Kerstetter Chronicles: September 2016
It would have been worth it to us to make this trip for that conversation alone. And we didn’t know at the time that only three days later we would be on a plane back home.
Kerstetter Chronicles: August 2016
I hope you don’t go to Israel. Don’t go to visit the ancient holy sites. Don’t stop…
Kerstetter Chronicles: July 2016
You can’t plan for it. There’s no good timing. You pray it will never happen. Maybe you…
Kerstetter Chronicles: June 2016
“The difference between you and me is that you have answers and I do not,” he said. And I wondered if he felt as hopeless as he sounded. It was well after midnight
Afikomen: He Came
And our afikomen eloquently proclaims that wonderful truth at every Seder table in every Jewish home around the world, each and every year.
On the Seder Plate: Charoset
A devotional for Passover by Ryan Karp Most people can’t even say the word. You have…
On the Seder Plate: Maror
As Jewish people, we are implored each year not to simply listen to the retelling as bystanders but to identify with our ancestors as if we were reliving the story. We proclaim, “We were once slaves, and now we are free.” Each year, I consider the awe of this truth.
Zeroa: One Lamb for the Family
Passover is a holiday beautifully rich in symbolism, and according to the esteemed rabbi Gamaliel, the first priority is to speak of the ‘Pesach sacrifice’ – meaning, the lamb. Thus, one of the most significant symbolic items on the Seder table is a lamb shank bone [in Hebrew Zeroa].
On the Seder Plate: Beitzah
During the Passover Seder we eat many symbolic foods. Passover is rich in symbolism. One such item that we partake in is the egg, or in Hebrew, beitzah.
Easter and Passover: Is There a Connection?
Just as Israelites in ancient Egypt had to apply the blood of the unblemished lamb to the doorpost and lintels of their homes, so people today must apply the blood of the unblemished Lamb to the doorposts and lintels of their hearts.