Pesach Stuff and Other Inyana D'Yoma
Reuven Chaim Klein
As I mentioned in a previous email, this Shabbos we are making a special Kiddush in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of my second son Yisroel Elimelech and the birth of my second daughter Bracha Shprintza. In honor of the occasion, I wanted to share these essays from my What's in a Word? series:
- Boys and Girls (Part 1 | Part 2) - נער/נערה, עלם/עלמה, ילד/ילדה, רובה/ריבה, and טלי/טליה.
- Boys and Bars - About בן and בר.
- ESSAY: "Weaning Away from Idolatry: Maimonides on the Purpose of Ritual Sacrifices," Religions vol. 12:5 (2021).
- RECORDING: Introduction to Sacrifices (Part I and Part II) - This series offers an introduction to the Jewish concept of ritual sacrifices, as elaborated upon in the Book of Leviticus and in the Mishnaic Order of Kodashim.
Over the years, I’ve written several essays related to Pesach (mostly in my What’s in a Word? Series), so I figured I’d make an outline of the topics discussed with the links to those essays so I can share them with you. If you find something that piques your interest, I suggest printing it out so you can read it over Yom Tov). As always, please share with anybody else that you think might find this interesting:
1. Names of Passover – “Jumping for Passover – Part 1” (April 2017); “The Three Names of Passover” (2021).
2. About Egypt and Pharaoh – “Escape from Patros” (April 2023); “The Pharaoh and the King” (Jan. 2018).
3. Passover Seder
a. Haggadah – “Telling the Story” (April 2019); “Defining Freedom” (March 2018); “A Table for Three” (Feb. 2024); “All Mixed Up” (Aug. 2024); “The Passover Seder as an Exercise in Piagetian Education Theory” (July 2023).
b. Story of the Exodus in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer – Episodes 83; 99-102 (Spotify, Amazon Music, TorahDownloads).
c. Words for Wine – Part 1, Part 2 (March 2022).
d. Karpas: “Veggies for the Dipping” (April 2024).
e. Matzah: “Flour Power” (July 2023); “Kneading the Dough” (June 2020); “Eating Cake” (April 2024); “Poorman’s Bread” (April 2007).
4. Ten Plagues:
a. Plague of Blood – “All about Money” (June 2024), “Seeing Red Part 1/2” (Mar 2025).
b. Plague of Frogs – “Piles and Piles” (Jan. 2022); “Marshes, Marshes, Marshes” (Jan. 2021).
c. Plague of Lice – “The Trick of Magi” (Jan. 2023); “Lice ain’t Nice” (Jan. 2025).
d. Plague of Mixtures – “Sweet and Pleasant” (Jan. 2018); “Out in the Wild” (May 2023).
e. Plague of Pestilence – “Plague of Plagues” (Jan. 2018); “Boorish Animals” (Feb. 2023).
f. Plague of Boils – “No More Boils” (Sept. 2024); “A Real Toss Up” (Dec. 2019).
g. Plague of Hail – “Like a Rock Part 1/2" (Nov. 2018); “Stop It!” (Jan. 2022).
h. Plague of Locust – “Army of Grasshoppers” (Jan. 2018).
i. Plague of Darkness – “Turning off the Lights” (Feb. 2017); “Pulling & Drawing” (Jan. 2024).
j. Plague of the Death of Firstborns – “Jumping for Passover Part 2/2” (April 2017); “That’s a Flogging” (Feb. 2020).
5. Sefiras Ha’Omer:
a. “When Just Counting Doesn’t Count” (May 2017); “Stop It’s Shavuot” (May 2018); “The Sickle and Exile” (March 2021); “Seeking Completion” (Oct. 2021); “The Year of Seven” (May 2022).
6. Shevii Shel Pesach:
a. “Cut it Out” – Part 1, Part 2 (Jan. 2019).
b. “The Splitting of the Sea” – To Save Jews or Punish Egyptians? (April 2010).
c. “Sing and Song” (April 2020).
d. Hallel – “Songs of Ascent” (April 2006); “Hallel on Holidays” (April 2007).
e. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer on Splitting the Sea (April 2015).
f. Seventh Day of Pesach (Shevii Atzeres) - Liturgical insights and the Splitting of the Sea.
Kol Tuv,
Reuven Chaim Klein
Beitar Illit, Israel
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Reuven Chaim Klein
Chag Kosher V'Sameach!
As I mentioned in a previous email, this Shabbos we are making a special Kiddush in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of my second son Yisroel Elimelech and the birth of my second daughter Bracha Shprintza. In honor of the occasion, I wanted to share these essays from my What's in a Word? series:
- Boys and Girls (Part 1 | Part 2) - נער/נערה, עלם/עלמה, ילד/ילדה, רובה/ריבה, and טלי/טליה.
- Boys and Bars - About בן and בר.
What is a Gadol? - Drash for My son Elimelech Klein's Bar Mitzvah - Related to Bar Mitzvah and Shabbos HaGadol (Hebrew)
- ESSAY: "Weaning Away from Idolatry: Maimonides on the Purpose of Ritual Sacrifices," Religions vol. 12:5 (2021).
- RECORDING: Introduction to Sacrifices (Part I and Part II) - This series offers an introduction to the Jewish concept of ritual sacrifices, as elaborated upon in the Book of Leviticus and in the Mishnaic Order of Kodashim.
