
Shabbos HaGadol: What’s So Big?
Why only in Egypt did we have to take the Korban Pesach specifically on the 10th of Nissan? Why do we commemorate the day of the week on which the miracle...
Apr 13, 2016
By Rabbi Yochanan Bechhofer

Chametz to Matza: Breaking the Time Barrier
Why is the seder called “order” – there are other things that are orderly in Judaism? Why focus on who was skipped? What is the significance of the Jews being told...
Apr 7, 2016
By Rabbi Yochanan Bechhofer

Kriyat Yam Suf: Opening a Portal Between Dimensions
Why did an agreement need to be made with the water to split; the connection between Kriyat Yam Suf & techiyat hametim. Why couldn’t the Jews go 3 days without Torah? For...
Apr 7, 2016
By Rabbi Yochanan Bechhofer

The Journey to Yam Suf as a Metaphor for...
The Rambam and the Ramchal say Hashem doesn’t interfere with our free will, rather, he spins events to lead us to a specific result. For Chol HaMoed Pesach.
Apr 7, 2016
By Rabbi Yochanan Bechhofer

Question of the Tam
The tam is a straight, honest person asking why we break the neck of the donkey – a question any honest person has by any mitzvah: Why do bad things happen?...
Apr 6, 2016
By Rabbi Yochanan Bechhofer

Saving the Wicked Son
The Rasha asks the same question as the Chacham but with a negative, cynical tone. How do we convey the same message we give to the chacham to the Rasha? Previous:...
Apr 6, 2016
By Rabbi Yochanan Bechhofer

Answers to the 4 Sons in the Chumash &...
Why don’t the answers we provide to the 4 sons in the haggadah parallel the answers we are told by the Torah to give them? Previous: Chochom vs. Rasha Next: Saving...
Apr 6, 2016
By Rabbi Yochanan Bechhofer

Chacham vs. Rasha
The chacham and rasha seem to ask the same question despite being polar opposites. According to the Maharal, this is because opposites are closely related. Previous: Kneged Arba Bonim: The Four...
Apr 6, 2016
By Rabbi Yochanan Bechhofer

Kneged Arba Banim: The Four Factor
The number 4 is central to the seder because it’s all-encompassing. The 4 sons are within the framework of Torah. We’re being told how to respond to them. Previous: Baruch HaMakom...
Apr 6, 2016
By Rabbi Yochanan Bechhofer

Baruch HaMakom
What does the name HaMakom mean and why do we refer to God that way here? What is the added blessed be He at the end? How does it lead into...
Apr 5, 2016
By Rabbi Yochanan Bechhofer
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