Month: April 2024

Sabbath ‘Hol HaMoed Pesach (Exodus 33:12-34:26), Maftir (Numbers 28:19-25), Haftarah (Ezekiel 37:1-14)

Reading the Torah during ‘Hol HaMoed Pesach reveals that The Lord, in His great mercy, forgives Israel for its transgressions and renews its covenant. The Maftir provides the ritual directives for the Feast of Matzot.

Ezekiel 37:1-12
.הִנֵּה אֲנִי פֹתֵחַ אֶת-קִבְרוֹתֵיכֶם וְהַעֲלֵיתִי אֶתְכֶם מִקִּבְרוֹתֵיכֶם, עַמִּי; וְהֵבֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם, אֶל-אַדְמַת יִשְׂרָאֵל […]
[…] Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.”

In the Haftarah, Ezekiel, a prophet exiled to Babylon, has the vision of the valley of dry bones. In tractate Sanhedrin 72b of the Talmud, the sages interpret this vision as announcing the resurrection of the dead at the advent of the messianic era. This prophecy proclaims the return of the entire Jewish people to the land of Israel.

The Hurva Synagogue (חורבה – ruin), located in the Jewish quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel, has a tumultuous history. A tradition traces its existence back to the time of Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi in the 2nd century. Over the centuries, it has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. Its last destruction dates back to 1948, during Israel’s War of Independence, when the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem fell into the hands of the Jordanians. Its destruction was carried out by soldiers of the Hashemite kingdom, who dynamited the building, reducing it to dust. It was rebuilt between 2005 and 2010, in its original 19th-century style. Today, it stands in a square at the center of the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem.

Metzora (מְּצֹרָע – one afflicted with tzaraat), Leviticus 14:1–15:33.

The parashah deals with the purification rituals of a person afflicted with tzara’at⁽¹⁾, also reaffirming the promise of entering the Land of Israel.

Leviticus 14:34
:כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל-אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן, אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם לַאֲחֻזָּה
When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession,

Chabbath HaGadol
Chabbath HaGadol commemorates a great miracle before the Exodus from Egypt. For several days, the Hebrews tied a lamb, one of the idols of the Egyptian pantheon, without being disturbed. This act marks the beginning of their liberation.

Haggadah with Bird Heads
Chabbath HaGadol heralds the festival of Passover, during which we recount the Exodus from Egypt. To fully experience the story of our liberation, what better than an illustrated book? The Haggadah with Bird Heads, executed in Hebrew by the Sofer Menahem in the early 14th century, is currently housed in the Israel Museum⁽²⁾; its exact origin remains unknown. However, it could originate from the region of Wurtzburg in Bavaria, southern Germany.

(1) Tzara’at: Affliction resulting from transgression that can affect the flesh, clothing, and walls of a person, rendering them impure. The person affected by tzaraat is called a metzora.
(2) The Haggadah with Bird Heads was formerly owned by Ludwig Marum, a German lawyer and politician murdered by the Nazis at Kislau camp. After the war, the manuscript was sold to the Israel Museum by Herman Kahn, a refugee in Israel. In 1984, Elisabeth Marum-Lunau, Ludwig Marum’s daughter, claimed that the manuscript had been acquired without the permission of the rightful owner, but she consented to its remaining in the museum for the public good.

Tazria, (תזריע – she will conceive) Leviticus 12:1–13:59.

Leviticus 12:6
וּבִמְלֹאת יְמֵי טָהֳרָהּ, לְבֵן אוֹ לְבַת …
When the days of her purification are completed,
whether for a son or for a daughter…

This verse refers to the ritual of purification after childbirth, implicitly involving the mikveh.

Mikveh
The Jewish archaeological site of Besalú, declared a Bien Cultural de Interés Nacional¹ in 2013, houses a synagogue, a courtyard, and a mikveh. With a water capacity of 331 liters, the mikveh stands out for its depth allowing direct filling from the groundwater, without the need for pipelines. It consists of an underground rectangular room topped with a barrel vault, accessible by a flight of thirty-six steps.

The Besalú Community
The presence of a Jewish community in Besalú dates back to 1229, confirmed by a document from King James I of Aragon reserving the profession of moneylender for Jews. In 1342, a quarter of the population was Jewish, but by 1435, the community disappeared and migrated to Castelló d’Empúries and Granollers.

¹ BCIN, Cultural Heritage of National Interest in the “archaeological zone” category by the Department of Culture of the Government of Catalonia

Chabbat Ha’Hodesh (הַחֹדֶשׁ – This Month), Exodus 12:1-20

In Egypt, the Hebrews are commanded to count the month of spring¹ as the beginning of months. This time counting is the first mitzvah given to the Jewish nation.

Exodus 12:2
הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם, רֹאשׁ חֳדָשִׁים: רִאשׁוֹן הוּא לָכֶם, לְחָדְשֵׁי הַשָּׁנָה.
This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.

This time counting marks a new beginning. Nissan celebrates the liberation of the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery. It is the Exodus, the journey towards the promised land filled with hope.

The time counting is displayed on the Hebrew clock² of the Town Hall in the Josefov³ district of Prague. Built in 1586, under the patronage of Mordechai Maisel⁴, next to the Old-New Synagogue, the Renaissance-style building served as a meeting place for the local Jewish community. It acquired its Rococo facade in the 18th century.

¹ The spring month, Aviv (אביב), is the month of Nissan. It’s a ‘full’ month of 30 days (Chodesh Male – חודש מלא). It’s the first month of the religious year, but it’s the seventh or eighth month (leap year) of the year from Rosh Hashanah.
² On this clock, Hebrew letters replace the numbers, and the hands rotate counterclockwise.
³ Josefov: named in honor of Emperor Joseph II, who emancipated the Jews by issuing an edict of tolerance in 1781.
⁴ Mordechai Maisel (1528-1601), philanthropist, mayor of Prague, leader of the Jewish community of Prague, and friend of the famous Maharal (מהר”ל = מורנו הרב לב – Moreinu HaRav Loew, Our Master Rabbi Loew).