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You can find details of this week's Torah reading, Maftir and Haftarah in our weekly Daf Hashavua by clicking here.

We hope you're having a wonderful, if somewhat different, Pesach and have been able to enjoy some of the sunshine and some of the freedom now two families can meet up outside.

 

If you've also been enjoying some chicken or beef this Pesach, you could be forgiven for not knowing quite how much goes into ensuring your high quality kosher meat reaches your local butcher.

 

Where does it come from? What challenges are there facing shechita, the Jewish religious humane method of animal slaughter? What is the situation here, in the EU and around the world?

 

The right for Jews to practice our religion freely as we have in the UK for generations can never be taken for granted. Shimon Cohen, the Campaign Director of Shechita UK, joined Rabbi Alex Chapper, the Senior Rabbi of Borehamwood and Elstree United Synagogue for a fascinating conversation which you can watch now on TheUS.tv.

Yom HaShoah is next week

 

Next Wednesday evening marks the start of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. The United Synagogue has long been a close supporter of Yom HaShoah UK. Join the community on Wednesday 7 April at 7.30pm for an online, live National Holocaust Commemoration event. There's no need to reserve a space: simply click here to watch.

Get ready for the four 'Yoms'

 

Following Yom HaShoah later this month are Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha'Atzmaut (Israel's Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism and Israel's Independence Day). In May is Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day, celebrating the reunification of Jerusalem).

 

From Exile Towards Redemption is a ground-breaking machzor (special prayer book) for the four upcoming 'Yoms'. Produced by the US & Koren Publishers, the machzor includes prayers, inspirational stories and essays with contributors past and present including the Chief Rabbi, Natan Sharansky, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt'l and Golda Meir describing the significance of these days from people who lived through these events. You can buy yours now for £15, including postage and packaging (UK orders only). Click here to buy yours!

Hope you've been having a wonderful, if somewhat different Pesach.

 

Shabbat shalom and chag sameach,

 

Richard Verber

Communications Director

United Synagogue

The Chief Rabbi made this short programme about Pesach for BBC Radio which you can listen to here. 

 

And in addition, this week Rabbi Michael Laitner asks: why does Pesach last for more than just the Seder nights?

 

The first ‘Pesach’ festival which the Jews observed in Egypt had two parts to it: 1. Chag (festival) HaPesach and 2. Chag HaMatzot (Shemot, Exodus chapter 12). 

 

The Torah then gives us details of how Pesach is to be celebrated in future years as a combination of both Chag HaPesach and Chag HaMatzot. This is therefore what we celebrate for Pesach. This combination is also reflected in the use of ‘Chag HaMatzot’ as the designation for Pesach in the Amida prayers for Pesach and in Birkat Hamazon (Grace after meals).

 

Pesach celebrates the Exodus but why though should it last for 7 days (or 8 in the Diaspora) rather than just marking the day when we actually left Egypt?

 

The Midrash (Rabbinic teachings ‘between the lines’ of the Torah) suggests that the splitting of the Yam Suf (Sea of Reeds) happened on the 7th day after the Jews left Egypt, the 7th day of Pesach.

 

Chizkuni (Rabbi Chezkia ben Manoach, 13th century France), suggests that the 7 days of Chag HaMatzot correspond to the 7 days which each of the 10 plagues lasted.

 

Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra (1089-1167, Spain) offers a different suggestion. He points out that the Jewish people ate Matzot during the days between the Exodus from Egypt and the splitting of the sea (Exodus 12:39). The people took their left over dough when Pharaoh expelled them from Egypt and they used this dough to cook Matzot, perhaps because it was the food they were used to eating as slaves. They ate Matzot until the splitting and other miracles at the sea demonstrated the finality of the Exodus and the definite end of their slavery. Ibn Ezra’s point is backed up by pesukim (verses) in Devarim, Deuteronomy (chapter 16) which further describe the obligation to eat Matzot.

 

Rambam (Maimonides, Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, 1138-1204, Spain and North Africa) offers another perspective. He writes that if the festival of Pesach, commemoration of the Exodus, eating of Matza (and the prohibition of Chametz) would only last for one day, then we may not fully appreciate their significance as this would not be a significant alteration to our schedule (Moreh Nevuchim, Guide to the Perplexed 3:43).

 

To gain the appropriate appreciation of the festival of Pesach and its messages each year, we therefore celebrate Pesach for a more significant period of time.

 

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach.

 

Rabbi Michael Laitner is the Assistant Rabbi of Finchley United Synagogue and Director of Education at the United Synagogue

Welcome to 'Tell US', where we invite you to contribute a joke, a poem or a story. This week's contribution is by Stephen Miller.

 

Every Day

 

Every day is getting a bit longer as the winter has given way to spring

Every day people are being vaccinated against COVID-19 to bring,

This pandemic under control

 

Every day babies are born and so new life comes into being

Every day nature demonstrates to us her beauty that is living

In, and is so good for, our soul

 

Every day good things happen, across the world, to countless people

Every day people, across the world, do good things for other people

Kindness and charity abound

 

Every day we can communicate with our friends and family, worldwide

Every day, we can look upon some aspect of our lives, with some pride

We can feel up, not down

 

Every day we have opportunities to better ourselves, in some way, as people

Every day we can grow a bit as people and realise a bit more of our potential

Positives in life, abound

 

Every day we can either look backwards or forwards - the choice is ours to make

Every day we can either moan about our lives or rejoice at what is on our plate

Moaning just leads to a dead end

 

Every day, there’s a basis to cherish

The fact that, we are Jewish

For that, Baruch Hashem

 

Every day that we wake up in the morning is a positive

Since it means that we have our lives to go on with

On that note, I will end this poem

 

All that’s left to say

Is have a good day

 

And to wish everyone

A Shabbat Shalom

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