Rabbi Jon 's Website and Blog

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E-Maggid

  • E-Maggid: Esther

    Purim is the holiday of masks and costumes.  The Megillah is a story of hidden identities.  Only at the end is everyone understood completely for who they are, for better or for worse. At the core is Esther.  The Megillah introduces her as "Hadassah, she is Esther."  The Megillah does not tell us when or… Continue reading

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  • E-Maggid: Vayikra

    This week we start reading the third book of the Torah on Shabbat morning.  It begins with a word written in a strange way.  The word is Vayikra, which means "and he called".  God calls to Moshe at the start of the book of Leviticus.  But in the Torah, the last letter of Vayikra, the aleph, is written as a small… Continue reading

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  • E-Maggid: Pharaoh, Amram, and Miryam

    The Talmud teaches that as soon as Pharaoh declared, "Any son who is born — you shall throw him into the Nile," a notable of the tribe of Levi named Amram divorced his wife.  All the other men followed suit.  Miryam, his daughter, immediately confronted him:  "Father, your decree (g'zayrah) is harsher than Pharaoh's.  Pharaoh decreed against… Continue reading

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  • E-Maggid: Everyone Is In Egypt

    During the period between now and Pesach, our focus will be on the inner, spiritual dimension of the Exodus. The Haggadah says that "in every single generation, a person is obligated to to see himself as though he had personally come out of Egypt."  Rabbi Yehudah Leib Alter of Ger amplifies this and explains that… Continue reading

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