Matzah

Shabbat Shalom from Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

January 31-February 1, 2020 / 6 Shevat 5780

Shabbat Bo

Torah - Exodus 10:1-13:16 / Haftarah - Jeremiah 46:13-28

“Matzah”

Dear Friends,

What does eating matzah symbolize for you?  In this week’s Torah portion the Children of Israel are commanded to eat matzah as they embarked on the Exodus from slavery to freedom. However, at first there is no explanation given.  Later in the portion, we are told that the matzah was baked in haste because there was no time to wait for the dough to rise.  Still later in the Torah, in Deuteronomy, we learn that matzah is considered the poor person’s bread, the bread of affliction.

Matzah has many explanations and can symbolize many things to us Jews.  For some, matzah is the perfect backpacker’s food, enabling us to travel light.  For others, it is reminiscent of ancient pita. Still others feel that matzah symbolizes purity, as the dough does not ferment before baking.

What does eating matzah symbolize for you?

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

Four Cups of Wine

Shabbat Shalom from Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

January 24-25, 2020 / 28 Tevet 5780

Shabbat Va’eira

Torah: Exodus 6:2 - 9:35

Haftarah: Ezekiel 28:25 - 29:21

“Four Cups of Wine”

Dear Friends,

Why do we drink four cups of wine at the Passover seder?  This week’s Torah portion contains the foundation of this tradition.  In Exodus chapter 6, verses 6 through 8, God offers five promises to the enslaved Children of Israel: I will free you…, I will deliver you…, I will redeem you…, I will take you…, and I will bring you… According to the Haggadah, the first four promises have been fulfilled and are symbolized by the four cups.

The fifth promise, however, is yet to be fulfilled and is therefore represented by Elijah’s cup. It is the cup of hope in a wonderful and peaceful future for our people and all who dwell on earth.  This hopefulness leads us to say at the end of the seder, “Next year in Jerusalem, rebuilt and renewed.” With these words, we express our hope that the fifth promise will be realized soon and in our day.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

The Pintele Yid

Shabbat Shalom from Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

January 17-18, 2020  /  21 Tevet 5780

Shabbat Shemot

Torah - Exodus 1:1-6:1  /  Haftarah - Isaiah 27:6-28:13; 29:22-23

“The Pintele Yid”

Dear Friends,

Why a Burning Bush?  What does it mean that Moses first heard God’s voice and received the charge to lead the Israelites out of slavery from a bush engulfed in flames?

There is teaching in Judaism that each Jew has within the heart a small flame of Jewish identity – a pintele Yid.  The flame reminds us of who we are as Jews.  Moreover, it can be fanned to grow brighter, bringing us to ever increasing connection, involvement, and action as Jews.  To me, Moses’ encounter with the burning bush was coming face to face with his pintele Yid.  From that moment, Moses recognized the important role that he could play as a leader of his people, bringing them from slavery to freedom.

Each one of us has a pintele Yid within.  What is it telling you?

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

The Cave of Machpelah

Shabbat Shalom from Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

December 10-11, 2020 / 14 Tevet 5780

Shabbat Vayekhi

Torah - Genesis 47:28 - 50:26 / Haftarah - I Kings 2:1-12

“The Cave of Machpelah”

Dear Friends,

This week’s Torah portion brings us to the end of the book of Genesis.  The story of Joseph concludes with the Children of Israel settled in Egypt – a safe haven from the famine that was ravaging the region. Even thought the focus is clearly on settling in the Nile delta area of Goshen, the connection to the Land of Israel is still very present.  Jacob, the family patriarch, died with a final request, that he be buried in the Cave of Machpelah, back in the land of Israel, in modern day Hebron.  A funeral caravan was organized and Jacob’s body was brought back ‘home.’

That is the message of this story, that the Land of Israel is the Jewish homeland.  Regardless of where we live and the countries of which we are loyal and proud citizens, our Jewish spiritual and historical roots lie in the Land of Israel.  For millennia we have concluded our Passover seders with the words “Next Year in Jerusalem.”  Our Hebrew language and Bible are clearly rooted in the Land. We pray facing east towards the Land.

Celebrate the ongoing connection to our ancestral home.  If you can, go visit the State of Israel and revel in the modern miracle that it has become in the Land of Israel.

Zay a mentsch – Be a good person.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow