Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Jewish Holidays
- Passover - Pesach
Ask the rabbi: why do the children "Steal" the afikoman?
grabbed on the night of Pesach so that the
children will not fall asleep." The Rambam says
that it is the parents who "grab" the Matza so
that "the children will see this & ask." In other
words, it is to pique their curiosity & help keep
them awake until the end of the Seder (when most
of the songs are sung!). In some families, the
adults hide the Afikoman but in other families it
is the children who take the Afikoman & hide it,
holding it "hostage" until the parents "trade" a
prize or a present for it (since technically the
Seder cannot end until the Afikoman is eaten).
Rav Rimon says that even when the adults are
tired by Seder’s end & forget about the Afikoman,
the kids will certainly remind them about it!
This is a sign that if we do our job
successfully, the next generation (i.e. our
children & grandchildren) will react positively
to Jewish tradition & continue the process of
passing on our traditions in the future, assuring our Geula - Redemption.
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
Jewish Laws and Thoughts Shul “etiquette:” can we honor Hashem while respecting our fellow congregants?
Rabbis in Midrash
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 17- "Miracles Don't Make a Messiah (87)
After learning about the unique "mass-revelation" at Sinai, the question was asked: what about the Christian claim that their "messiah also did miracles in front of people. The class summarizes the 3 significant differences between that claim and Israel's "mass-revelation".
