Divrei Mav

Pesach 2018 Why Have “Second Days”? The  Yom   Tov  of  Pesach  is an incredible time to build ourselves as Jews. One way we can do this is to take the time to express our gratitude to  Hashem  for everything that He  constantly  does for us. Pesach  is divided into two parts with two days of  Yom   Tov  each celebrating and commemorating extraordinary miracles  Hashem  did for our people. The first two days of  Yom   Tov  commemorate the freedom from bondage under Pharaoh’s reign. To celebrate this we observe the  Yom   Tov  with a  seder  in which we tell in great detail the story of our exodus and sing  Hashem’s  praises through  Hallel  (additional prayers in the morning service). Then, the holiday comes to a close with last two days where we reflect on splitting of the Sea and yet another salvation for our people. The “second day...

Parshas Yisro A Man of Truth “And Yisro heard…” ( Shemos 18: 1) Allow me to introduce you to a man who is truly remarkable. This man is one of dignity and esteem, a minister and former adviser to the world authority, and a man of justice and truth. Our eventful parsha this week was named in his sake. This man’s name is “ Yisro” .  Yisro was not only a prominent figure politically, he was also the father-in-law to our very own Moshe Rabbeinu . What was so special about Yisro that he has an entire portion of the Torah in his namesake? But not just any portion but the very segment that relays the B’nai Yisroel receiving the Torah from Hashem ? As noted above, Yisro was a man of truth. He experimented with every religion and belief in his time, desperately searching for life’s meaning and purpose. He tried to serve the luminaries, constellations, and every inanimate object that was at one time called, “G-d”. Unfulfilled, time and time again. Yet his se...