Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

It is interesting that the Torah refers to Passover as the Holiday of Matzoth. We have to remember that the goal was to get Egypt out of the Jews. The Egyptians had inventing leavening.

When we put the three main holidays in an American historical perspective we can understand them even better.

The Torah states that we have to give an offering for an accidental sin. One of the reasons for this would teach us that while we did it by accident, we are still responsible for our actions.

More than we keeping our rituals, our rituals keep us. If we did not keep the rituals, we would not have become better people. That is what makes us special.

Ritual is important. The Book of Leviticus deals with the ritual of the Tabernacle and the bringing of sacrifices. But if it is not tied to morality, it is meaningless.

Untrue to popular belief, Nisan is the first month of the Jewish year. The holiday of Rosh Hashanah is the anniversary of the creation of man. Nisan is the anniversary of the creation of the Jewish nation.

The Prophetic reading for this week speaks to the future building of the 3rd Temple. For Jews the way to change the world and bring the Messianic age is to do more commandments and express our loving kindness toward others.

The preparation for Passover begins in the first week of Adar, a month an a half before Passover. That is when we begin reading the Four Portions. Each has a meaning for the holiday that we are about to celebrate.

All temples seem to look the same. The Temple in Jerusalem was in many ways not different. But when we look behind the scenes, we find a start difference. The Temple in Jerusalem was built to honor am ethical and moral God. The others were not.

The purpose of the Tabernacle was to bring the concept of God to the people. God is always with us but we need a concrete example of His presence.