Much has been said and written this year about the once-in-twenty-eight-year phenomenon of Birkat Hachamathis Wednesday. There are many dimensions to it: halachik, philosophic, kabbalistic and astronomical. Birkat Hachama is recited on the day that the sun, at sunset, is positioned against the same constellations on a Tuesday evening as it was on the Tuesday evening on which it was created 5770 years ago. This is one of the few occasions in our calendar governed by solar rather than lunar cycles (the other being the day we start to recite “vetein tal umattar”..

  Vayikra, 6:2 The Sale of Chameitz is not a sham, it is a very deep spiritual practice Selling your chameitz[1] (unleaven bread etc. forbidden to eat or possess on Pesach) when you know very well that after Pesach you will receive it all back untouched! Running around the house with a candle and feather looking for ten pieces of chameitz that you or your children have just hidden away! Who are we deluding? Every Mitzvah, every Halacha, is an artistic expression of mounds of wisdom and knowledge that we call “the Torah of that Mitzvah”. Thi..

Communication Communication is the heart and soul of all relationships. It is the foundation of education. It is the oil that makes nations and organizations work smoothly. Whether or not we are good at communication depends on how we define it. If communication is the transmission of information, most of us are quite good at it. But is that what communication is? We learned so much about communication at the Seder. The very word "haggada" means communication. It originates in Shemot…..vehigadeta levinchah (you shall tell your son) introducing an explanation for the Seder without ..

It is so important that slavery to routine does not exclude us from life-changing experiences that do not fit into our routines. Pesach entails both routine (Seder) and discontinuity. We create a new Seder for the occasion rather than force occasions into our own robotic routines. We do not become slaves to routine; rather we use Seder, (routine, order, structure) to serve our Freedom. Routine is a tool for completion. Not a structure for dominance and control.   I will not be sending out a Tzav Parsha Insight this week, due to pre-Pesach pressures and my travel commitments. ..