Egypt, we were redeemed on the merit of our trust that He would redeem us. Tonight we are liberated again, and again we demonstrate our trust.

It’s all there in your Haggadah. Sing whatever Psalms you know a song for.

At the end, say a blessing and drink the fourth and final cup of wine.

SoulThe ancient rabbis clued us in on a key principle in cosmic func-tions: whatever G-d tells us to do, He does Himself. Of course, there’s a difference. We do it in our little human world, while He does it on a grand cosmic plain.

He told us to open our door on the night of Passover. So, tonight, He opens every door and every gateway of the spiritual cosmos to all of the Jewish People. To each one of us, regardless of what we have been doing the rest of the year, tonight is our chance to reach the highest of spiritual levels.

Personal ApplicationBondage MentalitySince it’s Passover, I’ll make a little change.

Freedom MentalitySince Passover, I totally changed.

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Approaching FreedomThings To Do: Before You Passover

Begin well in advance Deadline: April 18, 2008

The ChomeTz-Free zone: In the weeks prior to Passover, we clean our homes of leavened products made from five major grains (wheat, barley, rye, oats and spelt). On Passover, we will be “Chometz-free” for eight days; step one is to clean any place we might have handled Chometz: in the house, car, and office (desk and drawers, etc.); on our clothing and in our pockets (especially children’s!); in purses, pocketbooks, attaché cases, etc.

Give some serious thought about koshering your kitchen – stove, microwave and sink. Ask your Rabbi how to go about it. You may e-mail us: [email protected]. In Milwaukee you may also call Rabbi Shais Taub 414-961-6100 ext. 309. For more information or for Rabbis in other Wisconsin locations, visit our website at www.chabadwi.org. We will be glad to help with information or in any other way.

SToring AnD Selling ChomeTz: Chometz you wish to keep (e.g., food, cosmetics, or dishes and utensils) should be stored for Passover in designated closets, cabinets, or rooms – and locked, sealed or taped shut. It will be sold (and the space leased) to a non-Jew before Passover, completely removing it from your legal possession. A competent rabbi performs the sale; he acts as the agent to sell the Chometz before the festival, and he buys it back for you after the holiday ends. You may

fill out the sale of Chometz form in this brochure (Page 31) and mail it to us or e-mail it to [email protected], to reach us well before April 18, 2008, and we will take care of the rest. Do not leave it for the last minute. (For the very latest time see schedule page 30.)

PrePAre To CeleBrATe: Stock up on Kosher-for-Passover items. Did you know that the only Matzo that is fit to eat must be marked for Passover use? Did you know that today there are hundreds and thousands of commercially prepared foods, which are under rabbinical supervision and marked Kosher-for- Passover?

ShmurAh mATzAh: The ideal Passover Matzah is hand-made “Shmurah” (“guarded”) Matzah. The wheat is carefully watched –protected against contact with water from the

moment of harvest—to prevent any chance of fermentation. Kneaded, shaped and rolled by hand, they are baked under meticulous supervision to avoid even the slightest possibility of leaven. Eat Shmurah Matzah on each of the Seder nights. You may contact us at 414-961-6100 Ext. 303 to buy this special Matzah.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

FirSTBorn SonS FAST: The last of the Ten Plagues visited upon the Egyptians before the Jewish people were freed was when G-d slew all firstborn males in

Egypt, sparing the firstborn sons of Israel. In recognition, firstborn Jewish males over 13 fast on

this day. But, since joy eclipses suffering, it is customary to waive this fast with a celebration, upon the conclusion of a Talmudic tractate. Ask your Rabbi for the time, or come to Lubavitch House on Thursday, April 17, at 7am.

SeArCh For hiDDen ChomeTz: The absence of Chometz is key in preparing for Passover. At nightfall, on the eve of the first day before Passover, we conduct a ‘formal search’ for Chometz throughout the house while holding a lit candle to light the way. Traditionally, we also use a spoon (as a shovel), a feather (as a broom) and a paper bag to collect any Chometz found. After reciting the appropriate blessing for this mitzvah (blessing #5 on page 30), do a thorough, final once-over search of every last bit of Chometz. (Just to insure that our search


will not be in vain, strategically place ten pieces of Chometz wrapped with paper around the house. Do not hide them so that they are hard to find. If you do, then you will be in trouble…) After the search, verbally nullify any Chometz that was not found (statement #6 on page 30) and place the Chometz that was found in a conspicuous spot to be burned the next morning. (Before the search, put aside the Chometz you plan to use on Friday and on Shabbat.)

NOTE: Usually we search for chometz the night before Passover and burn it the next morning. This year, however, the day before Passover falls on Shabbat, which trumps our agenda. Since we are not to light a fire on Shabbat we complete the tasks associated with Passover preparations one day early (Friday, April 18) so as not to disturb the Shabbat. And since we don’t cook or prepare on Shabbat, make sure that all your special Passover delicacies are prepared on Friday before Shabbat. If you did not manage to cook and prepare all that you need for the holiday, you may do so after the end of Shabbat. (See candle lighting schedule and instructions on page 30, which also apply to cooking and preparing.)

Friday, April 18, 2008

Burn The ChomeTz: This morning we safely burn all chometz found during last night’s search (for time see chart on page 30). All chometz, except the chometz we intend to eat on Friday and during the first two Shabbat meals, must be burned (unless stored in the chometz closet and sold before Passover.)

NOTE: Here are some suggestions in overcoming the special challenges posed by this years special calendar. As your house has been prepared for Passover except for the Chometz (bread/challah) needed for the Friday night and Shabbat morning meals, after which no chometz may remain in your possession. How do you ensure that your well prepared home, tablecloths etc. do not come in contact with chometz? How do you ascertain that no chometz remains in your possession after the allowed time?

• All meals for Shabbos should be prepared Kosher for Passover, cooked in Passover cooking-ware, using only Kosher for Passover ingredients.

• Only enough “Challah” (Shabbat Bread) necessary for Friday night and Shabbos Morning should be left out.

• This Challah should be eaten very carefully in a separate area taking care that the bread should not touch Passover utensils.

• After finishing eating your “Challah” take part in the rest of the meal.

• Paper goods and plastic-ware are good alternatives for this Shabbos’ usage.

• You may also wish to use a disposable tablecloth.

• Any remaining bread crumbs from the meals should be “flushed.”

lighTing ShABBAT CAnDleS: As before every Shabbat, Jewish women and girls light the candles that brighten the home and welcome these special days. Shabbat candles are lit before sunset (for time and blessing #1 see page 30).

Shabbat, April 19, 2008

ShABBAT meAl: Savor the last bit of chometz, because early this morning is our final chance to eat chometz for eight days (for exact time see chart on page 30). After we finish our last bite, there should be no chometz remaining.

mAking noThing inTo A Big DeAl: Now you are ready to formally declare your home a chometz-free zone. Recite the Chometz Nullification Statement (statement #7 on page 30), verbally disowning any chometz that might have been overlooked.

PrePAre AgAin To CeleBrATe: Now you have a whole day to look forward to the Seder. But wait; to develop our spiritual and nutritional appetite for the Seder, we abstain from eating any food found on the Seder plate today, especially Matzo. If you’re a fan of bitter herbs and raw onions, apples, nuts and wine, stay out of the kitchen. The time to actually

begin preparation for the Seder is after nightfall. (See candle lighting schedule on page 30.)

Saturday night, April 19, 2008

FinAllY The SeDer: After Shabbat, at nightfall, recite the following statement “Baruch hamavdil bein kodesh le’chol” (Blessed is He who separates between the holy and the mundane). Now you may begin to prepare the Seder table. Light the Passover candles from a pre-existing flame

(for time and blessing #2 and #4, see page 30). Now it’s showtime; Experience the Seder!

PLEASE NOTE: when a Festival occurs on a Saturday night the “Vatodianu” – Havdalah blessing is added to

the Kiddush. You will find it in the Haggadah.

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Sunday, April 20, 2008

PrAY AnD FeAST: Today is a good day to go to Shul, followed by a festive meal for lunch. Wait with preparing for the second Seder until after nightfall.

Sunday night, April 20, 2008

BrighTen uP AgAin: Tonight we will enjoy one more Seder. But, before we begin the second Seder, the holiday candles are lit after nightfall from a pre-existing flame. (For time and blessings #2 & #4 see page 30.)

CounT in AnTiCiPATion: Tonight is when we start counting the “Omer,” the seven-week period (49 days) that begins on Passover and ends at the festival of Shavuos, when we celebrate G-d’s giving us the Torah. The “Omer” – a measure of barley – was brought to the temple in Jerusalem on the second day of Passover, as a thanksgiving offering for the new crops. (For schedule and blessing see page 30.) You would want to do that even before the Seder begins, as you may fall asleep before you have a chance to bless.

The 49 days embody the 49 steps of self-improvement – beginning with the departure from our “personal” Egypt, until our arrival at Mount Sinai, when we are ready to accept the wisdom of the Torah.

monday, April 21, 2008

PrAY AnD FeAST AgAin: It’s time to go to Shul again and enjoy another festive meal for lunch.

monday night, April 21, 2008

mAke A DiFFerenCe: Just as we make Kiddush, declaring the sanctification of the day, we’re equally obliged to distinguish between the sanctified and the mundane, good and evil, light and darkness. At this time, when these qualities are so often blurred and distorted, it is of particular importance. After nightfall, we make the traditional Havdallah (distinction) service (to be found in your prayer book).

now You Are in The miDDle: Passover’s intermediate days begin at the end of the second day of the holiday (Monday night). Between the first two and the last two days of Passover we may resume much (not all) of our regular, workday activities; but, of course, we continue to eat Kosher for Passover foods exclusively. Also, it is customary to drink a glass of wine or grape juice each day, in celebration of the festival.

Friday, April 25, 2008

AnD on The SevenTh DAY: In addition to being Shabbat the Seventh Day of Passover is Yom Tov (Holiday), as is the Eighth Day of Passover, and are observed with the same laws

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governing (Shabbat and) all Jewish Festivals. At sundown Shabbat and Yom Tov candles are lit (for times and blessing #3 see page 30).

This day commemorates our total liberation from Egypt with the Splitting of the Sea. We celebrate the holiday with a formal festival meal beginning with Kiddush. You will find it in your prayer book or the Haggadah. Get ready for an intense experience – it is customary to stay up all night studying Torah.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

CroSS The SeA oF reeDS: If you enjoyed services at Shul on the first two days – three days will constitute it “permanent”. Today’s experience in Shul includes the Torah reading of the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds. (That’s in addition to the Rabbi’s sermon).

Saturday night, April 26, 2008

The FinAlS: After nightfall, Passover candles are lit from a pre-existing flame (for time and blessing #2 see page 30.) We celebrate the holiday with a formal festival meal beginning with Kiddush. You will find it in your prayer book or the Haggadah. Please note: Being Shabbat evening, the special “Vatodianu” – havdalah blessing is added to the Kiddush.

On this final day of Passover, we strive for a higher level of freedom and focus on the final redemption.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

lAST BuT noT leAST: Yizkor Memorial Prayers are recited during morning services. Following the Baal Shem Tov’s custom, we end Passover with “Moshiach’s Feast” – a festive meal complete with matzo and four cups of wine during which we celebrate the imminent arrival of the Messiah. The feast begins before sunset and continues until after nightfall. Nightfall is the official end of Passover (for exact time see page 30). You must wait an additional hour to give the rabbi enough time to “buy back” your Chometz before eating it.

we hAve mADe iT! Let’s continue the Passover spirit of freedom throughout the year!

mAke A DiFFerenCe AgAin: At nightfall (see schedule on page 30), as we depart the holiday to our day to day activities, we recite the Havdalah blessing. Havdalah invites us to carry the spirit of Shabbat and/or the holiday into our weekday life. Thus, by contrasting the sacred and the mundane – the Shabbat/Holidays from the other days of the week –we strive to bring some of the holiness of the Holidays into our everyday activities throughout the week.

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Shirley Chisholm was the first African- American woman ever elected to the US Congress. Chisholm made headlines upon her election in 1968 and she had grand hopes of using her new position to pursue her goal of helping the poor and the inner city.

But she soon found her congressional career stunted at its start by race-related politics. Bowing to political pressures, the House’s leadership assigned Chisholm not to the housing committee she requested, nor to the treaty on poverty, but to the Agriculture Committee, where it was assumed she could have little influence.

To add insult to injury, the day she was appointed to Agriculture committee the New York Times ran a front page article which said, “Does a tree grow in Brooklyn?” implying that a city-girl couldn’t possibly head the agriculture com-mittee.

Chisholm was distraught. Soon there after, she received a phone call: “The Lubavitcher Rebbe would like to meet with you.”

Chisholm represented New York’s 12th District, which included her own neighbor-hood of Crown Heights. She lived a block away from the Rebbe and had met him once before when she was seeking endorsements. The Rebbe had declined to endorse her candidacy, just

My father used to pray in a beautiful, big shul. When the neighborhood changed, and Jews moved away, the shul grew emptier each week. So it was finally sold for what was then a huge amount of money, some four hundred thousand dollars.

That’s when the dispute broke out: What to do with the money? The shul had been a Lubavitch shul and so the obvious choice would have been to give it to the Rebbe for his institutions. But others who joined the Shul later wanted to give the money to various yeshivas, to a hospital, to other causes. It was a major dispute.

They finally agreed that a committee would go to the Rebbe. They would ask for his guidance on what to do.

When they came in and presented their question to the Rebbe, the Rebbe said, “My advice is not to give that money away. Put it in the bank. Invest it carefully and give the interest from that money every year to help with Chinuch, Jewish education.”

Members of the commit-tee, as well as my father, were in shock. This was in 1955, just four years after the Rebbe had become the Rebbe. I am certain that in 1955, four hundred thousand dollars would have been an unbelievable

In honor of the Rebbe’s, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, oBM, 106th birthday – (on the 11th of Nissan/April 20th) and in gratitude of his gift of love, we present the following two stories.

As Told by Dr. David Luchins

The Rebbeand WIC

The Rebbe’s

Advice


as those of her predecessors, because of his policy of non-involvement in political campaigns. But now the Rebbe wanted to speak to her; and so she headed over to the Rebbe’s office at 770 Eastern Parkway.

At the meeting the Rebbe said, “I know you’re very upset.” And she said, “I’m upset. I’m insulted. What should I do?”

That’s when the Rebbe turned the tables: “What a blessing G-d has given you. This country has so much surplus food, and there are so many hungry people. You can use this gift that G-d gave you to feed hungry people. Find a creative way to do it.”

Soon after she went off to Washington and on her first day there met a young congressman from Kansas, Bob Dole. The farm-state politician told her, “You know, our farmers have all this extra food and we don’t know what to do with it.” Suddenly a light bulb went off for Chilsholm: “One second, the Rabbi!”

During the next few years, and for the duration of the 1970s, Chisholm worked to expand the national Food Stamp Program, which allowed poor Americans to buy subsidized food. Finally in 1973, the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act mandated that Food Stamps be made available in every jurisdiction in the United States.

It was in the creation of the WIC program, however, that Chisholm really made her mark. The 1969 White House Conference on Food Nutrition and Health rec-ommended targeted food supplements for high-risk pregnant women and their infants. Chisholm, in the House, and Dole, in the Senate, championed the idea and got Congress to approve a two-year pilot project that would be administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Today more than 8 million people receive WIC (an acronym for Women Infants and Children) benefits each month.

In 1983, Chisholm spoke at a party celebrating her retirement from Congress. She talked about her work on WIC and the accomplishments she made. Then she said, “I owe this to a rabbi who was an optimist and taught me optimism. He taught me how to view a challenge as a gift from G-d. If poor babies have milk and poor children have food, it’s because the Rabbi in Crown Heights had vision.”

gift to Lubavitch. The Rebbe knew about the dispute, because my father wrote and spoke to him about it. The Rebbe himself was not having an easy time fund-ing the Lubavitch institutions. Can you imagine what the Rebbe could have done with that kind of money? Yet the Rebbe declined it, and, instead, directed the committee to use it for Jewish education, at their dis-cretion.

For many years we did that. And I’m still treasurer of the shul. We’ve gone well into the principal now, but we still give out the money each year. And I think that’s a tremendous legacy; over four million dollars have been given out.

Years later, many years later, I mentioned the episode to the Rebbe and the Rebbe remembered it well. When I told him we’re still giving out money, the Rebbe said, “It was a good investment, wasn’t it?”

Dr. David Luchins was a senior advisor to the late U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan for 20 years and now serves as the Chair of the Political Science Department at Touro College.


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P A S S o v E R

Blessings & Schedules

CandLe Lighting bLessings

thursday, apriL 17, after nightfaLL – searCh fOr ChOmetzbefore beginning the search, the following blessing is recited:

5. bA-RUCH A-TOH AdO-NOi E-LO-HEi-NU ME-LECH HA-OLAM ASHER Kid-ESHO-NU bE-MiTZVO-SOV VETZi-VONU AL bE-UR CHO-METZ Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments,

and commanded us concerning the removal of chometz.

after concluding the search the following declaration is stated:

6. ALL LEAVEN ANd ANYTHiNG LEAVENEd THAT iS iN MY POSSESSiON, wHiCH i HAVE NEiTHER SEEN NOR REMOVEd, ANd AbOUT wHiCH i AM UNAwARE, SHALL bE CONSidEREd NULLiFiEd ANd OwNERLESS AS THE dUST OF THE EARTH.

friday, apriL 18 – burning ChOmetz, seLLing ChOmetz Milwaukee Madison Green Bay LaCrosse KenoshaBurn Chometz By: 11:42am 11:48am 11:42am 11:55am 11:42am

Sale of Chometz: Have the Authorization Certificate (see page 31) reach us no later than 4 PM

See Candle Lighting Times and Blessings – Above, Left Column)

shabbat, apriL 19 – eating, dispOsing Of ChOmetz Milwaukee Madison Green Bay LaCrosse KenoshaFinish eating chometz before: 10:33am 10:39am 10:33am 10:46am 10:34am

Dispose of chometz before: 11:41am 11:47am 11:41am 11:55am 11:42am

after the Chometz is disposed of, the following declaration is stated:

7. ALL LEAvEN AND ANYTHING LEAvENED THAT IS IN MY PoSSESSIoN, WHETHER I HAvE SEEN IT oR NoT, SHALL BE CoNSIDERED NULLIFIED AND oWNERLESS AS THE DUST oF THE EARTH.

mOnday, apriL 21 nightfall – the first days Of yOm tOv end. intermediate days begin. Milwaukee Madison Green Bay LaCrosse Kenosha 8:27pm 8:33pm 8:31pm 8:42pm 8:25pm

friday eve, shabbat & sunday, apriL 25-27 – Last days of yom tov. See Candle Lighting Times and Blessings – Above, Left Column)

sunday, apriL 27 – yizkOr Yizkor is recited during morning service. Consult your synagogue for times.

passOver ends at nightfall Milwaukee Madison Green Bay LaCrosse Kenosha 8:35pm 8:41pm 8:39pm 8:50pm 8:33pm

1. ba-ruCh a-tOh adO-nOi e-LO-hei-nu me-LeCh ha-OLam asher kid-e-shO-nu be-mitz-vO-sOv vetzi-vO-nu Le-had-Lik ner sheL sha-bbOs kO-desh. Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His com-mandments, and commanded us to kindle the light of the holy Shabbat.

2. ba-ruCh a-tOh adO-nOi e-LO-hei-nu me-LeCh ha-OLam asher kid-e-shO-nu be-mitz-vO-sOv vetzi-vO-nu Le-had-Lik ner sheL yOm tOv. Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His com-mandments, and commanded us to kindle the Yom Tov light.

3. ba-ruCh a-tOh adO-nOi e-LO-hei-nu me-LeCh ha-OLam asher kid-e-shO-nu be-mitz-vO-sOv vetzi-vO-nu Le-had-Lik ner sheL sha-bbOs ve-sheL yOm tOv. Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His command-ments, and commanded us to kindle the Shabbat and Yom Tov light.

4. ba-ruCh a-tOh adO-nOi e-LO-hei-nu me-LeCh ha-OLam she-heChi-yO-nu ve-ki-ye-mO-nu ve-higi-O-nu Liz-man ha-zeh. Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occa-sion.

Blessing Milwaukee Madison Green Bay La Crosse Kenosha

April 18 Eve of Shabbat 1* 7:20 7:26 7:23 7:34 7:19April 19 Eve of Passover/ 1st Seder 2 & 4** 8:24 8:30 8:28 8:39 8:23 April 20 Eve of 2nd Day / 2nd Seder 2 & 4** 8:25 8:31 8:30 8:41 8:24 April 25 Eve of Shabbat / 7th day 3* 7:28 7:34 7:31 7:43 7:27April 26 Eve of 8th Day of Passover 2** 8:33 8:39 8:38 8:49 8:32

* Do not light after sunset ** Do not light before the times indicated. Light only from a preexisting flame. A preexisting flame is a flame that has been burning continuously since the onset of the festival s

passover guide · 2008. 3. 26. · passover guide 12,13,14,15-22 nissan, 5768 • april...

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