(Daily News, 4/3/07): The dinner table at Rabbi Paul Kipnes’ house was topped Monday night with more than the ceremonial food associated with commemorating the Exodus from Egypt. The arrangement of bitter herbs, parsley and matzo also included a football, history book and corkscrew. The purpose of Passover, which began at sundown Monday, is to …
Reflections as We Prepare for PesachPesach 5766 / April 2006 I was taught that our Israelite ancestors wandered for forty years in the wilderness as punishment for remaining tied to slavery. When offered the opportunity at Kadesh-Barnea to enter into the Promised Land, they lost faith in God and followed the fearful advice of the …
Dressing in Drag, Getting Stoned, Pillow Talk, Feeling the Beat! Passover Like You’ve Never Considered Before! Pesach, the story of our people’s ancient flight from slavery to freedom, reminds us that ours is the way of freedom. The Haggadah, more than a backward-looking book, calls upon each and every one of us, in each and …
Jewish Tradition on Chametz and Kitniyot By Rabbi Eric Berk (with Rabbi Paul Kipnes)Passover 2007 * Nisan 5767 When was the last time you remembered something? Did you remember something that you had forgotten, or was it something you just hadn’t thought about in a while? How did you remember? Was it by seeing, thinking, …
Random Thoughts- Do They Have Meaning?: How Baseball Players Catch Fly Balls Ever wonder why baseball players tend to take a step forward on a fly ball even if the ball will undoubtedly (from our vantage point) go behind them? It turns out that something called Optical Acceleration Cancellation (OAC), used the acceleration of the …
Haggadah Insert for Use during this Financial DepressionBy Rabbi Paul Kipnes,Congregation Or Ami, Calabasas, CA With help from Rabbinic Student Ilana MillsFormatted copy here. Pass out copies and read before other Yachatz readings. The leader takes out the middle Matzah, breaks it in two and holds up both pieces. Reader 1: At every Passover seder, …
Each year, I try to provide a series of new ideas to enhance the Seder experience. Here are some engaging options for 2009, with some old favorites at the end of the post. The Middle Matzah of Brokenness: Haggadah Insert for During Economic Recession: Add this ritual before or in place of the Yachatz reading. …
Poignant Passover: Tip #53 Do you struggle splitting matzah, only to have it crumble, flake or just plain fall apart? The Wisdom from the Orient offers ancient Japanese Matzah secrets:
It’s been a while since I have blogged. Not much time for reflection. Or instead, I am investing more time in people. Either way, I’m back. What does it mean to have Jewish pride? In this version of Def Poetry, Vanessa Hidary talks about the time that someone told her she doesn’t look or act …
My 20 year old niece Yonina is an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces. Since she made aliyah, returning to the country of her youth, and especially upon entering the IDF (soon after Lebanon 2), I have begun to view Israeli and Mideastern politics through a different lense. No longer was it theoretical. No longer …
Somehow our three children have become three teenagers. They are amazing, loveable but totally exhausting. Having successfully navigated our children’s early years, we – like most parents of teenagers – find ourselves facing new challenges: their intense emotions, hormonal changes, extreme academic demands, and opposing instincts to separate from and connect with parents. To whom …
Blogging has become somewhat of a lifestyle for me. Part hobby, part holiness, part habit. Readership is going up, as is the level of recognition from the blogging community. The Union for Reform Judaism’s Reform Judaism magazine recently included Or Am I?, this blog, in its “Best of the Blogs“, listing 3 top Jewish blogs. …
I spent much time during my time in Israel, playing on and updating my Facebook page. I reconnected with some old friends and developed connections with some newer ones. There’s nothing like discovering an old friend and catching up again. That’s why this is so fascinating. While in Israel, with the help of creative people …
Divrei Derech, blog of Rabbi Rick Winer, my Israel Convention roommate, was written alongside mine (usually late at night) . He has complied a series of pictures that offer a “Taste of Israeli Texture”. Worth a look. Here.
Jet lag (according to the Centers for Disease Control): symptoms that result from temporary desynchronization of circadian rhythm between a traveler’s internal clock and the external environmen. Jet lag (according to me): It is 1:36 am and I am AWAKE. Arrrggghhh! Ten reasons Jet lag is worth it? You don’t get to visit exotic countries …