Mimouna: A Post-Passover Celebration
An exuberant Sephardic custom whose origins are the subject of debate
Kitniyot: Not Quite Hametz
The Passover debate surrounding rice, millet, corn and legumes.
Passover and Blood Libels
The accusation that blood was used to make wine or matzah for Passover was a pretext for attacks on Jews.
Question: How do I celebrate the in-between days of Passover?
How to mark the middle days of the eight-day festival.
Passover 2024
In 2024, the first Passover seder is on Monday, April 22.
Passover 2024
Why Jews Read the Song of Songs on Passover
Song of Songs is an erotic poem that compares young love to gazelles frolicking in the field. So why is it read on the holiday of liberation?
Is the Passover Story Eternal?
A debate among the ancient rabbis speaks to a stark difference of opinion about the operation of Jewish memory.
Ancient/Medieval Jewish History
Exodus: History or Mythic Tale?
A biblical scholar reviews the historical claims of the biblical book of Exodus.
Why Passover Is Important
Commemorating the foundational event in Jewish history makes Jews who they are.
Next Torah Portion
Summary
This reading describes the wanderings of the Israelites in the desert following their departure from Egypt. It includes the dramatic pursuit by Pharaoh’s army that culminates with the splitting of the Red Sea, allowing the children of Israel to escape through the waters while the Egyptians are drowned. On the far shore, the Moses leads the Israelites in singing a song of praise to God.
Passover Day 7 Readings
Torah Reading
Exodus 13:17-15:26; Numbers 28:19-25
Haftarah
II Samuel 22:1-51
Featured Commentary
When Miracles Are Not Enough
The transformation into a sacred people occurs not through miracles but rather through steady education, discipline and communal reinforcement.
Past and Present of Jewish Romania: From Transylvania with Love
Hosted by: Qesher
Envisioning Women from the Torah: The Art of Midrash
Hosted by: The Siegal Lifelong Learning Program at Case Western Reserve University
Daf Yomi
Bava Metzia 63
Unexpected gifts.
Bava Metzia 62
Share and share alike.
Bava Metzia 61
Bringing up the past.
STUDY RESOURCES
recharge now
Our weekly Shabbat newsletter, Recharge, features a thoughtful, timely essay to enrich your Shabbat. Here are a few of our recent pieces:
From Disgrace to Praise
Why does Jewish tradition instruct us to endlessly retell the story of our ancestors’ enslavement?
A Passover Beyond Words
The visceral cries of the enslaved Israelites, not their words, was essential to the process of liberation.
Rituals of Return
My return to sacred space.
MORE from MY JEWISH LEARNING
Who Was Asenath Barazani?
Asenath Barazani (also spelled Asnat or Osnat) led a yeshiva in 17th century Kurdistan.
The Jews of Russia
The territories of the former Russian Empire were the cradle of Jewish modernity, the birthplace of Zionism and Jewish socialism, and a major center of the Hasidic movement.
English Words of Hebrew Origin
From cabal to camel, a list of English words that derive from Hebrew.
What Does ‘Bashert’ Mean?
The Jewish concept of a divinely ordained soulmate dates back at least to the Talmud.
Dreams in Jewish Tradition
Dreaming was a major source of prophetic insight in the Torah, but Jewish texts also betray a certain anxiety about dreaming.