Have a Great Yom Tov!

Have an abstinent Yom Tov!

As I walked into my pantry to take some fruit from one of the many cases there I suddenly understood one of the reasons that Pesach is so hard to stay abstinent.  We have a tendency to reward ourselves for our limited diets by eating unlimited permitted food, since we can't have chometz we eat tons of apples and oranges and potato chips and on and on.  It is hard not to indulge when you are used to indulging.

Hashem should bless all of us to drive the chometz and the yetzer hara out of our houses.

A Seder Overveiw

בכל דור ודור חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאילו


הוא יצא ממצרים. שנאמר והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא

לאמור בעבור זה עשה ה' לי בצאתי ממצרים

"In every generation, each person must feel as if he personally had come out of Mitzrayim (Egypt), as the Torah says: "You should tell your child on that day, 'When I left Mitzrayim, Hashem did miracles for me .....'" [The Pesach Haggadah]

THE SEDER PLATE
It is customary to use our most beautiful silver, dishes and tableware. At the head of the table, in front of the person leading the Seder is the Seder plate and a matza bag that holds the three matzot. Others use a Seder plate that looks like a three-tiered structure that holds three matzot with a place for 6 items on its roof.

The 6 items have special meanings.

1. Z'ro'a - A Roasted Bone (roasted chicken wing or shank bone) to remind us of the Pesach offerings that would be brought in the Bait Hamikdash (Holy Temple) in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).

2. Beitzah - A Roasted Hardboiled Egg to remind us of our mourning at the destruction of the Bait Hamikdash, may it be rebuilt soon, in our lifetime.

3. Maror

4. Chazeret
Two types of bitter herbs (vegetables). We eat bitter herbs twice during the Seder.
1. once by themselves as MAROR
2. the second time with matzah as KORECH


Two kinds of bitter vegetables are placed on the Seder plate. Most people use romaine lettuce (whole leaves or the stalks) and raw horseradish (whole or grated). Either may be used for MAROR or KORECH.
5. Charoset - a mixture of ground apples, nuts, ginger, cinnamon, and red sweet wine. The look and feel of mortar symbolizes the bricks and mortar which we were forced to use when we were slaves in Egypt.

6. Karpas - A vegetable, other than marror, (most use boiled potato, celery or parsley), which is dipped into salt water and eaten.

To remind ourselves of the sweat and tears we shed as slaves, we place a bowl of the salt water near the Seder plate.

To continue reading go to:
http://www.breslev.co.il/articles/holidays_and_fast_days/pesach/the_seder_overview.aspx?id=1389&language=english

Practical Ideas for the Seder-From Rebbetzin Heller

The word Seder literally means order. This night open your mind to seeing “order” in a different light. Most of the time that word conveys the concept of putting things in a rational design. This can mean in terms of time priority (first things first) or aesthetic design (taller plants behind shorter ones). Time and space can be tough masters. The order of the seder is not bound by time and space, but rather by Hashem’s design for you personally, for the Jews, and for the world as a whole. You begin with Kadesh, which means sanctification, since this is the first step toward freedom. You move from there to Urchatz which is washing your hands ritually but without the usual blessing. This is done in preparation for the next step which is eating the vegetable that is dipped in salt water. The entire procedure is highly unusual and is designed to almost force a question out of your mouth. What that tells us is that there is another step towards freedom which is being willing to ask questions
 To read more go to:

http://www.tziporahheller.com/?q=blog/practical-ideas-seder

Insight from a Shabbos Afternoon Smooze

This Shabbos I was discussing OA with a friend.  I mentioned to her that OA is very big on helping us to accept our share of responsibility for the problems in our life.  Sometimes it is hard to know what our part of the problem is.  My friend gave me a great insight.  She said , "If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem."

A Tip for Keeping Salad Fresh for the Two Days of Yom Tov

Since I eat a pound of salad a day, fresh salad  is really important to me.  I like to add wet vegetables to my salad but then the dry vegetables tend to wilt when you store them together.  I now weigh and store the wet and dry vegetables separately. It takes a few seconds more but makes the Shabbos and Yom Tov meals much nicer.

Pesach Is family time-keep cool.

Judge Every Person Favorably. 
The Mishnah uses the term Kol Adam, which can mean "every person" and also "the whole man".  Even if your friend does not always behave the way he should, consider the whole man.  Surely he has many other fine qualities which outweigh the bad (Sfas Emes).

from:
Breslov Pirkey Avot  page 39
A beautifully compiled compendium of Breslev commentaries and insights on Pirkey Avot, including illuminating stories and examples. Highly, highly recommended.

This is a time of year when we are in close contact with a lot of family members so this insight really hit home.

A practical tip for Pesach Cooking

Chochmah B' Goyim Taamin -Wisdom from the Nations Believe
Many years ago when I took out my Pesach Cooking Utensils, my Chinese housekeeper took a look at my knives and said, "You can't cook with those knives, you need a good knife".  Every year I buy a good knife and I wind up loving it so much that I keep it out for year round.  I just bought a new knife after struggling for a few days with junk knives.  DON'T GO CHEAP ON KNIVES-it makes a big difference.

Also, when you are buying a good knife, I recomend Global knives.  The distictive look makes them great for Parve. My family knows if it looks like that its parve, and it stays parve.

Checklist for Weighed Portions for Pesach

NOTE: Every Food Plan is different- this is just an example

First Days:

5 portions of starch 4oz each
5 portions of cooked veg 8 oz each
5 portions of raw veg 8 oz each
7 portions of protein 4 oz each
5 portions of fruit 6 oz each
5 portions of oil 1/2 oz each

Shabbos Chol Hamoed:
3 portions of starch 4oz each
3 portions of cooked veg 8 oz each
3 portions of raw veg 8 oz each
4 portions of protein 4 oz each
3 portions of fruit 6 oz each
3  portions of oil 1/2 oz each

Last Days:

5 portions of starch 4oz each

5 portions of cooked veg 8 oz each
5 portions of raw veg 8 oz each
7 portions of protein 4 oz each
5 portions of fruit 6 oz each
5 portions of oil 1/2 oz each

Hint: Your oil can be weighed in advance, it does not spoil, do it all now.
Do as much as you can as early as you can, it is a lot of weighing.

Ffifteen steps of the Passover Seder

There are fifteen steps in the Passover Seder, and fifteen steps leading to the Bais HaMikdash. This is because they are both leading to the same destination, closeness to Hashem.

from a Shiur:
(Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky)
Redefining Pesach cleaning
on Torah Anytime

What is the secret of Yachatz?

Rebbi Nachman says that the secret of Yachatz is brokenness. The only way to achieve wholeness is through cycles of brokenness. The baalie Musar say that there is nothing as whole as a broken heart. In our lives we will go through periods of falling, brokenness, in order to grow. It is only after Yachatz that we can move on to Motzie Matzah. Even after Motzie Matzah, there will be marror again. This is why we have Matzah and Marror together, to learn that this is the path of growth, brokenness and wholeness together. Falling and getting up again is the process of life, and we can not have despair. We have to hold on and continue through these cycles to go higher and higher. The fifteen steps of the seder are about using the seder of life to go higher and higher using our relationship with Hashem to grow.

From the Shiur:
Pesach Seder: Higher Order
Teacher: Mrs. Shira Smiles Class: Jewish Calendar III (Pesach-Shavuot)
Added: March 23, 2010 Time: 61:57

Using the Seder to find our spiritual way home.

Why do we do such small seemingly insignificant things to celebrate such a major event as the Exodus. We might have thought intuitively that we should have something major like fireworks to celebrate the Exodus,. Rav Bloch says that major things do not impact us as much as small detailed conversations. These small detailed actions have to ability to change our neshomos in a major way.

Just like a person sometimes uses small pebbles or stones to help themselves find their way home, we use the simanim of the seder to find our spiritual way home.


From the Shiur:
Pesach Seder: Higher Order
Teacher: Mrs. Shira Smiles Class: Jewish Calendar III (Pesach-Shavuot)

Added: March 23, 2010 Time: 61:57

What is the meaning of "Passover"?

What is the meaning of the word "Passover". Passover is a time when we can skip spiritually ahead. It is a time when we can make spiritual gains that are not possible at other times.

If this is the case, why is the night of Passover known as "Seder Night", a night defined by order. The essence of the Seder is doing things exactly in the correct order.

The answer to this is that even though Hashem created a world of nature, with its perceived rules that seem to define the world, but Hashem also created a spiritual world that follows completely different rules.

By saying the Hagadah correctly, we are tapping into the spiritual rules that enable us to advance spiritually.
Just like we drive a car without understanding all of the details of how it works, we just know that it works, we have to believe that by doing all of the actions of the seder, we are creating spiritual miracles that we can not see or feel.

from the Shiur:
Pesach Seder: Higher Order




Teacher: Mrs. Shira Smiles

Class: Jewish Calendar III (Pesach-Shavuot)

Added: March 23, 2010

What is freedom?

Pesach is a time of freedom.  What is freedom?  Is it to be free to do whatever you want?  No, it is to be free to do the right thing, Hashem's will.  Hashem took us out of Egypt to become his people, to do his Mitzvot, not to do what ever we want.  Freedom brings responsibility.

How free do you want to be.  Do you want to be weighed down by your old baggage, that prevents you from doing the right thing, or do you want to be truly free?

We can use the power of the month of Nisan to be truly free to do Hashem's will.

From an OA meeting.

‘I am God, your God, Who took you out of Egypt’

The Sefer Mitzvos HaKatan wrote in his explanation of the Positive Mitzvah of, “I am God, your God, Who took you out of Egypt,” that it means one must know that He Who created Heaven and Earth alone controls above and below. However, to this he added, “This is the basis for what the rabbis teach: At the time of a person’s judgment after death, they ask him, ‘Did you anticipate redemption?’ (Shabbos 31a). Where is this mitzvah written? Actually, it comes from here, for, just as, ‘I am God, your God, Who took you out of Egypt’ means that we are expected to believe that God redeemed us from Egypt, it also means: Just as I want you to believe that I took you out [from Egypt], I also want you to believe that I, God your God, will gather you in and redeem you in mercy a second time.” (Ohr Yechezkel, Emunas HaGeulah, 1960; p. 287)

from the website:
http://www.thirtysix.org/Geulah_bRachamim/Introduction.html

Where is Hashem?

Where is Hashem? Where ever you let him in. (a saying from Kotsk)

It seems like everyone I know is having some extra Nisyonot -problems-this Erev Pesach. As I sit here davening to Hashem to make it easier for my children(and for me) I became aware that things are MUCH harder when I forget to see Hashem in my problems and know with my heart that Hashem has a solution. When I try to share this knowledge with others I meet resistance so I have to remember what my sponsor says,"keep your side of the fence clean" and "don't make other peoples problems yours". In short-I can be aware that these Nisyonot are from Hashem and gain strength from it, but they have to learn it for themselves.