Rabbi Rachamim Pauli Drasha: Parshiyos Para, Vayekel-Pekeudei, STD sizes for Pessach, story at end

Parsha Parah (Para)

This is always added before Pessach along the other three Parshiyos. We read Bamidbar Chapter 19 from Parsha Chukas. We are dealing with the Para Adumah or red heifer. In the times that the Beis HaMikdash existed it was forbidden to enter the Temple with a person having Tuma and the most Tumay creation in the world is a dead body. So we would have to check ourselves if we are Tahor or needed the special purification. This Parsha was ordained by the Rabbis to remind us on proper purity.

Parshiyos Vayekhel-Pekudei

Last week in my quick summary at the end of the Parsha I forgot to include the ordinance of getting to a central place for the Mishkan or Mikdash on the three Regelim (Pessach, Shavuos and Sukkos) and the second admonishment of cooking a goat in its mother’s milk. At this point we are back into the building and erection of the Mishkan after the debacle of the Egel HaZahav (golden calf) and the smashing of the Luchos.

35:1 And Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said unto them: 'These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them. 2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a Sabbath of solemn rest to the LORD; whosoever doeth any work therein shall be put to death. 3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath day.'

Let us understand how holy the Shabbos is. The observance of Shabbos is more important to HASHEM than the Korbanos and Prayers in the Mishkan. We are commanded to cease and desist from building the Kodesh HaKodoshim in the Mishkan and Mikdash on Yom HaShabbos Kodesh. Thus we see that the observance of Shabbos by one ordinary Jew is holier than the entire Mikdash or Mishkan. It is hard to imagine an eternal omnipresent G-D who is beyond time and space wanting the rest on Shabbos. Even the wicked in Gehennom rest from the time the first candles are lit in Indonesia or thereabouts until the last Havdallah Candle in Hawaii. Those who descecrated the holy Shabbos in this world love their rest in Kaf Keller or Gehennom in the next. While those who repented or observe in this world are given a great reward that even the greatest Kabbalists cannot imagine. Great is your faithfulness for those who observe the Shabbos.

4 And Moses spoke unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: 'This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying: 5 Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD, whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, the LORD'S offering: gold, and silver, and brass; 6 and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair; 7 and rams' skins dyed red, and GIRAFFE skins, and acacia-wood; 8 and oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense; 9 and onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate.

Not mentioned here is the giant laver of brass. The story goes that when the women brought the brass they brought on their own free will their beauty mirrors. 30:18 'Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and the base thereof of brass, whereat to wash; and thou shalt put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. (Further down in 38:8 I bring down the Rashi) Moshe was angry as these mirrors were used for make up and to cuddle with their husbands in Egypt so that he saw his worn out slave self with a beauty wife he decided to be with her and please her lest an Egyptian grab her. In this way the Bnei Yisrael multiplies and kept up the population. HASHEM told Moshe to accept this as it was using the Yetzer to serve the will of HASHEM so this was holy as the Yetzer HaRa was turned into the Yetzer HaTov by the women.

So it was for all the items listed above a donation from the heart their gold, silver, brass which we value today but more expensive dyes and products not easy to come by such as Techeles and the other products. I don’t know even how many places one can get hand woven goat hair and who has the patience and skill to produce such a thing today. Fine linen might be easy enough for us to purchase today but in the times of the Moshe it was no the case. But probably very rare were giraffe skins and al the acacia tree spieces known today do not grow with a width Amar by Amar by 10 Amos heigh. They sound more like redwoods and sequoias and not the trees found in Africa and the Middle-east. {Rabbi Dr. Elihu Schatz in his book on the dimensions of the Temple discussed with me that the Amar aka Cubit would be about 43cm. The standard cubit for centuries is 18in = 45cm but certainly not the half meter of the Chazon Ish. With all honor due to the Tzaddik, the dimensions and excavations of Har HaBies do not bear out 50cm. Rabbi Schatz Shlita might be correct with the lower number simply because my 175/6cm height produces an arm length of 45cm while with rarer exceptions such as Moshe, Shaul, Goliyad in the Tanach, most people were shorter. HaMelech David was short something like 155 – 160cm and with people growing to a lower height makes for a lower arm length. This would have an effect on the dimensions of Teva Noach – but perhaps with the more giant sized people before the flood and recent archeological findings on the Golan Heights for Og type bodies it would not impossible that the Teva used a different Amar than the Mikdash.}

10 And let every wise-hearted man among you come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded: 11 the tabernacle, its tent, and its covering, its clasps, and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 12 the ark, and the staves thereof, the ark-cover, and the veil of the screen; 13 the table, and its staves, and all its vessels, and the showbread; 14 the candlestick also for the light, and its vessels, and its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 and the altar of incense, and its staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt-offering, with its grating of brass, its staves, and all its vessels, the laver and its base; 17 the hangings of the court, the pillars thereof, and their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; 18 the pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords; 19 the plaited garments, for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office.'

Perkei Avos describes “Who is wise? – He who can see the birth” aka end product! HASHEM gave these engineers, technicians, metal workers from the foundary to the finishing touches and engraving the ability via Ruach HaKodesh to see the final product. [Ruach HaKodesh in this case is not only the Shechina resting upon these men and the holy female seamstresses, tailors, leather workers, etc. but the ability of prophecy. Moshe saw on Har Sinai the vision of the Menorah and Mishkan and Betzalel and Ohaliav knew via prophecy too the vision and they were able to commit it into an end product.]

20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and brought the LORD'S offering, for the work of the tent of meeting, and for all the service thereof, and for the holy garments. 22 And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought nose-rings, and ear-rings, and signet-rings, and girdles, all jewels of gold; even every man that brought an offering of gold unto the LORD. 23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, brought them. 24 Every one that did set apart an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD'S offering; and every man, with whom was found acacia-wood for any work of the service, brought it. 25 And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, the blue, and the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen. 26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun the goats' hair. 27 And the rulers brought the onyx stones, and the stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; 28 and the spice, and the oil, for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 29 The children of Israel brought a freewill-offering unto the LORD; every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all the work, which the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses to be made.

A Ben Yisrael or Ger Tzeddek has the power to give charity with all their heart and strength. This is the case in Mishkan.

A story and opinion: This can be useful in working honestly in politics for a cause. Shammai Milberg was a poor Jew who worked for the National Religious Party in Petach Tikva. He was a Yeke (German or Swiss Jew) and honest to almost an imperfection. He was promoted to work at the headquarters of the party which meant that he could afford to buy his own house and they wanted to run him for the Knesset which would mean that he could help his children purchase homes. He refused the honors when he saw the corruption in the upper echolons of the party and kept himself and Petach Tikva clean. This as with the building of the Mishkan can be used in honesty and purity or with a heaven forbid working with a full heart for the Yetzer HaRa. Be wary of this when going to voting booth. We see in Israel the slogans today and in the past “Hope” and “Change” which turned in my opinion into reverse rascism and hopeless change.

30 And Moses said unto the children of Israel: 'See, the LORD hath called by name Betzalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31 And He hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship. 32 And to devise skilful works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 33 and in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of skillful workmanship. 34 And He hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Oholiab, the son of Achisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 Them hath He filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of workmanship, of the craftsman, and of the skillful workman, and of the weaver in colors, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any workmanship, and of those that devise skillful works.

36:1 And Betzalel and Oholiab shall work, and every wise-hearted man, in whom the LORD hath put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all the work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD hath commanded.'

I left this part of HaKaros HaTov of the workers and donators for the Mishkan Project as usually when the project is done we only see a Betzalel and Ohaliav getting the Yisrael Prize and the thousands who contributed to the project not receiving mention.

38;8 And he made the laver of brass, and the base thereof of brass, of the mirrors of the serving women that did service at the door of the tent of meeting.

From the mirrors of the women who had set up the legions: Heb. בְּמַרְאֹתהַצֹבְאֹת Israelite women owned mirrors, which they would look into when they adorned themselves. Even these [mirrors] they did not hold back from bringing as a contribution toward the Mishkan, but Moses rejected them because they were made for temptation [i.e., to inspire lustful thoughts]. The Holy One, blessed is He, said to him, “Accept [them], for these are more precious to Me than anything because through them the women set up many legions [i.e., through the children they gave birth to] in Egypt.” When their husbands were weary from back-breaking labor, they [the women] would go and bring them food and drink and give them to eat. Then they [the women] would take the mirrors and each one would see herself with her husband in the mirror, and she would seduce him with words, saying, “I am more beautiful than you.” And in this way they aroused their husbands desire and would copulate with them, conceiving and giving birth there, as it is said: “Under the apple tree I aroused you” (Song 8:5). This is [the meaning of] what is בְּמַרְאֹתהַצֹבְאֹת [lit., the mirrors of those who set up legions]. From these [the mirrors], the washstand was made, because its purpose was to make peace between a man and his wife. [How so?] By giving a drink from the water that was in it [the washstand] to [a woman] whose husband had warned her [not to stay in private with a certain man] and she secluded herself [with him anyway. The water would test her and either destroy her or prove her innocence. See Num. 5:11-31]. You should know that they were actually mirrors, because it is said: “The copper of the waving was seventy talents… From that he made…” (Exod. 38:29, 30), but the washstand and its base were not mentioned there [among the things produced from the seventy talents. Thus,] you have learned that the copper of the washstand was not of the copper of the waving. So did Rabbi Tanchuma expound [on the matter] (Midrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 9; Num. Rabbah 9:14). And so did Onkelos render: בְּמֶחְזְיַתנְשַׁיָא [“the mirrors of the women”], which is the Aramaic translation of מַרְאוֹת, mirrors in French. So we find in Isaiah (3:23) וְהַגִּלְיֹנִים (sic), which we render: וּמַחְזְיָתָא, and the mirrors. who congregated: to bring their donation.

As I indicated above the Kavana aka intent of the holy women at the time of the command to make the laver for the Mishkan made it very special. I know if somebody asked my wife to give up her lipstick and mirror it could only be for Shabbos Kodesh and Yom Tov and a mirror in the year 2448 was not easy to come by in the Midbar. {A little joke to wake you up – there were no shopping centers and mirror stores Bamidbar Sinai.)

9 And he made the court; for the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits. 10 Their pillars were twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 11 And for the north side a hundred cubits, their pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 13 And for the east side eastward fifty cubits.

This would give us based on the lesser size Amar from 43m by 21.5m to 45m by 22.5m aka 150ft by 75ft size with a height of 4.3m or 4.5m resting on the sockets. This is like a row of 3 or 4 town houses together back to back with more townhouses behind them without any yard in between for those living in the USA it is easier to picture or for the Israeli something like an entirely built 2 Migrashim wide by Migrash and a half long and the sidewalk with the Migrashim.

Starting at this point is the description of the garments of the Cohain Gadol and then at the bottom I give a link for viewing:

39:1 And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made plaited garments, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the LORD commanded Moses. 2 And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. 3 And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into threads, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, the work of the skilful workman. 4 They made shoulder-pieces for it, joined together; at the two ends was it joined together. 5 And the skilfully woven band, that was upon it, wherewith to gird it on, was of the same piece and like the work thereof: of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, as the LORD commanded Moses. 6 And they wrought the onyx stones, inclosed in settings of gold, graven with the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the children of Israel. 7 And he put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel, as the LORD commanded Moses. 8 And he made the breastplate, the work of the skilful workman, like the work of the ephod: of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. 9 It was four-square; they made the breastplate double; a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being double. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones: a row of carnelian, topaz, and smaragd was the first row. 11 And the second row, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and an emerald. 12 And the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. 13 And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they were inclosed in fittings of gold in their settings. 14 And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, every one according to his name, for the twelve tribes. 15 And they made upon the breastplate plaited chains, of wreathen work of pure gold. 16 And they made two settings of gold, and two gold rings; and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. 17 And they put the two wreathen chains of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastplate. 18 And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains they put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, in the forepart thereof. 19 And they made two rings of gold, and put them upon the two ends of the breastplate, upon the edge thereof, which was toward the side of the ephod inward. 20 And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod underneath, in the forepart thereof, close by the coupling thereof, above the skilfully woven band of the ephod. 21 And they did bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a thread of blue, that it might be upon the skilfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD commanded Moses. 22 And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue; 23 and the hole of the robe in the midst thereof, as the hole of a coat of mail, with a binding round about the hole of it, that it should not be rent. 24 And they made upon the skirts of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen. 25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the skirts of the robe round about, between the pomegranates: 26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, upon the skirts of the robe round about, to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses. 27 And they made the tunics of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons, 28 and the mitre of fine linen, and the goodly head-tires of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine twined linen, 29 and the girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, the work of the weaver in colours; as the LORD commanded Moses. 30 And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like the engravings of a signet: HOLY TO THE LORD. 31 And they tied unto it a thread of blue, to fasten it upon the mitre above; as the LORD commanded Moses.

A picture is worth a thousand words and what is described above can been seen in this photo: http://www.templeinstitute.org/vessels_gallery_16.htm

32 Thus was finished all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting; and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.

They did this with all their heart, soul and might (money when needed) without hesitation.

33 And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the Tent, and all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets; 34 and the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of sealskins, and the veil of the screen; 35 the ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the ark-cover; 36 the table, all the vessels thereof, and the showbread; 37 the pure candlestick, the lamps thereof, even the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for the light; 38 and the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the screen for the door of the Tent; 39 the brazen altar, and its grating of brass, its staves, and all its vessels, the laver and its base; 40 the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court, the cords thereof, and the pins thereof, and all the instruments of the service of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting; 41 the plaited garments for ministering in the holy place; the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office. 42 According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. 43 And Moses saw all the work, and, behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it. And Moses blessed them.

Moshe did not know how to do the metal, wood and material work and only had the prophecy but they were able to interpret a vision into a three dimensional physical product and for that they received a blessing. Anybody who has viewed in Yerushalayim only the Menorah shown in the pictures here encased in glass will be impressed. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=photo+of+the+gold+menorah+in+jerusalem&biw=1348&bih=605&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ZWsCVfvoBYexaZ_ZgPAJ&ved=0CDkQsAQ Note: not all the Menorahs in the google pictures equal to the one from the Temple Institute which is based on the Roman Drawning.

40:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 'On the first day of the first month shalt thou rear up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

What month is this? It is not written here, but in Sefer Vayikra we see it is the month of Nissan and in Bamidbar we see the Nasiim bringing the gifts and Korbanos from Rosh Chodesh until the 12^th of the month. For this reason we do not say the Tachnun Prayers during these days and thus with Pessach the majority of the month does not have Hespedim and therefore no Tachanun the entire month.

3 And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and thou shalt screen the ark with the veil. 4 And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the bread that is upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof. 5 And thou shalt set the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the screen of the door to the tabernacle. 6 And thou shalt set the altar of burnt-offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 7 And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and shalt put water therein. 8 And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the screen of the gate of the court. 9 And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the furniture thereof; and it shall be holy. 10 And thou shalt anoint the altar of burnt-offering, and all its vessels, and sanctify the altar; and the altar shall be most holy. 11 And thou shalt anoint the laver and its base, and sanctify it.

This was done by the Bnei Yisrael and everything was sanctified (I have written of the story of the man who found the items in the Arava Desert and rehid them in the times of the Chofetz Chaim for Yermiyahu hid the originals before the destruction) Will we be able to see via a camera the broken and whole Luchos and the rod of Aaron plus the Mann in our life time? It depends on our merits and when the Moshiach will reveal himself!

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of meeting, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 36 And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward, throughout all their journeys. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and there was fire therein by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

For all 40 years the glory of HASHEM was revealed to all Am Yisrael and sort of routine. Oy what we had and woe to our loss!

Chazak – Chazak v’ nit Chazak

A little foot note to Sefer Shemos when we started out the Sefer we were told that the astrologers predicted that a redeemer would be born unto Israel but he would have troubles with water. They could not foresee that it would be Meribah in the wilderness. Rashi comments that astrology works on non-Jews but Am Yisrael is above Mazel. It is hard to see that physical bodies like the planets have any influence for the modern man and yet it is sort of G-D’s computer for the nations. We have not heard of major helicopter crashes for months and then 10 members of a French TV crew is killed in Argentina and 11 US Soldiers in FL both instances due to helicopters crashing. For the families it is tragic and horrendous but it is a case where the Mitzvos protect some and others not having Mitzvos are not above the astrology.

You should love your neighbor as yourself – Editorial

I don’t apologize for my passionate love for Torah and my political views and my wife and daughter vote for other parties in Israel than I. However, there was an interview with people in small towns in Israel and they said that all political parties don’t do anything for them and they are not voting. It is a Mitzvah to vote no matter for whom. Hillel the elder when a potential convert asked him if he could go and learn the whole Torah by standing on one foot was told (Shabbos approximately Daf 33) “Shema Yisrael HASHEM ELOKAYNU HASHEM Ehud and you should love your neighbor as yourself the rest is commentary go out and learn.”

I know that this past Friday it was revealed that both political parties have the same agenda and policy to give up half of Yerushalayim and a good deal of Yehuda and the Shomron and that there is not a dime’s worth of difference between them, still there is fine tuning and other political parties. If I were further left and non-religious I would vote probably for one of three parties.

What about the “Low rent Party” or the “Charedi Women” or the “Hashish Party” etc.? It might be a vote that will not elect anybody that is true but it is also a vote that makes a statement and changes the percentage to be a member of the Knesset. The only two votes that don’t count are blank votes and those who don’t come to the ballot. But on the other hand perhaps I am better off supporting a small party if there is a very larger voter turn out my candidates might not get elected to pass the threshold of about 4 MK’s.

Miracle Baby survives upside down car 14 hrs in an icy river: http://www.aol.com/article/2015/03/09/how-toddler-survived-14-hours-in-a-car-that-plunged-into-river/21151145/?icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl15%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D624848

Note: This week I have devoted a large portion of this Drasha (blogspot) to the laws of the portions needed for Pessach there is a story from Yomim Postelnik about the influence world wide of the last Lubavitcher Rebbe where I only list the source and if I do not get a Good Shabbos Story, I will put the story of the Chassidic Artist Part 1 and 2 in at the bottom after the Inyanay Diyoma Section if not Ble Neder next week.

Below are various Halachic Sources for Shuirim for the Pessach Seder. My conclusion follows at the bottom for the minimum for a person who is ill who has the desire to perform the Mitzvah. One should go according to his Rav or custom. I would say that American Jews should go according to the ruling of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. The Sepharidim in Israel according to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and most of the Jews in Bnei Berak and the Yeshiva world Chozen Ish or Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky with the other Rabbis and their Shuirim added if you follow them for after the death of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Rabbi Avraham Blumenkrantz became the main authority for American Judaism on Pessach and my late teacher Rabbi Simon Eider produced a Halachic Guide in English.

The Halachic Guide to Kiddush http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-kiddish.htm

Rabbi Dovid Heber, Kashrus Administrator Star K

One of the most beautiful scenes in Yiddishkeit is the family gathered around the table for Kiddush, a special moment for which we wait all week. On Yom Tov, the beautiful melody ¹ ushers in each of the Shalosh Regelim with much excitement.

Although we are quite familiar with how to recite Kiddush, it is important to review the Halachos related to this mitzvah.

A. Obligation

In the Aseres Hadibros (Ten Commandments), we are commanded to “Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it.” One fulfills this Torah obligation by simply reciting Kiddush on Shabbos.² Chazal (the Rabbis) instituted the recitation of Kiddush over a cup of wine.³ This Kiddush consists of Yom Hashishi-Vayechulu, Savri-Borai Pri Hagafen, and the brocha of Kiddush as found in the Siddur.⁴ Both men and women are equally obligated in this mitzvah.⁵

B. The Wine and Kiddush Cup

1. Wine
Kiddush may be recited on any kosher wine ⁶ upon which the brocha of Borei Pri Hagafen is recited. If one cannot drink wine, one may recite Kiddush on grape juice.⁷ One must be careful to purchase only wine and grape juice that have a reliable kosher certification.

2. Kiddush Cup
The cup must hold at least a revi’is (3.8 fl. oz.; 112 ml).⁸ It is mehudar (best)to recite Kiddush using a silver becher.⁹ The cup should be clean and intact without any cracks or holes. One may also use a glass or any other non-disposable cup. B’sha’as hadechak (in a difficult situation), if the cups listed above are not available (e.g. one is traveling), one can recite Kiddush on the wine while it is still in a bottle or in a paper, plastic or styrofoam cup. It is best to fill the cup to the top. However, if one does not have enough wine to fill the cup he need not fill it, provided that the cup contains a revi’is of wine.

3. Amount to Drink
Upon completing Kiddush, the one who recites it should drink a “m’lo lugmav,” the amount of wine that fills one of his cheeks. For an average adult male, this is between 1.5 and 2 fl. oz. (44-59 ml). This amount should be drunk within a 30 second time span.¹⁰ B’dieved, one is yotzai (has fulfilled his obligation) if it is drunk within four minutes.¹¹ Ideally, anyone being yotzai Kiddush through listening should also drink some of the wine;¹² however, the listener is still yotzai without drinking any wine.

If it is too difficult for the one who recites Kiddush to drink a m’lo lugmav, someone else may drink the entire m’lo lugmav. If this is not possible, he may share the wine with others so that they ¹³ collectively drink 2 fl. oz. (59 ml). Either way, the mekadesh should at least drink a little of the wine. If he cannot drink any of the wine or grape juice (e.g. he is ill), others who heard Kiddush may drink the entire 2 fl. oz.¹⁴

C. Kiddush B’Makom seudah – Eating Immediately After Kiddush In The Same Location

One is yotzai Kiddush only if a “seudah” (meal) is eaten immediately after Kiddush in the same location. This is known as Kiddush B’Makom seudah.

1. Location
B’Makom seudah means eating in the same room in which Kiddush was heard. It is acceptable if one heard Kiddush while on one side of the dining room or social hall, and then moved to the other side of the room to eat. However, one may not leave the building to eat the meal. For example, one is not yotzai Kiddush if he heard Kiddush in shul and then went home to eat.

If one hears Kiddush in one room, and intends ¹⁵ (has da’as) to eat in a different room in the same building, he may eat in the other room.¹⁶ This may be done l’chatchilah only if he can see the other room while saying Kiddush. If he cannot see the other room, he is only yotzai b’dieved.

2. seudah
a. Ideally, the seudah consists of bread. Typically, following Kiddush one washes and recites Hamotzi on lechem mishne (two loaves). This constitutes Kiddush B’Makom seudah, as the seudah follows Kiddush.
b. If one does not eat bread (e.g. at a simcha in shul after davening), one may eat a food containing chamaishis minei dagan (five special grains including wheat, oats, etc.) upon which the brocha of Mezonos is recited.¹⁷ Ideally, the food should be pas haba’a b’kisnin (e.g. cake, cookies or crackers). However, the “seudah” may consist of other Mezonos products, such as Yerushalmi kugel or pasta salad.¹⁸ In these cases, a regular seudahs Shabbos with lechem mishne must be eaten later.
c. B’sha’as hadechak, if one is ill and cannot eat grain products for Kiddush B’Makom seudah, one can drink a revi'is of wine or grape juice ¹⁹ to fulfill this condition.

3. Amount of Food
a. In the above cases (as addressed previously in 2a and 2b), one must eat a k’zayis. A k’zayis is 1.27 fl. oz. (38 ml).²⁰ It is important to note that a brocha acharona after eating cake (and/or wine) should be recited while sitting.
b. If one does not eat a k’zayis, one has not fulfilled his obligation of Kiddush. For example, if one heard Kiddush on Shabbos morning ²¹ in shul and did not eat (or did not eat the prescribed amount), one is not yotzai Kiddush and he must recite it again and then eat a seudah.
c. Although the “seudah” one eats following Kiddush (for Kiddush B’Makom seudah) can be a k’zayis of cake, it should be noted that to be yotzai the three seudos of Shabbos (Shabbos meals), one is required to eat a Hamotzi product (e.g. challah, bread or matzah); a Mezonos product does not suffice. Ideally, at each seudah, one should eat more than two k’zaysim of bread (i.e. “yosair m’kebaya” – at least 2.7 fl. oz., 80 ml); b’dieved, a k’zayis of bread will suffice.²²

D. Shomaya K’Ona - Hearing Kiddush Recited By Someone Else
Everyone has an obligation to recite and hear Kiddush. One may fulfill his obligation to recite Kiddush by hearing someone else (the “mekadesh”) recite it. This is known as “Shomaya K’ona” (literally, “listening is like answering”).²³ Shomaya K’ona works only if all of the following conditions are met:

1. One must hear the entire Kiddush - One should not speak while listening and should not say “Baruch Hu U’Varuch Sh’mo.” If one spoke, b’dieved, the following halachos apply: If while speaking one failed to hear a word that is integral to Kiddush (e.g. “Boruch” or “Hashem Elokeinu” after “Boruch Atoh”), one is not yotzai Kiddush. If one did not hear a word that is not integral (e.g. “Atoh”²⁴ or “Kee hu yom”), one need not repeat Kiddush. The same halachos apply if the one reciting Kiddush skips, slurs or mumbles the words and the listener is unable to hear what words were said. It is proper to answer “Amen” when being yotzai, however, if one did not do so he is still yotzai. One should also not speak between Kiddush and drinking. If the mekadesh (or one who is listening) spoke, he is yotzai Kiddush but must recite another Borai Pri Hagafen before drinking.²⁵

2. “Da’as Shomaya U’mashmia”- It is necessary for the one reciting Kiddush to have in mind that he wishes to be motzee²⁶ those listening. One may have in mind specific individuals (e.g. “my family”),²⁷ or everyone listening (e.g. when a Rav recites Kiddush for everyone present). Furthermore, the one listening to Kiddush must have in mind to be yotzai Kiddush (fulfill the obligation by listening).

An example where one is not yotzai is the following scenario: Someone was at a “shul Kiddush” on Shabbos morning but was not planning to eat. When the Rav recited Kiddush, the listener did not plan to be yotzai with the Rav (i.e. he was thinking he will recite Kiddush at home). If he later changes his mind and decides to eat, he must recite (or hear) Kiddush again. Although he “heard” Kiddush from the Rav, he did not have in mind to be yotzai at that time.

3. High Enough Level of Obligation - The person reciting Kiddush must have either the same or higher level of obligation (chiyuv) as the listener.²⁸

This means that a child under Bar Mitzvah ²⁹ may not recite Kiddush for an adult, since the child is obligated only because of chinuch (teaching the child to learn how to perform mitzvos) and the adult has a direct obligation in the performance of this mitzvah. If a husband is ill, his wife may recite Kiddush for him on Shabbos because both men and women are equally obligated to perform this mitzvah. Similarly, a woman may be motzee a man in any mitzvah that she is equally obligated to perform (e.g. Chanukah candles, the brocha on food that she is also eating).

However, she may not be motzee him in mitzvos from which she is exempt (e.g. Shofar, brocha on Sukkah), or mitzvos from which she is possibly exempt (e.g. Havdalah, Kiddush on Yom Tov).³⁰

E. Differences Between Kiddush on Friday Night and Shabbos Day

1. If one does not have (or is unable to drink) wine or grape juice, the following halachos apply:

a. Friday Night³¹ – One may recite Kiddush on challos. The procedure is as follows: Wash and recite “Al Netilas Yadayim.” Recite the entire Kiddush on the lechem mishne, replacing the brocha of “Borai Pri Hagafen” with “Hamotzi Lechem Min Ha’aretz.”³² After Kiddush, cut and eat the challah. If one does not have full challos, one may recite Kiddush on regular bread (even slices).
b. Shabbos Day³³ – Kiddush may not be recited on challos or bread. One may recite Kiddush on a revi’is of chamar medina, ideally an alcoholic beverage including schnapps ³⁴ or beer. If these are not available, one may use coffee or iced tea ³⁵ and must drink at least a m’lo lugmav. The brocha of Shehakol is recited when using chamar medina.

2. Time

a. Friday Night - Ideally, Kiddush should be recited as soon as one comes home from shul on Friday night.³⁶ The earliest time to recite Kiddush on Friday afternoon is Plag Hamincha,³⁷ which is one and a quarter halachic hours ³⁸ before sunset.³⁹ The latest time to say the entire Kiddush is dawn on Shabbos morning. If one was unable to recite Kiddush at night, one must say Kiddush during the day. He should daven Shachris (after sunrise or, if necessary, after dawn) and then recite Kiddush without Vayechulu (i.e. begin Kiddush with Savri … Borai P’ri Hagefen). If necessary, one may recite Kiddush (without “Vayechulu”) until sunset ⁴⁰ on Shabbos afternoon, and immediately eat the seudah. If one recited the night Kiddush during the day, he does not have to recite Kiddusha Rabbah.
b. Kiddusha Rabbah - This is Kiddush recitedduring the day (when regular Kiddush was recited at night). It may be said from any time after Shachris until sunset. This Kiddush consists of pesukim (e.g. V’shamru, Al Kain Bayrach), Savri, and Borai Pri Hagafen. One should follow his family’s custom regarding which pesukim to say.

3. Position - There are various customs regarding how Kiddush is recited. One should follow his family’s custom. The reasons for standing or sitting on Friday night are as follows:

a.     Standing – “Vayechulu” is aidus (testimony) that Hashem created the world and rested on Shabbos. Just as witnesses stand before Bais Din when testifying, similarly some stand for this “aidus” and remain standing while reciting the entire Kiddush.
b.     Sitting – When being motzee others, everyone is joined together for that moment. This is known as a “kviyus.” When everyone sits together, there is a stronger sense of unity of purpose and kviyus.
c.     Some stand for Vayechulu because of aidus and then sit down for the rest of Kiddush for kviyus.

During the day, there are two customs. Some people have a custom to stand when reciting
Kiddusha Rabbah, while others have a custom to sit. One should follow his family custom.

4. Eating Before Kiddush - On Friday night, once Shabbos begins,⁴¹ one may not eat or drink before Kiddush. On Shabbos morning, men may drink water, tea or coffee before Shachris (after brochos), but may not eat and may not drink “chashuva beverages” (e.g. alcoholic beverages) unless they are required for health purposes. After Shachris, one may not eat or drink until after Kiddush.

A woman who normally davens may eat or drink before davening after reciting morning brochos. According to some Poskim,⁴² on Shabbos if she needs to eat before davening, she is not required to recite Kiddush at that time. Once she has completed davening Shachris, she must hear Kiddush before eating or drinking.

F. Yom Tov Kiddush

Generally, the halachos of Kiddush on Yom Tov are similar to those of Shabbos.⁴³ One follows the special nusach for Yom Tov as found in the Siddur or Machzor. “Shehecheyanu” is said following Kiddush, with the exception of the last two nights of Pesach.⁴⁴
When Yom Tov occurs on Shabbos, the Yom Tov Kiddush with “Vayechulu” and the special Shabbos additions are recited. When Yom Tov occurs on Motzai Shabbos, Kiddush and Havdalah are recited on the same cup of wine. The acronym used to remember the order is YaKNeHaZ: Yayin (wine) - the brocha of Borai Pri Hagafen; Kiddush - the regular nusach of Yom Tov Kiddush; Ner - Borei Me’orai Ha’aish;⁴⁵ Havdalah- A special brocha of Havdalah for Motzai Shabbos going into Yom Tov; Z’man- the brocha of Shehecheyanu.⁴⁶ There are no b’samim.

Whenever the word “Kiddush” or “kodesh” is used, it indicates holiness and separation. For example, the place of the “Kodesh HaKedoshim” in the Bais Hamikdash remains the holiest of sites that is set apart from all other places on earth. When we, as Yidden, recite Kiddush every Shabbos we reflect upon the holiness of the day, as well as how the Jewish people have remained sanctified and separated from the other nations of the world.

In our modern world filled with ATMs, cell phones, instant messaging and MP3s, it is Klal Yisroel who emulates the Ribono Shel Olam when we stop all of our work for Shabbos. The cup of Kiddush wine symbolizes our responsibility to sanctify everything around us. That is what Shabbos is all about.

1 It should be noted that the melody of Kiddush for all of the Shalosh Regalim is also the tune used elsewhere during each z’man of Yom Tov. On Shavuos (Zman Matan Torasainu), it is also used for Akdamus. On Simchas Torah (Zman Simchasainu), it is also used when calling up the Chosson Torah and Chosson Beraishis (“Mairshus”). On Pesach (Zman Chairusainu), some also use this tune during the Hagaddah for “Lefeechach” and the brocha of “Asher Ga’alanu.”

2 The Rambam (Hilchos Shabbos 29:1) writes that the obligation to remember Shabbos is both at the beginning and the end of Shabbos. Technically, Havdalah is also a “Kiddush” for the end of Shabbos.

3 See Tosfos Nazir 4a, “my hee.” Tosfos Pesachim 106a “zochrayhu” states two opinions: 1) the cup of wine is d’Rabonon; 2) the cup of wine is d’Oraysa, but the drinking of it is d’Rabonon.

4 There are slight differences between nuschaos (i.e. whether certain words are said). One should follow his family custom.

5 There is a dispute as to whether women are obligated to recite Kiddush on Yom Tov. The custom is to follow those who rule that they are obligated. For a full discussion, see Shemiras Shabbos K’hilchasa (S.S.K.) Ch. 47 footnote 26.

6 The wine cup should also not be pogum (i.e. this wine should not have been drunk from). For a full discussion, see S.S.K. 47:15. There is a hiddur (best way to perform the mitzvah) to use non-mevushal (uncooked) wine; however, mevushal wine may also be used. When using non-mevushal wine, one must be careful that gentiles and non-observant Jews do not come into contact with the wine. One should preferably not use wine which was left uncovered for several hours (megulah) - see Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 77:5. Some are mehadar to recite Kiddush on red wine - see Mishna Brura (M.B.) 272:10. See also Rama 175:2 and M.B. 175:13 regarding white wine.

7 If wine and grape juice are not available, there may be other options as will be discussed in Section E.1.

8 For a further discussion regarding halachic measurements, see the Autumn 1998 issue of Kashrus Kurrents, “Guide to Halachic Measurements,”available at www.star-k.org or by calling the Star-K office.

9 This is in fulfillment of “Hisna’eh B’mitzvos,” that we derive from the passuk of “Zeh Kaylee V’anvahu.”

10 This is the shiur k’dai shtiyas revi’is (psak of HaRav Moshe Heinemann, shlita).

11 The lenient opinion for k’dai achilas pras. See S.S.K. 48:10.

12 The ideal way to distribute Kiddush is as follows: After the completion of Kiddush, the mekadesh pours the wine from the becher into another cup. He then drinks a m’lo lugmav from the becher, and the wine in the other cup is distributed. If a husband and wife are eating alone, and the wife is a niddah, the husband should either 1) put his cup down after drinking a m’lo lugmav and his wife drinks from that cup, or 2) pour wine into another cup and drink a m’lo lugmav from that cup. His wife should then drink from the becher that he has put down.

13 Children age 6 and above can be counted in this drinking.

14 Within the time of k’dai achilas pras. For a full discussion, see Shulchan Aruch OC 271:13 & 14 and the Mishna Brura.

15 Without da’as, one may not switch rooms.

16 See Biur Halacha 273:1 “v’chain” and S.S.K. 54:9.

17 This is very common on Shabbos day in shul. L’halachah, such Mezonos products constitute “Kiddush B’Makom seudah” on Friday night, if necessary. See S.S.K. 54:22.

18 M.B. 273:25. Matzoh meal cake is also “B’Makom seudah.” However, potato starch cakes and rice products, such as “Rice Krispies Treats,” can not be used for Kiddush B’Makom seudah.

19 When hearing Kiddush, drink a revi'is. When reciting Kiddush, drink a revi'is and a half (S.S.K. 54:23). If one becomes ill from grain and wine products, he should eat fruits in order to have Kiddush B’Makom seudah (Shiltay Gibborim as quoted in M.B. 273:26). It is preferable that the fruit be cooked (see Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 77:16). One should rely on this only if it is a major sha’as hadechak.

20 About the size of a golf ball or roll of quarters.

21 Friday night in shul, one is not yotzai Kiddush recited during Maariv. This Kiddush is an old minhag (custom) that was established when guests ate in the shul. The custom is to give this wine to children under the age of Bar Mitzvah. At least one child should be a “bar chinuch,” over 6 or 7 years old.

22 Men and women must have lechem mishne at the three Shabbos meals. See Shulchan Aruch O.C. 274:1. Additional guidelines regarding seudah Shlishis are addressed in Rama O.C. 291:4.

23 Shomaya K’ona is not unique to Kiddush. When one hears Shofar or Megillah, one is yotzai with the principle of Shomaya K’ona. For a thorough discussion of this topic, see Sefer Shaarei Shmiya by HaRav Mordechai Shuchatowitz, shlita.

24 M.B. 214:3.

25 If he said something that pertains to Kiddush (e.g. when necessary, he may say “We need little cups to give everyone Kiddush”), he need not repeat Borai Pri Hagafen.

26 This means that he recites Kiddush with the intent that others should be “yotzai.”

27 In this case, if someone recited Kiddush only for “his family”, and someone else was listening, the other listener would not be yotzai.

28 One can be motzee others, even if he has been yotzai Kiddush already. For example, one who was yotzai at a “shul Kiddush” may recite Kiddush for his family at home, even though he was already yotzai. For an extensive discussion, see Biur Halachah 271:1 meyad.

29 It should be noted that a bochur who recently became Bar Mitzvah should not be motzee adults in mitzvos that have a Torah obligation (e.g. Kiddush on Friday night). It is for this reason that Bar Mitzvah boys do not lain Parshas Zachor or blow shofar on Rosh Hashana for others. Under normal circumstances, they may be motzee adults only in mitzvos d’rabanan (regular laining, chazaras hashatz, etc.) The reason for this is beyond the scope of this discussion.

30 Although women are accustomed to hear Havdalah after Shabbos and Yom Tov, as well as Kiddush on Yom Tov, there is a question as to the status of their obligation. The issue relates to the parameters of mitzvos asei shehaz’man grama – positive mitzvos bound by time, a topic beyond the scope of this article. Hence, they cannot be motzee men who are definitively obligated.

31 The same halachos apply to Yom Tov night.

32 The method of holding the challos in this case is discussed in M.B. 271:41.

33 The same halachos apply to Yom Tov during the day.

34 When reciting Kiddush on schnapps, one should use a cup that holds a revi’is and drink a m’lo lugmav (as discussed above, Section B-3). One who wishes to recite Kiddush using a shot glass (i.e. 1 fl. oz. cup) should consult his Rav.

35 See Igros Moshe O.C. 2:75 and Aruch Hashulchan O.C. 296:18. The advantage of iced tea over hot tea is that one can easily drink a m’lo lugmav quickly enough k’dai shtiyas revi’is (see Mikrai Kodesh-Pesach 47:3). When necessary, chamar medina may also be used for Havdalah.

36 Regarding when it is necessary to repeat Shema and count Sefiras Ha’omer before Kiddush, see S.S.K. 47:22 and 52:5.

37 When Asara B’Teves (or any private fast) occurs on Friday, one must wait until Tzais Hakochavim to recite Kiddush. This case, and Taanis Bechorim for those who fast all day on Erev Pesach,are the only regular fasts that come to an end with the recitation of Kiddush.

38 This time is based on the length of the day when 43/48 of the time between sunrise and sunset has elapsed. In the United States in the winter, this is often less than one clock hour before sunset; in the summer it is 1 ½ - 2 hours before sunset.

39 The night Kiddush of Yom Tov may also be said after plag hamincha, l’chatchila, only on the following Yomin Tovim: 1) the seventh night of Pesach, 2) when the last night of Pesach occurs on Shabbos and 3) when the second night of Shavuos occurs on Shabbos. One should not recite Kiddush before Tzais Hakochavim (before it is dark and three stars are visible) on any other night of Yom Tov.

40 This should only be done b’shaas hadchak. If one was unable to recite Kiddush until after sunset on Shabbos afternoon, one should still say it until Tzais Hakochavim without Shaim U’Malchus (i.e. say Boruch Asher Kidshanu v’ratza banu … Boruch mekadesh HaShabbos). See M.B. 271:39.

41 Shabbos begins either because the sun has set, or because an individual has been mikabel Shabbos by lighting candles or during davening (e.g. by saying Bo’ee B’Shalom of L’cha Dodi). A woman who is thirsty may drink water after lighting candles if it is still before sunset (S.S.K. 43:46). Before Shabbos, one may not begin a Hamotzee meal from the 10th hour of the day (3 halachic hours before sunset) so as not to suppress one’s appetite. One may, however, eat cake or other Mezonos. On Erev Pesach, one may not even eat Mezonos after the 10th hour. Similarly, men may not eat Mezonos after the 10th hour on Erev Sukkos.

42 For the various details regarding this halachah, see Machze Eliyahu 33:3.

43 However, on the Seder night the seudah does not immediately follow Kiddush (due to Maggid, etc.).

44 On the second night of Rosh Hashana, one should eat a new fruit immediately after Kiddush or wear a new garment. On the first night of Sukkos, Shehecheyanu is recited after the brocha of “Layshev Basukkah,” and on the second night before “Layshev Basukkah.” When the second night of Sukkos occurs on Motzai Shabbos, the longest possible Kiddush is recited.

45 One should recite Borei Meorei Ha’aish using the Yom Tov candles, putting them together side by side while upright. They should not be tilted to touch each other. Alternatively, one may recite the brochah using a non-frosted incandescent light bulb which was turned on before Shabbos (or was turned on by a timer which was set before Shabbos).

46 When the last night of Pesach occurs on Motzai Shabbos, the acronym of “YaKNeHa” would be applied as Shehecheyanu (z’man) is not said. It should be noted that this case (i.e. when the last night of Pesach occurs on Motzai Shabbos) is the only time that Kiddush ends with “Kodesh” (Hamavdil Bain Kodesh L’Kodesh).

Various Halachic rules for Pessach depending: http://halachipedia.com/index.php?title=Required_Amount_of_Matzah_and_Wine_for_the_Seder

The four cups of wine

How much does the cup have to hold to drink?

Preferably, one should drink a Revi’it of wine for each of the 4 cups of wine at the Seder. If this is difficult, one fulfills his obligation by drinking the majority of a Revi’it for each cup.^[4]
The precise measurement of a Revi'it is a matter of dispute; several opinions are outlined below:^[5]

Rabbi Mordechai Willig holds that a Revi’it is 2.5 fl oz (75cc). ^[6]
Rav Ovadia Yosef writes that a Revi’it is 2.7 fl oz (81cc). ^[7]
Rabbi Avraham Blumenkrantz writes that a Revi’it is 2.9 fl oz (86cc). ^[8]
Rabbi Shimon Eider writes that according to his measurements, the Revi’it is 3.0 fl oz (89cc). ^[9]
Rabbi Dovid Feinstein (Kol Dodi Haggadah, 5730, p. 4) writes that based on measuring large eggs, which should be used for the four cups, a Revi’it is 3.3 fl oz (98cc). ^[10]
Rav Yisrael Belsky recommended having a Revi’it of 4.3 fl oz (127cc). ^[11]
Rav Chaim Kanievsky writes that according to the rulings of the Chazon Ish, a Revi’it is 5.1 fl oz (150cc). ^[12]

If a person is a diabetic and can’t have a lot of wine, the absolute minimum amount is 1.5 oz and a drop more and if one can’t have eat that much one doesn’t have to drink the wine. However, one should consult with one’s doctor who is Torah observant. ^[13]

Within what time should one drink the wine?

It is preferable to drink majority of a Revi’it in one swallow. If one can't so, one should drink the wine within Kdei Sh’tiyat Revi’it. ^[14]
After the fact, one must drink the cup within the time of a Kdei Achilat Pras (which there are opinions spanning from 2 minutes to 10 minutes) to fulfill the obligation, otherwise one must repeat drinking the wine. ^[15]
Thus, one shouldn't take a cup that has a thin spout because one won't be able drink the whole cup at once. ^[16]

Types of wine

See The_four_cups_of_wine#What_type_of_wine

Matzah

There’s a positive mitzvah Deoritta to eat matza on the night of the 15th of Nissan. ^[17]
There’s a mitzvah (which according to some is Deoritta) in eating more Matzah than the required amount. ^[18]

How much Matzah should one eat at the Seder?

There's three times one should eat Matzah during the seder: Motzei Matzah, Korech, and Tzafun (Afikomen). To fulfill all of one’s obligations, one should eat 2 kezaytim for Motzi-Matza, 1 Kezayit for Korech, and 2 more kezaytim for Afikomen. All agree that having 2 kezaytim for Afikomen is merely preferable; one fulfills his obligation with 1 kezayit. ^[19]
For Motzi-Matza, many authorities write that if the matzot of the head of the house don’t suffice for 2 kezaytim for each person, one fulfills his mitzvah by eating a bit from the whole matza and 1 other Kezayit (and not 2).^[20]
Practically, how large in a Kezayit in terms of the amount of Matzah one should eat?

According to Ashkenazim, for Motzei Matzah, some say that one should eat 4/5 of a machine matzah, some say 2/3 of a matzah, and others say 1 matzah. For Korech, some say that one should eat 2/5 of a matzah, some say less than 1/2 of a matzah, and others say 2/3 of a matzah. For Afikomen, some say that one should eat 4/5, some say more than 1/2, and others 1 matzah.^[21]
According to Sephardim, some say that the Kezayit should be measured by the weight of 27 grams, and some say that it is measured by the volume and in weight the Kezayit comes out to be 20 grams. (The typical machine matzah is 30-32 grams. In general, the Kezayit can be calculated according to the weight printed on the box.)^[22]

Someone who is sick

Someone who is sick and can’t eat so much Matzah can use the Kezayit evaluated according to a third of a KeBaytzah which according to Rav Chaim Noeh is 17.3 cc. ^[23] However, for a personal situation it would be advisable to consult one's Orthodox rabbi to determine the correct amount for one's individual situation.^[24]

Crumbs which were caught between one's teeth

What stays between one’s teeth isn’t counted towards the Kezayit, however, that which is in one’s gums is counted towards the Kezayit. ^[25]

Sources

Shulchan Aruch 472:9. See Rav Schachter at OU Pre-Pesach Webcast 5770 between minutes 93 and 94 says that people have the misconception that one only has to drink a sip of wine, however, in reality, one needs to have a Reviyit or at least a majority of a Reviyit.

Beit Yosef 472:9 quotes the Kol Bo and Orchot Chaim, who say that if a cup holds many Reviyot, one still has to drink only a Revi’it. The Ramban, however, argues that one must drink majority of the cup even if it is larger than a Revi’it. Although S”A 472:9 rules like the Kol Bo, if one doesn’t plan on drinking a lot, Mishna Brurah 472:33 advises having a cup that holds only a Revi’it in order to satisfy the opinion of the Ramban.

The Pri Chadash 472:9 writes that even if one has a cup bigger than a reviyit one should fill up the cup to the top because of hiddur mitzvah.

* The Gemara (Pesachim 108b) states that each of the 4 cups at the seder must contain a Revi’it of wine. Additionally, Rabbi Yitzchak (Pesachim 109a) says that a certain measuring cup in Tzipori held the volume of a Log and they would use it to measure the Revi’it for Pesach. Rashbam (109a s.v. U’vah) explains that each of the 4 cups had to hold a Revi’it of a Log and altogether that would equal a Log, the exact volume of the cup in Tzipori. Rambam (Chametz UMatzah 7:7), Tur, and S”A 472:9 codify this as halacha.

On the statement of Rav Nachman (Pesachim 108b) that one fulfills his obligation by drinking a majority of the cup, Tosfot (s.v. Ruba) comments that preferably, one should drink an entire Revi’it. The Bach (472 s.v. Mah SheKatav VeEin) writes that it is obvious that one should only rely on the concept of majority being considering like the entirety (Rubo K’kulo) after the fact, however, l’chatchila one should drink an entire Revi’it.

Background: The Gemara (Pesachim 109a) explains that a Revi’it is the volume of 2x2x2.7 fingerbreadths. Additionally, the Rashbam (109b s.v. DeHaynu) writes that the Revi’it is equal to 1.5 times the volume of an egg. 271:68 clarifies that the Revi'it is 1.5 eggs with its shell. Because of the apparent discrepancy between these two measurements, the Tzlach (Pesachim 116b) concluded that the egg of the days of the Gemara was twice the size of the modern-day egg. The 486:1 concludes that for the 4 cups of wine at the Seder, which are only d’rabanan, one need not follow the Tzlach’s strict view.

Rabbi Mordechai Willig (“The Shiurim of Seder Night” min 1-10, and Pesach To-Go 5771 p. 60) holds that strictly speaking the size of an egg with its shell is 50 cc, and the Revi'it is 1.5 eggs with its shell, resulting in a Revi'it of 2.54 fl oz.

Rav Ovadia Yosef ( p. 16) writes that the Revi'it is 81cc. This is based on the measurements of Rav Chaim Noeh (Shiurei Tzion p. 69) with slight adjustments.

Rabbi Avraham Blumenkrantz (The Laws of Pesach 5771 pg 111) writes that since the four cups are Derabbanan one may use a cup that holds 2.9 oz.

Halachos of Pesach (Rabbi Shimon Eider, Chapter 20, Sec D 5, pg 228-230) writes that since the four cups are Derabbanan one may have the smaller measurement which is measuring by eggs and not by thumbs and according to his calculation a Reviyit should be 3 oz and if one is unable to have a Reviyit one fulfills one's obligation with a majority of a Reviyit. See also Weekly Halacha (by Rabbi Neustadt on torah.org) who writes that one may rely on the view of Rav Chaim Noeh who holds that 3 oz is sufficient being that the cups of wine are Derabbanan.

In the 5745 edition, however, he says that the Revi’it is 2.9 fl oz. See also Rabbi Yisroel Bodner (Halachos of K’zayis p. 24 n. 24) who writes that he spoke to Rav Dovid Feinstein about how he arrived at his measurements and was told that his father, Rav Moshe Feinstein, didn't measure it himself but rather a student measured 'large' eggs and came up with 2.2 fl oz per egg. Rav Dovid added, if he, Rav Bodner, arrived at a smaller measure with his own measurements he should follow that. Rav Bodner writes that according to his measurements the average egg was 55cc (1.92 fl oz). Nonetheless, in terms of Bracha Achrona Rav Bodner (p. 26) follows the measurements of Rav Chaim Noeh who measured the average egg to be 57cc.

Rav Yisrael Belsky on OU Pre-Pesach Webcast 5771 between minutes 37 and 38

Shiurin Shel Torah p. 65. See also Halachos of Pesach (pg 229) who writes that the Kiddish cup of Rav Yisrael Salanter was 4.1 oz at it's full capacity and the cup of the Chafetz Chaim was 5 oz.

Rav Yisrael Belsky on OU Pre-Pesach Webcast 5771 between minutes 51 and 52:30

472:11 writes that one should drink the wine within Kdei Sh’tiyat Revi’it and after the fact within Kdei Achilat Pras. He adds that it's preferable to drink the majority of a Revi’it in one swallow. 472:34 agrees. Although the Machatzit HaShekel 472:11 extends this to drinking the entire cup in one drinking according to those who say one should drink the entire cup, Rabbi Dovid Feinstein (Kol Dodi Haggadah, 5730, p. 4) argues that it is impossible for a person to swallow that much wine at once.

472:9 in name of the Roke'ach quoted by the Bet Yosef writes that one shouldn't drink with a large pause. 472:11 explains that the long pause is a Kdei Achilat Pras. 472:34 rules like the and adds that even though the Ashkenazi practice is not to repeat to drink the third and fourth cup if one forgot to lean because it may look like one is adding a cup to the established cups, even so here one should repeat because one has not fulfilled his obligation according to anyone.

429:15

Rambam (Sefer HaMitzot #158) writes that eating matzah nowadays is a Mitzah Deoritta. See Chatom Sofer (CM 196 Hashmatot) who points out that Matzah is the only Biblical mitzvah we have nowadays.

Maharal in Gevurot Hashem chapter 48, 472, Mikrei Kodesh siman 48, Sh”t Har Tzvi 2, and Natai Gavriel (vol 2, 90:26) hold that there’s a mitzvah of eating Matzah as much as one eats even beyond the actual requirement. See also the Emek Shelah (Yitro 53:4). Hagadat Be’er Miryam (pg 53) writes that another reason to eat more Matzah is because there’s a big confusion in the amount necessary and Matzah is a mitzvah Deoritta. Rav Mordechai Willig (Pesach To-Go, Nisan 5771, p. 60) quotes Rav Soloveitchik who derived this insight from the Rambam Chametz UMatzah 6:1.

It is clear from the Gemara (Brachot 37b, Pesachim 108a and 119b) that one fulfills his obligation of eating matza with one kezayit. Rambam Chametz UMatzah 6:1 and Ritva Pesachim 35a write this explicitly. Nonetheless, the Rosh Pesachim 10:30 writes that one should eat a Kezayit of the whole matza and a Kezayit of the broken one. This Rosh is codified by the Tur and S”A 475:1.
Many achronim wonder where the Rosh found a source for requiring two kezaytim. Bach 475:3 suggests that the Rosh was strict for the opinion that one needs to eat a Kezayit each time one makes HaMotzi (a minority opinion rejected in S”A 210:1). The Prisha 475:1 explains that the Rosh meant since there is a dispute in the Rishonim whether the Al Achilat Matza should be made on the broken one (Rashi Pesachim 116a) or the whole matza (Hahagot Maimon (Seder #7)), one should have a Kezayit from both. This sentiment is echoed by the Taz 475:2 and Mishna Brurah 475:9.
Despite the questions of the achronim, the Rosh’s view is accepted by most acharonim, including Magen Avraham 475:4, S”A HaRav (Piskei HaSeder), Kitzur S”A 199:5, Aruch HaShulchan 475:5, and Chazon Ovadyah (p. 65). See, however, Orchot Rabbenu (vol 2, p. 70) who writes that Chazon Ish personally ate only one Kezayit because he held the halacha doesn’t follow the Rosh.
For Korech, Mishna Brurah 475:16 writes that a Kezayit of matza is needed. Kitzur S”A 199:7, Nitei Gavriel 59:1, and Chazon Ovadyah (p. 100) agree.
Regarding Afikomen, S”A 477:1 rules that one should eat one Kezayit of matza. Darkei Moshe 477:2 quotes the Maharil that it is preferable to have 2 kezaytim. Magen Avraham 477:1 explains that one is in commemoration of the Korban Pesach and one for the matza eaten with it. Many achronim quote the Maharil including the Taz 477:1, Kitzur S”A 119:8, Mishna Brurah 477:1, Kaf HaChaim 477:1, and Chazon Ovadyah (p. 106).

Rav Shlomo Zalman in Halichot Shlomo 9:40 rules that if the head of the house’s three matzot do not suffice for the Kezayit for each person, each person should just have a piece from the whole matza and eat a single Kezayit of matza from other shemura matza. He explains that according to the Prisha, if one isn’t eating from the head of house’s matzot, there’s no safek upon which matza one makes Al Achilat Matza, so there is no need to eat an extra kezayit. Chazon Ovadyah (p. 65), Haggadah Moadim UZmanim (p. 97), and Seder HaAruch (p 455) quoting Rav Elyashiv agree. Rav Dovid Feinstein in Haggadah Kol Dodi (5745 edition, 14:3) says the same idea. See, however, also Sh"t Igrot Moshe OC 5:16 who thinks that one should avoid this situation by everyone having their three matzot. On that last point, see the full discussion here.

Mishna Brurah 486:1 writes that Tosfot holds a Kezayit is half of a KeBeitzah with the shell and the Rambam holds it is a third of a KeBeitzah (see Tosfot (Yoma 80b s.v. Agav), Rambam (Eiruvin 1:9)). Rav Avraham Chaim Noeh (Shiurei Torah 3:12) argues that Tosfot holds half a KeBeitzah without the shell. Mishna Brurah 486:1 rules that for Deoritta Mitzvot and Bracha Achrona, one should eat the size of half a KeBeitzah, but for Derabbanan Mitzvot, one third suffices. He adds that since one has to make a Bracha on maror, one should eat half a KeBeitzah.
The Tzlach (Pesachim 116) holds that the modern day eggs are half the size of those in the days of Chazal. However, Rav Noeh (Shiurei Torah Shaar 3) argues that the modern day eggs have not changed from the days of Chazal. Mishna Brurah 486:1 writes that for the mitzvah deoraitta of matza, one should follow the stringent view of the Tzlach. Even though Vezot HaBracha (pg 6, Birur 1, pg 221) quotes Rav Elyashiv and Rav Shlomo Zalman saying that for Bracha Achrona the widely accepted measurement of the Kezayit is according to Rav Chaim Noeh, in regards to the mitzvah of eating matza, Rav Shlomo Zalman writes in Halichot Shlomo 9:13 that one should be strict for the size of the Kezayit of the Chazon Ish which are based on the opinion of the Tzalach.
Practically, how much matza is that? The following measurements are in regards to a piece of the average machine matza. Rabbi Dovid Feinstein (Haggadah Kol Dodi, 5745 p. 1) notes that matzah which fills the volume of 1.5 fluid ounces (44cc) weighs 31 grams (coming out to 705kg/m^3 which is about 70% the density of fresh water).

(1) Halachos of Pesach (p. 242) quotes Haggadat Kol Dodi (Rav Dovid Feinstein) that for Motzi-Matza, one should eat 6.25”x7” (about one matzah), for Korech 4”x7” (about 2/3 of a matza) and for Afikomen 6.25”x7” (about one matza).

(2) Rabbi Bodner in Halachos of K’zayis (p. 93) quotes Rav Moshe Feinstein saying that 43.5cc (about 2/3 of a matza) is sufficient for both kezaytim of Motzi-Matza. Rav Yisrael Belsky on OU Pre-Pesach Webcast 5771 between minutes 30:30 and 37 endorsed this opinion. He added that if one is able, it's preferable to have the larger amount similar to the Chazon Ish's Kezayit. [Rabbi Bonder (pg 92-95) explains that if one is using hand made matzah it depends on how thick the matzah if which can be determined by seeing how many matzah are in a pound. If there's 9 to a pound, it's thin, 7.5 to a pound medium, and 6 to a pound thick. For Motzei Matzah, if it's thin, use slightly more than half, if it's medium, use slightly more than two fifths, if it's thick, a little more than a third. For Korech, if it's thin, use less than a third, if it's medium use a quarter, and if it's thick use a fifth. For Afikomen, if it's thin, use two fifths, if it's medium use less than a third, if it's thick use slightly more than a quarter.]

(3) Rav Mordechai Willig (Pesach To-Go, Nisan 5771, p. 60) rules that a Kezayit is 22.5cc (less than 2/5 of a Matza). See also Am Mordechai Moadim (p. 152).

(4) Rav Chaim Kanievsky in Shiurin Shel Torah (p. 66, 5750) writes that for the first Kezayit one should have 2/3 of a matza. (This is a retraction from what he wrote in Shiurin Shel Torah (p. 87, 5716) that a half of a matza is a kezayit).

Kaf HaChaim 168:46 quotes a number of Sephardi Achronim, including the Chida, who say that the minhag of Sephardim is to measure the Kezayit by weight. He writes that this is the common minhag even for measuring a Kezayit of matza. Rav Ovadyah in Yechave Daat 1:16, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu (Maamar Mordechai 11:96), and Rav Chaim Dovid HaLevi (Aseh Lecha Rav 6:45) agree. Yalkut Yosef 475:4, therefore, rules that a Kezayit of matza is 27 grams. [In general, one machine matza is between 30 and 32 grams and so a Kezayit is .85-.9 of a matza.]
However, Rav Ben Tzion Abba Shaul (Or Letzion vol 3, p 30) argues that the minhag only developed when matza had a similar density to water, but because our matza is thin and dry, there is no need to be stringent to calculate based on weight. Accordingly, he calculated a Kezayit to be 29cc, which he says is less than 20 grams in weight.

486:1, Halichot Shlomo (pg 214 note 55)

This is simply good advice so that the Rabbi is able to consider the situation and apply the appropriate leniencies one's individual situation.

Laws of the Seder by Rabbi Shraga Simmons - A practical guide to the Seder night. http://www.aish.com/print/?contentID=48968741&section=/h/pes/l

Seder Plate
The items on the Seder plate are placed in a very specific order. Starting from the bottom, and going clockwise, the order is: Chazeret (lettuce), Karpas (vegetable), Beitzah (roasted egg), Zero'ah (roasted bone), Charoset (nuts and dates). And in the center is Marror (bitter herbs).
If this diagram does not match the plate you have, that is because opinions vary slightly ― but this is how it is stated in the Code of Jewish Law.
The reason for this order? The Talmud states a concept of Ain ma'avrin al hamitzvot ― we shouldn't "pass over" any mitzvah that is in front of us. For this reason, the Seder plate is arranged to follow the order of the Haggadah, so that whatever you need next will be located closest to you, to avoid having to "skip over" any other item.
The Seder plate should be located to the right of the leader.
A bowl of salt water should be placed on the table, near the Seder plate. The salt water should be prepared prior to the start of the holiday.
In fact, since the Seder cannot begin before nightfall, and since it can be rather long, it is important to have everything ready ahead of time so that one can start as soon as synagogue services are completed.
Additionally, three matzot should be placed on the table ― either under or in front of the Seder plate. They should be covered and separated from each other by a napkin or cloth.
For the Seder, it is traditional to use round, handmade shmurah matzah. This type of matzah has been carefully guarded against any contact with water from the time of reaping, grinding, kneading and baking. The source for using shmurah matzah at the Seder comes from the Torah verse, Ush'martem et hamatzot ― "And you shall guard the matzot."
"Seder" literally means "order." The activities and mitzvot of Pesach night were codified into a specific order, because otherwise we could get confused and forget!
There are actually seven different mitzvot that we perform at the Seder. Two are from the Torah:
1) telling the Exodus story
2) eating matzah
The other mitzvot are rabbinical:
3) eating Marror (bitter herbs)
4) eating the Afikomen (an extra piece of matzah for dessert as a reminder of the Passover offering)
5) saying Hallel (Psalms of praise)
6) drinking the Four Cups of wine
7) demonstrating acts of freedom and aristocracy ― e.g. sitting with a pillow cushion and leaning as we eat and drink, and beginning the meal "with a dip."
The 15 steps of our Seder were composed in the 11th century by Talmudic commentators, either Rashi or Tosfot.
Laws of the Four Cups of Wine
At the Seder, every Jew should drink four cups of wine corresponding to the four expressions of freedom mentioned in the Torah (Exodus 6: 6-7).
Since we are free people this evening, nobody should pour their own wine, but rather each person should pour for another ― as if we are royalty who have servants.
It is best to use red wine, since this alludes to the blood spilled by Pharaoh, the blood as part of the Ten Plagues, and the blood the Jews put on their doorposts.
Someone who has difficulty drinking wine may use grape juice, but should add a little wine so that the taste of alcohol is detectable.
Everyone should have their own wine cup, which holds a Revi'it ― i.e. a minimum of 98cc (3.3 oz.) according to Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, or 150cc (5.1 oz.) according to the Chazon Ish. When Passover falls on Shabbat, the minimum amount for the first cup is 4.42 oz., even according to Rabbi Feinstein.
It is preferable to drink the entire cup of wine for each of the Four Cups. Otherwise, you should at least drink a majority of the cup.
Jewish law defines an act of "drinking" as two swallows without pausing. This is the preferable way to consume the Four Cups. Otherwise, you should at least consume the wine within four minutes.
As an expression of freedom, the Sages enacted leaning to the side while drinking the Four Cups of wine. Everyone should lean to the left and back!
The Blessings
Kiddush should be recited while seated. You should have in mind to fulfill two mitzvot:
1) the mitzvah of Kiddush that we say on every Shabbat and Yom Tov
2) plus the special mitzvah to drink Four Cups of wine at the Seder
When saying the Shehechianu blessing, you should have in mind that it applies to all the various mitzvot of Seder night.
When the Seder falls on Saturday night, you should also make the Havdallah blessings as listed in the text, using the Yom Tov candles as your Havdallah candle.
Urchatz
Everyone at the Seder now washes their hands in the manner of washing for bread ― pouring water from a cup, covering each hand up to the wrist.This is done WITHOUT a blessing.
We do this because any detached food that has become wet with certain liquids (water, wine, blood, dew, milk, olive oil and honey) makes the food susceptible to spiritual uncleanliness and requires washing of hands if the food will be eaten with the hands. Therefore, if the food will be eaten with a fork, then no washing is necessary. In that case, at least the leader should wash his hands, and then dip all the pieces.
Karpas
Take the Karpas vegetable and dip it in salt water.
This must be a vegetable whose bracha is Borei Pri Ha-Adamah when eaten raw, but that is not useable for Marror. Options include celery, parsley, or potato.
During preparation, it is important to check the vegetable carefully, since leafy vegetables in particular can contain tiny insects, which are obviously not kosher to eat.
One should eat LESS than the size of a kezayit (15 grams), to avoid having to say an after-blessing.
You should have in mind that the blessing will also cover the blessing on the Marror ― thus linking the Karpas to the meal, and fulfilling your after-blessing obligation with Grace After Meals.
If you inadvertently ate more than a kezayit, post facto you need not say an after-blessing.
Yachatz
The leader of the Seder breaks the middle matzah in two. The smaller piece is put back in between the other two matzot, to be eaten later at Hamotzi. The larger piece is wrapped up and becomes the Afikomen.
The Talmud states that children should try to "steal" the Afikomen in order that they will be encouraged to remain awake during the Seder.
Notice that the two mitzvot of eating matzah at the Seder will be from the same piece.
Maggid
As we begin the main part of the Seder ― the telling of the Exodus ― it is important to have a good translation of the Haggadah so you can understand what you are saying. This first paragraph of the Haggadah is written not in Hebrew, but in Aramaic, which was the common language of the time.
Many have the custom of saying aloud, "I hereby am about to fulfill the mitzvah of telling the Exodus story."
We uncover the matzot, then keep the broken matzah raised for all to see, until the start of the Four Questions.
Four Questions
Remove the Seder plate from the table until it is time to eat. We do this in order to prompt questions, and also to show that we're not going to eat until we've told the story!
It is customary for the youngest person at the Seder to recite the Four Questions.
At this time, we also pour the Second Cup of wine.
Avadim Hayeenu
The three matzot should be left uncovered for the duration of telling the Exodus story.
The Mishnah Brura says that this declaration, "We were slaves in Egypt," is the essential answer to the Four Questions, and that after this point it is permitted for young children to go to sleep.
Vi-Hee She-Amda
In an expression of joy, the matzot are covered and the wine glasses are raised while reciting this paragraph.
Ten Plagues
Every time one of the plagues is mentioned, we dip our finger in the wine and spill a drop. This reminds us that our cup of joy is not complete because people had to die for our salvation. Thus it is considered insensitive ― after completing the drops ― to lick one's finger!
Rather than your "pinky" finger, you should use your "pointer finger" (Etzba in Hebrew), which corresponds to the declaration in the Torah that the plagues were Etzba Elohim ― "the finger of God" (Exodus 8:15).
You should spill a total of 16 drops ― three for "blood, fire and pillars of smoke," 10 more for the plagues, and another three for Rabbi Yehudah's abbreviation.
After all the drops have been spilled, the cup should be refilled.
Lificach
Cover the matzot, raise the cup of wine, and recite the paragraph aloud and joyfully.
Second Cup
When you drink the wine, don't forget to lean. So important is this expression of freedom, that if one forgets to lean while drinking the Second Cup, the law states you have to drink it again!
If we already made the blessing over wine on the First Cup, why do we make a new blessing here again? Because of the significant time-lapse between the two cups.
Rachtza
Since we already washed our hands previously before the Karpas, you should intentionally make your hands dirty, so that the blessing on the washing here should not be in vain. This can be accomplished by touching your shoe or scratching your head.
How do we wash our hands? First, fill a large cup with water. Remove any rings from your fingers. Pour half the water - two times - over your right hand, up to the wrist. Then pour the remaining water - two times - over your left hand. Then say the blessing and dry your hands. (See instructional video.)
From this point onward, be careful not to talk until you've eaten the matzah. This is to avoid any "mental interruptions" between the washing and the eating.
Better yet, try not to get involved in any side-talk until after you've finished eating also the Marror (bitter herbs) and the Korech sandwich. In this way, the blessings of "Motzi, Matzah and Marror" will also carry over to the sandwich.
Motzi
It is a Torah mitzvah to eat matzah on Seder night.
Jewish law defines an act of "eating" as swallowing a kezayit within two to four minutes (kiday achilat pras). If this is difficult, you may sip some water while eating. At the very least, the matzah must be consumed within nine minutes.
The time begins not with the first bite, but with the first swallow. Therefore, you can gain some extra time by chewing up some matzah before taking the first swallow.
A kezayit is approximately 45-50 cc, which is roughly two thirds of a square matzah, or one half of the hand-made round matzah. (According to the Chazon Ish, the amount is about 25 percent bigger.)
Unlike when we make "Hamotzi" on Shabbat, on Passover we do not dip the matzah in salt. This is because it is a special mitzvah to taste the matzah itself.
There is a custom as well to kiss the matzah before eating it, in accordance with the verse, "Serve God with joy" (Psalms 100:2).
Before the leader recites the blessing, everyone should have prepared in front of them enough matzah to fulfill the mitzvah properly.
Don't forget to eat the matzah while leaning to the left.
Matzah
We recite a second blessing over matzah as the special mitzvah of Seder night.
After reciting the blessing, the leader should break both matzot together, so there is minimal interruption between the blessings and the eating.
Since there is probably not enough from the top and middle matzah to fulfill everyone's minimum volume of 45-50 cc, everyone should eat at least a small piece of both these two matzot, supplementing it with other matzot from the table.
The Vilna Gaon says that a Jew fulfills a mitzvah every time he eats a kezayit of matzah during the entire week of Passover.
Marror
Take an amount of Marror equivalent to the size of a kezayit. Even though many have the custom of using horseradish, the Talmud nevertheless includes Chasa ― Romaine lettuce - as one vegetable which may be used as Marror.
If Romaine lettuce is used, the leaves should total eight-by-ten inches, or about 25-29 cc. Extreme care should be taken to check the lettuce since frequently there are small bugs in the leaves.
If horseradish is used, it should be compacted into 1.1 fluid ounce ― an amount equivalent to one half of a typical egg.
Horseradish in jars bought from the stores should not be used, since sweeteners are added to make them less bitter. Particularly problematic is "red horseradish" which is actually a mixture of beets and horseradish.
If you use pure horseradish, it should be ground up before Yom Tov begins.
Before making the blessing, the Marror should be dipped into the Charoset, and then shaken off. The Talmud says a bit of Charoset serves as an "antiseptic" to dilute the harsh effects of the Marror. When reciting the blessing, have in mind that the Marror will be eaten in the "Korech sandwich" as well.
You should not lean while eating the Marror.
It must be consumed within two to four minutes of the first swallow.
Korech
Take the bottom matzah (remaining from the original three) and make a sandwich with the Marror.
For this mitzvah, it is okay to use smaller amounts. The amount of matzah should be approximately 23-25 cc ― roughly one-third of a square matzah, or one-fourth of a round matzah. (According to the Chazon Ish, the amount is about 25 percent bigger.)
The amount of Marror needed is 3.6 by 2.7 inches of Romaine lettuce, or 0.7 compacted fluid ounce of horseradish.
Dip the sandwich into the Charoset and then shake it off.
Say the paragraph of "Remembrance of the Temple." There is no blessing.
Eat the sandwich while leaning to the left.
It must be consumed within two to four minutes of the first swallow.
Shulchan Orech
Eat a festive meal. It is traditional to begin the meal with an egg, which symbolizes the Chagigah offering. This way, everyone starts the Seder meal with the same thing ― as in Temple times when everyone ate the Chagigah offering.
The meal should preferably end before midnight, in order to eat the Afikomen by that time. It is important not to eat so much that you will be too full to eat the Afikomen.
The meal should not include any roasted meat, in order to distinguish our meal from that of Temple times, when the "Pascal lamb" was eaten roasted. (Dry-pan roasting is a problem; the juices produced are not sufficient to be considered "cooking.")
The meal is actually an extension of the "Hallel" praises, so one should continue to speak about the Exodus throughout the meal. As well, the entire meal should ideally be eaten while leaning to the left.
Afikomen
The Afikomen should preferably be eaten before the middle of the night. (This exact time will vary depending on geographic location; check with your local rabbi.) If eating the Afikomen by that time will mean rushing through the Seder, then it may be eaten later.
The Afikomen should be eaten while you are "full" ― yet with some room still left in your stomach. If you are full to the point of "stuffed," eating the Afikomen might not halachically be considered an act of "eating."
The amount of matzah that everyone should eat for the Afikomen is a kezayit. This equals approximately 45-50 cc, which is roughly two thirds of a square matzah, or one half of the hand-made round matzot. (According to the Chazon Ish, the amount is about 25 percent bigger.) If an individual finds eating this amount difficult, then he may eat half that amount.
Be sure to give each person at least one small piece from the Afikomen, and then make up the remaining volume from other matzot.
After the Afikomen, nothing else should be eaten for the remainder of the night ― except for the drinking of water, tea, and the remaining two cups of wine.
The Afikomen is eaten while leaning to the left.
It must be consumed within two to four minutes of the first swallow.
Barech
Everyone should rinse their wine cup clean, and then fill it for the Third Cup, which will be drunk at the conclusion of "Grace After Meals."
It is customary for the master of the house to lead the "Grace After Meals" on the night of Passover.
On various occasions during the year, the leader will say "Grace After Meals" while holding a cup of wine. At the Seder, everyone may do so!
Third Cup / Hallel
The Hallel prayers (praises of God) are completed while holding the Third Cup of Wine. It is preferable to drink the entire cup of wine. Otherwise, you should at least drink a majority of the cup.
It is preferable to "drink" the cup in two swallows without pausing. Otherwise, you should at least consume the wine within four minutes.
Don't forget to lean to the left while drinking.
Open Door for Elijah
Pour the Fourth Cup, and also the extra cup for Elijah.
It is customary to use the "leftovers" from Elijah's cup for Kiddush the next day.
Fourth Cup
It is preferable to drink the entire cup of wine. Otherwise, you should at least drink a majority of the cup.
It is preferable to "drink" the cup in two swallows without pausing. Otherwise, you should at least consume the wine within four minutes.
Don't forget to lean to the left while drinking.
The after-blessing for wine should then be recited.
Chad Gadya
Although the Seder has officially ended, it is praiseworthy to continue speaking about the Exodus until sleep overtakes you. Many have the custom of reciting "Song of Songs" at this time.

For the people who are considered ill or elderly we are most liberal in our Shuirim. Thus on Pessach we hold by the minimum Shuirim and on Yom Kippur the maximum Shuirim and it is not a conflict but a compensation and consideration based on “Chai B’ Chem V’ Lo Tamoos” (You should live by them [the Mitzvos] and not die.)

The minimum amount of wine or grape juice to drink should be 150 cc but taken from a larger cup. One can measure a cup in advance of the holiday with a mark on it and make Kiddush and pour from the larger cup into the smaller one. An olive’s bulk of Maror is approximately a large leaf of Romaine Lettuce but for the ill something that looks when folded like the volume of an average Israeli Olive which is not that large or 15 grams of horse raddish. A healthy person might want to eat a 4 x 5 inch or 8 cm x 10 cm piece of Matza but a person who is ill need only eat 15 gram which two medium bites should cover. Again one can measure beforehand and have the 3 Shuirim read of Shmura Matza Meal ready before hand for the Blessing, Korech and Afikomen. Although most sick or aged people can eat Matza or Matza Meal there is a heter for wetting them or using egg/juice/wine Matzos in this case.

Yomim Postelnik http://www.jpost.com/Blogs/Matters-of-Life-and-Religion/The-Worldwide-Effect-of-the-Rebbe-on-Judaism-Cannot-Be-Attributed-to-Any-One-Reason-392540

Filthy politicians should not throw out accusations as there are tapes on them: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192258#.VPtYZU39nIU

From Henia O. what goes around comes around but sometimes in a nice way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx6xHmBs0bE#t=313

I received this from H. H. I leave it as it is as no source is given: Thorbjoern Jagland, the chair of Norway’s Nobel Peace Prize committee, has been removed from his post amid allegations of dissatisfaction with the decisions made during his six-year leadership, according to a local report.  Despite murmurs of internal unrest, Jagland’s replacement Kaci Kullmann Five publicly stated that there was “broad agreement” as to the high quality of Jagland’s time as chairman.

Still, the choice to actively remove a current chairman, seemingly against his will, has been called nothing short of “unprecedented.” Indeed, such a thing has never been done before in the award’s 114-year history. The Associated Press reported that Jagland was indeed called a “contentious” leader not just because of his decision to give a certain war waging president the Peace Prize, but also due to his awarding of the 2010 prize to Liu Xiabo, an imprisoned Chinese dissident.  That latter move, unsurprisingly, drew the ire of China.

There are some reports claiming that the possible internal motivation are the most obvious, and that the committee as a whole regrets ever giving the Peace Prize to President Barack Obama, who has gone on to violate the Geneva Convention, illegally assassinate US citizens, perpetuate the Bush administration’s wars, and raise global conflict intensity to record highs. With all of this baggage attending a decorated agent of “peace” like Obama, it isn’t hard to see how and why the man responsible for the decision to decorate the president in first place would finally be removed from his post – forcibly or no.  The only real question we should be asking is, why did it take so long?

This is the same President Obama who destabilized Yemen, Syria, Libya, Egypt, and claims he is forging an agreement with Iran.  If there was a prize for being an idiot, he would win hands down!

Fallon has fun with Netanyahu’s visit: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Watch-Jimmy-Fallon-pokes-fun-at-Democrats-for-Bibi-blunders-393279

The left’s rally was full of hate but no disassociation from the leaders after all only the right can hate! http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192312#.VP0nkk39nIU

Good Morning after the 348 questions in the questionnaire in Hebrew yesterday after the 30 pages last week it makes me wonder what is wrong. 22 to 24 years ago when my wife and I were younger we also took on a forester child but my son who was with us until 1993 vetoed it and started to go bonkers. One thing is trying to help one problem child or two children and the other is to deal also with an older teen. Well a lot of things have happened and Israel has learned to be more bureaucratic and big brothery. Some nonsense about getting into a Kibbutz. I could imagine holocaust survivors sitting down and taking all the tests to be a farmer or tractor repair person on a Kibbutz. HAVE WE GONE OUT OF OUR MINDS? All the IQ tests are written by people with what intent? Is it for simple folk - what is different - a dog, bird and a cow? Is is mammals vs. a bird or is it pets vs a farm animal? Another one horse, mule and zebra? Is it farm animals or those who can give birth? Do the pyschologists think, within a box or do they have a higher IQ for those who think out of the box?

I also saw on Sunday a number of cars coming down my street. The first was a woman txting the second I could not see the driver the third on the phone in the hand and the fourth on the phone in the hand. There is a law which is being ignored the first is really dangerous.

Then there was the criticism of a widow of protective edge who attacked the war-mongering government for the death of her husband. H.H. in his article concluded with one line which started a ruckus as he wrote first she campaigned against the government to give away Gaza for peace and now she blames the government as being war mongers that killed her coronel husband in the recent skirmishes. It was not correct to rub salt on a wound but it was the unfortunate truth.

Oops Israel might kill by accident an Arab but world news round-up never cared about this 70 years ago: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/03/tokyo-firebombing-world-war-ii/

Inyanay Diyoma

What makes me think that all their education is equal to organic fertilizer? http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/03/06/students-at-uc-irvine-vote-to-ban-american-flag/ Confirmed by the left leaning LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-uci-vote-to-ban-american-flag-others-misguided-20150307-story.html

The real leader of the free world is not Obama it is: http://www.truthrevolt.org/videos/bill-whittle-leader-free-world-isnt-obama

Ed-Op selling the policy of surrender! http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Into-the-Fray-My-saddest-column-ever-Selling-surrender-as-strategy-393105

Israeli and US Intelligence disagree on Iranian Bomb breakout time. http://debka.com/article/24447/US-and-Israeli-intelligence-at-sharp-odds-on-Iran’s-breakout-time-to-a-bomb

Fisherman or fishy business with terrorists testing the waters: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4634306,00.html

Galant promises better defense: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192266#.VPwNp039nIU

Motzei Shabbos there was a report on Israel Radio of a former Christian named Chris something who turned Muslim and wanted to assassinate Obama. I found no sources so it could be true and hushed up.

What Netanyahu agreed to: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4634459,00.html

In a rare public appearance he quotes Mark Twain in stating that the rumors of his death have been exaggerated. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192292#.VPxUdU39nIU

Ed-Op the mystery of the return of Gideon Saar into politics for the elections: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4633942,00.html

Reuven sent me this from Anna Berg of the spineless Swedes: However, Reuven and I believe in measure for measure aka Mida K’neged Mida: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-spineless-kingdom-of-sweden/

From Gail and the real enemy of Israel is … those who understand will understand: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/rabbi-lau-hints-at-israels-real-enemy/2015/03/06/

No One Listens by Dr. Harry

Prior to the Holocaust, the Jews of Germany were told to leave, and that they were no longer wanted. No one listened.
Early Zionists in Germany and Europe told the Jews to learn self-defense, and or go to Israel. No one listened.

Iran says that when it gets the bomb it will destroy Israel. No one listens

When Obama was a Senator, he said the following. No one listened!

The following is a narrative taken from a 2008 Sunday morning televised "Meet The Press'.
From Sunday's 07 Sept. 2008 11:48:04 EST, Televised "Meet the Press" THE THEN Senator Obama was asked about his stance on the American Flag.
General Bill Gann' USAF (ret.) asked Obama to explain WHY he doesn't follow protocol when the National Anthem is played. The General stated to Obama that according to the United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10, Sec. 171... During rendition of the national anthem, when the flag is displayed, all present (except those in uniform) are expected to stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. Or, at the very least, "Stand and Face It".
Senator Obama replied:
"As I've said about the flag pin, I don't want to be perceived as taking sides." "There are a lot of people in the world to whom the American flag is a symbol of oppression..." "The anthem itself conveys a war-like message. You know, the bombs bursting in air and all that sort of thing."
Obama continued: "The National Anthem should be swapped" for something less parochial and less bellicose. I like the song 'I'd like to Teach the World to Sing'. If that were our anthem, then, I might salute it. In my opinion, we should consider reinventing our National Anthem as well as 'redesign' our Flag to better offer our enemies hope and love. It's my intention, if elected, to disarm America to the level of acceptance to our Middle East Brethren. If we, as a Nation of warring people, conduct ourselves like the nations of Islam, where peace prevails - - - perhaps a state or period of mutual accord could exist between our governments ......"

When I Become President, I will seek a pact of agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity, and a freedom from disquieting oppressive thoughts. We as a Nation, have placed upon the nations of Islam, an unfair injustice which is WHY my wife disrespects the Flag and she and I have attended several flag burning ceremonies in the past".

"Of course now, I have found myself about to become The President of the United States and I have put my hatred aside. I will use my power to bring CHANGE to this Nation, and offer the people a new path. My wife and I look forward to becoming our Country's First black Family. Indeed, CHANGE is about to overwhelm the United States of America."

Yes, you read it right, but it is too late now, because you DID NOT listen!

US Pro-Iranian pressure on Yaden: http://debka.com/article/24449/Iranian-Al-Qods-chief-on-landmark-visit-to-Amman-as-guest-of-Jordan’s-national-intelligence-director

US TAX DOLLARS WORKING TO OVERTHROW A DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192383#.VP6zbU39nIU

This may have come to me from Meir and perhaps Albert resent this on IDF capabilities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbhwoS9hRe8&feature=youtu.be

I am using a 4 letter word to describe this – BIBI: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Israeli-construction-in-West-Bank-settlements-dropped-by-52-percent-in-2014-393553

Officer wounded on the Golan: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4635605,00.html

PLO worries about Hamas take over as activists are rounded up. http://debka.com/article/24451/Palestinian-forces-detain-500-Hamas-West-Bankers-to-thwart-coup-and-Abbas-assassination-plot-

Syria is 50 shades of black: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192444#.VQAQGE39nIU

Instead of Hamas being in bunkers must Jews live in them? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192450#.VQAR9U39nIU

Somebody compared Bibi Netanyahu to Churchill well maybe but not as he thought. In 1945 Churchill throught that he would be re-elected and lost. The Likud is in panic mode right now: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192513#.VQFo5U39nIU and http://debka.com/article/24455/Netanyahu-and-his-Likud-are-running-out-of-time-to-survive-the-March-17-ballot

Right wing homosexuals supporting a religious party! http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4636090,00.html

The last public opinion polls before the election give from 20 to 22 to the Likud and 24-26 to Labor with Israel home between 11 to 13 and Yachad 4 to 5 with Yisrael Beitaynu between barely 4 to 6 and Mertz barely 4 to 5. The last few parties could be wiped off the map with a tremendous Arab or even leftist vote this year. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4636623,00.html

It appears that the Good Shabbos Stories have stopped coming.

The Pioneer Chassidic Artist Part 1 by By Yerachmiel Tilles http://ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=899-22

Chenoch Lieberman was born April 12, 1900 in Polotsk, Russia. His parents, Menachem Mendel Futerfas and Mariashe Bodana, came from a long line of chassidim. As with so many other Eastern European Jewish families, harsh circumstances soon forced the family, with three children, to move, first to Dvinsk, now part of Latvia, and then to Kharkov in the Ukraine.
Menachem Mendel's artistic impulse -- he sketched and played the violin -- was transmitted to his son Chenoch at an early age. At age five, he begged his father for paint and brushes, which he received.

Young Chenoch was a compulsive sketcher and every surface was fair game for his drawings. He later recalled: "I would draw and sketch on books and discourses. I felt a 'soul-need' to draw. I was caught up, mainly, in drawing portraits and landscapes." The walls of his house were soon turned into murals, and even the young boy's prayer books were not safe from the lad's busy pen.
At the age of twelve, Chenoch was sent to the Yeshiva in Lubavitch in White Russia, where he studied at the home of Rabbi Shmuel Gronem Esterman, a noted thinker and teacher in the community.

At about this age, Chenoch's artistic yearnings began to flower. Young Chenoch was attracted to the outside world which beckoned with increasing intensity. He developed a taste for culture, but as a chassidic boy, he knew he was expected to disregard the world of secular style.

For Chenoch, the dilemma appeared irreconcilable: either he remains a Chasidic Jew or he renounces his tradition and enters the "outside" world. The notion that his Chasidism could encompass his artistic temperament did not seem possible.

But these were turbulent times in Russia and individual dramas were soon eclipsed by the massive upheavals of history. Between 1910 and 1920, Russia was shaken by two revolutions, bled by a brutal World War and anguished by famine and disease. The next years were especially difficult for Jews.

The uprooting of families became a regular occurrence, and in 1016 Chenoch and his family relocated again, this time to Moscow.

By 1920, Chenoch was studying art in Moscow and learning the business skills he would need for his family's textile business. Chenoch soon started a family of his own: in 1925 he married Bryna Friedman, and four years later he was the father of two daughters.

But the transformation of Russia into the communist Soviet Union would render his business preparation useless. Stalin's murderous secret police roamed the country and Jewish life became especially precarious. Jewish institutions and rites were forced underground.

Chenoch Lieberman supported his young family by working with his uncle in the oil business, but his passion lay elsewhere. He hungered to paint: it was only in front of a canvas that he felt fulfilled. "What am I to do?" he implored. "I can't help it if G-d gave me a talent."

A turning point occurred in 1927. Lieberman had been bedridden for several months with an ulcer when he was visited by Innocento Zhukov. Zhukov, a well-known sculptor and disciple of the great Rodin, had seen Lieberman's work and wanted to submit one of his paintings to a national art competition. He had his eye on a small Lieberman painting depicting ice skaters on a rink.

Lieberman's painting won first prize and a six-year scholarship for Lieberman to the acclaimed Moscow Academy of Art. Perhaps more importantly, this was the first confirmation for Lieberman that he was a serious artist. He devoted himself to his studies with renewed enthusiasm, surging through his course requirements at the Academy in half the usual time.
Lieberman spent the 1930's employed by the government as a commercial artist. But tragic times lay ahead. In 1939, when he was nearly forty years old, Lieberman was forced to leave his family and join the Red Army's defense against the advancing Nazis. Twice he was wounded in combat, the second time in 1943, in the decisive battle of Stalingrad.

Chenoch Lieberman came home to horror. His entire family - his wife and his daughters, Bluma and Leah - had gone to live with his in-laws in the town of Brayan. There, unprotected from the German onslaught, they had been rounded up by the Nazis, forced to dig their own graves and murdered.

Devastated, Lieberman didn't know where to turn. His own life now in mortal danger, he, along with many others of the Lubavitcher community, sought refuge in Samarkand, the ancient city in Soviet Asia.

Immediately after the war, the Soviet Union issued a prohibition against any Soviet nationals leaving the country. As a means to escape this prison, Chenoch dropped his family name, Futerfas, and adopted the more Polish sounding name, Lieberman. This name would help allow him to "return" to Poland, posing as a displaced Pole.

Together with his mother, sisters, younger brother Mendel Futerfas and wife, Chenoch Lieberman made his way to the border. Though the rest of the party made it safely across, his brother was caught and imprisoned by Stalin's secret police for helping Russians escape the country. He spent the next fifteen years in Soviet work camps.

Poland was a temporary and unpleasant stop for the family; the trek continued westward. Chenoch made his way to Paris and became part of its growing Lubavitcher community, while his family went on to England. The spiritual leader of the Lubavitch chassidim, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, the sixth Rebbe, had settled in New York, and Chenoch Lieberman, his life shattered, sought the Rebbe's counsel about the one thing which still had meaning for him: reconciling his art with his religion.

The Rebbe, always sensitive to people's souls, understood precisely Lieberman's needs and potential: he was an artist, and must recreate the world as he saw it. The artist is driven to imbue the world with his own unique sensitivity and perspective - this was Chenoch Lieberman's calling. The Rebbe explained that for the true Chassid, all aspects of life must be brought together in a larger harmony. The means of serving and understanding G-d are varied, and they include the way of the artist.

Any conflict Lieberman felt between his artistic inclinations and his Chassidic way of life was thus resolved, and he became consumed by painting. Lieberman reached down into his own deep spiritual resources and turned to his work with a renewed vision and enthusiasm. Paris was the ideal city to nourish his artistic inspiration, and Lieberman's painting flourished.

In 1950, Lieberman moved to London to join his relatives. That same year, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, passed away. In his mourning, Lieberman sketched "The Histalkus" ("The Passing" - see link to some of his paintings at end), one of his most powerful pencil drawings. The picture portrays a desolate wilderness with bare, twisted trees, and, as far as the eye can see, black-hatted Chassidim sitting on the ground, their hands held to their heads in grief. In the sky looms the face of the previous Rebbe, and behind him, the shadowy faces of deceased spiritual leaders welcoming the new soul into heaven.

But the burden of history and personal tragedies continued to weigh heavily on Lieberman. He questioned again whether painting was a proper vocation for him, and decided to discuss his situation with the new Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, son in-law of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, also urged Lieberman not to abandon his talent, but to use it in the service of G-d and humanity. In an encouraging letter to Lieberman, the Rebbe captured the essential calling of the artist and encouraged Lieberman to continue and flourish in his career. [Part of the letter is appended below.]
Lieberman did not remain in London for long. He soon moved to the United States and the growing Chassidic community of Crown Heights in Brooklyn, centered around the new Lubavitcher Rebbe.
By the 1950's, Crown Heights had become the new capital of the Lubavitch Chasidic movement. The environment was a breath of fresh air for the developing community of Chasidim. Here they could exercise their way of life in an atmosphere of religious freedom.
Chenoch Lieberman derived great comfort from the religious understanding that Chassidism provided. Now living in physical proximity to the Rebbe, he flourished even more. Here he was, an artist occupying an honored position behind the Rebbe at prayers, celebrations and lectures. Chenoch soon became an important figure in the life of Lubavitch Brooklyn.

Lieberman's Chassidic life became increasingly intertwined with his artistic life. Painting with a renewed intensity, he exhibited in galleries and Chassidic communities around the world, including Australia, where his sister, Brocha Serebryanski, had settled. Another inspirational event for Lieberman was the release of his brother, Mendel Futerfas, from Soviet prison in 1062. Futerfas subsequently settled in Israel and became a spiritual mentor at the Lubavitch Yeshiva there.

The overwhelming majority of Lieberman's work are scenes from the Chassidic environment of his youth. For him, painting the past is not difficult. The faces and scenes from fifty and sixty years ago are distinct vibrant realities. One feels transported into a world which is simultaneously real and make-believe.

As the years progressed, Lieberman's visage became increasingly rabbinical. His once fiery red beard became white and flowing. It struck some as incredibly incongruous that the bearded man in the tallis (prayer shawl) was indeed an artist. But the traditional look of the artist meant less to Lieberman than the look of the traditional Jew.

A nephew, Rabbi Ytzchak Meir Kagan, of blessed memory, remembered this era and the first encounter he had with his great-uncle. "I'll never forget his beard," Rabbi Kagan recalled. "To me, a child of eight, it seemed to be brighter and more flaming than any red I had ever seen. Beneath his bushy eyebrows was a pair of laughing eyes. He was a Chasid - that much was obvious. But my father had told me that he was also an artist. The combination seemed so odd to my brother and me." [Rabbi Kagan grew up to have one of the reddest, longest beards anyone in the next generation ever saw!-Y.T.]

Lieberman lived in Crown Heights for a quarter of a century. He was called "Feter (Uncle) Hendel" (a diminutive of Chenoch) by children in the community and "Maitre (Master) Hendel" by the art students he taught and influenced deeply. Michael Muchnik, who was a student at the Rhode Island School of Design during the 1970's and today is a highly popular chassidic artist, spoke of Lieberman as his main attraction to the Crown Heights Lubavitch community: "More than anything else, it was Lieberman's paintings that made me feel the spirit of Lubavitch, of Chasidism. Seeing his paints made me see the Jewish spirit."

Rabbi Chaim Dalfin, Feter Mendel's great nephew by marriage, recollects Feter Hendel standing on a bench behind the Rebbe at the farbrengens and waving with his hands like a conductor of a symphony. This was done while the crowd sang Chasidic melodies. Feter Hendel actually followed the rhythm of the nigun and expressed it with his hands.

"I remember seeing how the Rebbe would encourage him to do his 'job.' There were times that he did not stand up and conduct. The Rebbe would turn around, notice that he was sitting and motion with a question gesture, why are you not conducting? He would immediately get up and continue his job.

"During the 1970's there were many non-Lubavitcher's attending farbrengens. Some were observant and others not yet. The impression Feter Hendel made on all of them is remembered in a most positive way." (I substantiate - YT)

Chenoch Lieberman fused his Chassidism and painting into a continuous intense life activity. His attachment to Lubavitch permeated his life. An unrelenting joie de vivre sustained and anchored a life beset with terrible personal tragedy and dislocation and Lieberman continued sketching even from his deathbed, sending some very personal, poignant pieces as a present to his Rebbe. After a prolonged stomach ailment, he passed away on Erev Purim, 13 Adar B, 5736 (March 15, 1976).

His paintings hang today in the New York Metropolitan Museum of art, London's Tate Gallery, museums in Paris, and many other places throughout the world. He will always be remembered as the pioneering chassidic artist, the first of his kind to fuse creative expression and chassidic lifestyle. A few samples of his work may be found on the site of the Chai Art Gallery, including the "Histalkus" drawing mentioned above and, arguably, his most famous painting, "Deep in Prayer," recently offered at auction for $50,000.

To be continued next week with a nice story featuring Uncle Hendel and a reproduction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sources: Compiled by Yerachmiel Tilles from:
An article by Joshua Dubrovsky, translated and edited by Shmuel Klatzkin and Felicia Herman for the Chassidic Art Institute of Brooklyn (and subsequently posted on //Chabad.org);
A chapter in the book, Who's Who in Lubavitch, by Rabbi Chayim Dalfin;
An article posted on //Chabadnews.us

Connection: Weekly Readings--this week's and next: the beauty of the various tapestries and priestly garments in the Mishkan and the Holy Temple (Ex. ch. 26-28).

Appendix: Letter from the Lubavitcher Rebbe to Chenoch Lieberman.
By the Grace of G d
24 Adar II, 5711 [March 8, 1951]
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Greeting and Blessing:
... I was extremely happy to read that you are working with your artistic talents, are preparing to hold an exhibition, and that you have already received favorable reviews in the press. Surely you will progress in the utilization of the talent that G-d has granted you toward the strengthening of Judaism and G-d-fearing behavior….
I am sure that the genius of the artist in sketching, drawing and painting is his ability to detach himself from the externality of the object he portrays. The artist must be able to look deeply into the inner content of the object, beyond its external form, and to see the inner aspects and essence of the object.
He must then be able to express this 'inner essence' in his portrayal so that whoever views the painting sees revealed for him the inner aspect of the object, an 'essence' which he, the viewer, had never noticed in the object itself, for it had been obscured by non-essential, external aspects. An artist reveals in his art the essence and being of his subject; the viewer examining the result can now see the object in a completely different light and realize that his previous impressions of the object were erroneous. This is how the artist can serve his Creator.
The difficult trials and tests of life are themselves the means by which we are to attain the ultimate object that the soul achieves- the lofty spiritual level it once possessed before it descended into the body.
So you see that life's trials, tragedies and difficulties actually bring us closer to our goal, our raison d'?tre - they are part of the divine system of toil and endeavor enabling us finite mortals to reach the highest levels of reward and goodness which can only be earned by meaningful labor and effort. It follows that one must not allow the difficulties of life's trials (or even one's failure from time to time) to overcome the double joy of being one of G-d's children and of having received his promise.

The Pioneer Chasidic Artist, Part 2 http://ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=900-23

The Lubavitcher Rebbe used to encourage the pioneering Chasidic artist Chenoch "Feter Hendel" Lieberman to participate in exhibitions. Once, in a face-to-face meeting, the Rebbe told him, "Each person on this earth is allotted a task. You have a talent... use it. Use it to encourage Jews to return to their Judaism. True, in the old days, painting was not considered an acceptable way to achieve this aim. Today it is. It is your way."
Lieberman indeed saw his work as part of the general effort to awaken involvement in Judaism among the non-committed. "When they see my paintings, he remarked, "they can feel what it means to be a Jew." After an exhibit in Seattle, the local rabbi told him that his paintings had done more in ten days to arouse Jewish interest than ten years of the rabbi's own work.
Lieberman tried to communicate with the estranged Jews of the generation not only though his art but also through his personal efforts. He often invited guests to his home for the Sabbath, held discussion groups with students, and devoted time to people who asked for his advice and counsel.
Once, he was invited to attend an art exhibition in a large American city, where many well-regarded artists were to exhibit their works. Before accepting the invitation, he requested the advice of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The Rebbe instructed him to attend the exhibition, but not to stay in the hotel where the exhibition was being held. Rather, he should stay in another, nearby hotel.

R. Hendel did as the Rebbe asked. He rented a room in the hotel and brought with him enough kosher provisions to last for the duration of the exhibition.

His paintings proved to be very popular among the exhibition viewers. His appearance, especially, attracted attention: A Jewish rabbi of the old generation, with side locks and a saintly look.

During his spare time, R. Hendel sat in his hotel room studying Torah, so as not to waste a minute. One day, while in his hotel room, he heard a knock at the door. A stranger, who turned out to be another artist exhibiting at the exhibition, stood there and asked for a few minutes of his time.

R. Hendel ushered him in, and the man asked to borrow his tallit and tefillin. R. Hendel was surprised at the request, as the man did not look Jewish, but he complied happily. The man thanked R. Hendel and returned to his hotel room.

A while later, R. Hendel passed the man's room and heard sounds of sobbing. He was sure that the man was overcome with emotion and crying to G-d from the depths of his heart.

An hour later, the man returned the tefillin. R. Hendel noticed that the man's eyes were red and his face showed signs of deep emotion, but he pretended not to be aware of the change.

The man came several more times over the next few days, asking to borrow R. Hendel's tefillin. His curiosity aroused, R. Hendel engaged the man in a personal conversation. The man conceded to R. Hendel that in his youth he had been a yeshiva student. Later, he became influenced by the communist ideology and left Judaism completely.

When he arrived in the hotel for the art exhibition, he passed by R. Hendel's room and heard his prayers, so full of longing and beautiful melodies. The experience brought back memories of his youth, when he had learned in yeshiva and prayed with tallit and tefillin. He remembered his Chassidic parents who had observed all the commandments stringently. The home had been filled with such light and warmth; the Shabbat and holidays were the highlights of their lives.

He could not contain his feelings any longer, and decided to borrow the tefillin from R. Hendel. Now his longing for his childhood faith grew within him, and he could not let a day pass without prayer.

R. Hendel was deeply moved by the story. He now understood the scope of the Rebbe's vision. This must be the reason why the Rebbe asked him to participate in the exhibition and to stay in that hotel. The Rebbe, with his special spiritual sensitivity, had foreseen that this Jew would be there, and assigned R. Hendel the task of re-igniting his Jewish soul. R. Hendel's presence in the hotel caused the man to remember his past and return to his Creator.

At the close of the exhibition, the two men parted and R. Hendel returned to Crown Heights. He wrote a report to the Rebbe about all that had happened at the exhibition, and how a Jewish artist had been inspired to return to Judaism.

Not long afterward, R. Hendel was dumbfounded to read in a newspaper that the Jewish artist had passed away. The Rebbe had sent him on a mission to help this man return to G-d completely in his final days!
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Source: Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from an article posted on //Chabadinfo.com, plus three paragraphs from the sources mentioned in Part 1.

Connections (2): Weekly Reading-- "l'kvod u'l'tiferet"-"For honor and for beauty" (Ex. ch. 28:2); Erev Purim, 13 Adar (2015: March 4), is the yahrzeit of "Feter (Uncle) Hendel."

Biographical notes:
Chenoch "Feter Hendel" Lieberman (1900-13 Adar B 1976), a loyal Lubavitcher chasid, will always be remembered as the pioneering chasidic artist, the first of his kind to fuse creative expression and chassidic lifestyle. His paintings hang today in the New York Metropolitan Museum of art, London's Tate Gallery, museums in Paris, and many other places throughout the world. A few samples of his work may be found on the site of the Chai Art Gallery. (See also: last week's story)

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe [11 Nissan 5662 - 3 Tammuz 5754 (April 1902 - June 1994 C.E.)], became the seventh Rebbe of the Chabad dynasty after his father-in-law's passing on 10 Shvat 5710 (1950 C.E.). He is widely acknowledged as the greatest Jewish leader of the second half of the 20th century. Although a dominant scholar in both the revealed and hidden aspects of Torah and fluent in many languages and scientific subjects, the Rebbe is best known for his extraordinary love and concern for every Jew on the planet. His emissaries around the globe dedicated to strengthening Judaism number in the thousands. Hundreds of volumes of his teachings have been printed, as well as dozens of English renditions.
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Editor's note: This story is #900 in this e-mail series, a milestone. And you received it during the week in which Shabbat is my birthday, (a big round number and therefore,) also a major milestone! May the One Above bless all of us to continue to share stories and happy occasions for decades to come. -Yerachmiel Tilles

A little trivia as I close this Sefer. I write and research as the news and stories come and was wondering why it took a lot of my time. This Sefer alone was over 320 pages and over 130,000 words as I write this in mid week. Wishing you all a good a pleasant Shabbos,

Rachamim Pauli

Rabbi Rachamim Pauli Drasha

Friday, March 13, 2015

Parshiyos Para, Vayekel-Pekeudei, STD sizes for Pessach, story at end