 
Rabbi Staller's Pesach Prep Resource List
In preparation for a particularly challenging Pesach, between COVID and the unusual schedule of a Saturday night Seder, I’m including some resources early to help get us prepared for Pesach: - I encourage everyone to please review this schedule of events surrounding Pesach. Managing the needs of Shabbat and Pesach are particularly challenging this year, so it is essential that everyone read this chart well in advanced of Pesach and reach out to me with any questions. We will have a Shiur the week of Pesach to prepare the speciifc details.
- Similarly, my colleague, Rabbanit Leah Sarna, has produced an extremely useful Minimalist Passover Guide that walks one through everything needed to host their own Passover. Highly recommended.
- Similarly, for those running a Seder for the first time, feel free to consult Jeff’s Pesach Essentials.
- For the sale of Chametz, there are a couple options. I will be selling Chametz with MTJ and the Lower East Side community. Here is a Chametz Sale Form. Don’t wait til last minute. This process takes some time, so don’t get caught right before Pesach. Alternatively, if that is too complicated, you can sell your Chametzonline through Chabad. Halakhically, that is not my preference, but if that is easier for people, it is acceptable.
- Please consult this guide for advice on how to Kasher your kitchen. If a particular question or circumstance arises, please reach out to me with any questions.
- Consult the OU Passover Guide for general questions, such as which items require special Passover certification and which don’t, or reach out to me.
- The Shul will be collecting charity for the Mitzvah of Ma’ot Chitim, the Passover commandment to ensure that the poor in your neighborhood are taken care of before engaging in your own Seder. Donations can be made to the Shul here, just specify that it is for Maot Chitim. The money will be dedicated specifically to causes focused on feeding the hungry locally in New York, such as the Bowery Mission and Masbia Soup Kitchen. Unless specified otherwise, we will assume the entire donation is intended for charity, so if you intend to also donate to the Shul, please specify.
- Stay tuned for Pesach Programming in the Shul! With the vaccine rollout being widened, we are hopeful that in addition to our usual services we will be able to provide some form of safe first night Seder for any who need in the community. Stay up to date with the announcements, and reach out if you need any help.
Because many of us are not able to attend shul in person, the Rabbi has agreed to share his shabbat morning drashah in advance. Here is the first half of it. To read the full drashah, click here and it will take you to what will become a rich archive of all of Rabbi Staller's drashot.
Parshah Vayikra
Rabbis around the world are doing their best this Shabbat to do anything they can to avoid talking about this week’s Parasha. From Pesach to next Purim and everything in between, any topic is fair game when we get to Sefer VaYikra. For almost the entirety of its third book, the Torah shifts from narrative and gives us long lists of sacrificial and ritual laws, describing the different categories of animal and food sacrifices and the minutiae of the details of Temple service– hardly as exciting of a story as the Exodus or Mount Sinai. But while the laws of sacrifices may be esoteric or not necessarily intuitive, I’m always excited to talk about them as an oft neglected part of the Torah that, despite not practically applying nowadays, carries many important lessons for all of us.
Indeed, just a look at the various categories of animal sacrifices provides important insight into the different modes and goals of service and worship we strive to accomplish. The Thanksgiving offering reminds us of the need to foster gratitude towards God and others in our life, the holiday Chagigah teaches us the celebratory festivities that are called for upon a holiday, and the repentant sin-offering reminds us that God’s door is always open for return. (For a more indepth look at the various categories of sacrifices and their conceptual implications, tune in to the Shabbat HaGadol Drashah this Wednesday!) But with regards to this last category– the sin offerings that are required to be brought after one violates certain commandments unintentionally– we see a surprising redundancy. In addition to the Korban Chatat, the sin offering, the Torah also details a Korban Asham, a guilt offering, which is brought in response to committing certain other sins than those that compel a Korban Chatat. I can understand why I need to distinguish between a Peace Offering and a Sin Offering– those two Korbanot accomplish entirely different goals. But why should I need a Sin Offering and a Guilt Offering?
Of course, we are not the first Jews to note this difficulty, as the Ramban in his commentary on the Torah also is puzzled by the seeming sacrificial redundancy. The Ramban asks our question, wondering why we would need a Sin Offering and a Guilt Offering? At first, the Ramban notes that these two offerings are brought for different sins, and he suggests that perhaps different severities of sin require different levels of repentance. Thus, perhaps the Asham and the Chatat represent two different levels of sin offering depending on the quality of the sin you committed, and the amount of repentance that requires. Yet, while that answer sounds nice, the Ramban ultimately rejects it, and for good reason. The Ramban points out that the Metzorah– one who is stricken with leprosy– has to bring both a Chatat and an Asham as part of their repentance! If these two sacrifices were just two alternative sin-offerings based on the sin, why should anyone ever have to bring both!? ...continued
Click HERE to read the Rabbi's full Drasha |
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