Mar 23, 2023
Pesach | Hallelu Avdei Hashem, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom
What is the message behind the first chapter of Hallel?
One of the highlights - and perhaps the ultimate purpose - of the Seder evening is the recitation of Hallel (Tehillim 113-118), the first two chapters of which are sung at the end of Maggid. We explore the...
Mar 21, 2023
Pesach | The Meaning of Matzah: Between Becoming and Being, by Rav Chanoch Waxman
Shiur given at the Etzion Foundation Annual Dinner, March 20, 2023
Mar 16, 2023
The Obligation to Reexperience the Exodus, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom
What is the source for the obligation to reimagine ourselves as having personally participated in the Exodus?
The Mishna (Pesachim 10:5) establishes the obligation - in every generation - for a person to view himself (or, per Rambam's nuanced wording,...
Mar 2, 2023
From Bereishit to Esther: A Midrashic Journey, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom
Chazal take the position that "Esther was the end of the (era of) miracles" (BT Yoma 29b). We explore how the Ba'alei haMidrash were guided by this perspective, seeing the story of Mordekhai and Esther as the ultimate resolution of remaining...
Feb 23, 2023
Purim | Midrash Esther and the Sinaitic Covenant, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom
One of the types of Midr'shei Aggadah utilized by the composers of Midrashim is the "petichta" - (proem) which served as an introduction to the public reading of the text to which the Midrash attached. Among the more prolific and well-known...