Numbers 28:19-25

Ezekiel 36:37-37:14

1 Cor.5:6-8

Hag Sameach Pesach, Happy Passover! We are in the midst of our Pesach Holiday. On the Hebrew calendar, this week is called Kol Hamoed, the Intervening Days or Half-Holy Days. Pesach begins on the fourteenth of Nisan, when the Passover Lamb was slain. The days of the Passover begin here and end on the twenty-first of Nisan. This festive season is to remind us of the freedom and love that G-d has given to each and every one of us. It is also a time of preparation. G-d prepared the people to meet Him on Har Sinai, Mount Sinai, where He created a people who were to be set apart and holy, as He is holy.

In this Torah portion, we again go over Parasha Ki Tisa (in Exodus 33:12). G-d reveals to Moshe that He will have His presence among the people and He will give them rest, all that they need. Also, the thirteen attributes of His mercy are given.

The HafTorah portion gives us the picture of the dry bones, when Israel will be resurrected after everything seems to be lost, as though she were dead. Those who trust and receive the mercy of G-d will have His presence in their midst.

We are now in the season of the counting of the omer. At the end of the forty-nine days we will celebrate Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks. At that time, the Children of Israel became the Bride of G-d as they said they will obey (I will, or I do).

All are invited to eat of the Passover. In the Haggadah, we are exposed to the breaking of the matzah and lifting it up before all. The hardships and cruelty of slavery under Pharaoh are re-told. All under oppressions, discouragement, downtrodden, poverty are invited to join us in the Seder meal. Just as the king sent his servants out to gather all those who would come to feast at his table, so we are all invited to join HaShem, our King. We look forward to the time when we will come together to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Passover Seder).

Have a blessed Passover season.

Blessings, Hag Sameach

Shavua Tov

Rabbi Z.