Pesach Essays

[Reuven Chaim Klein]

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.

Chag Kosher V'Sameach,

Reuven Chaim Klein

Beitar Illit, Israel

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