Rabbi Daniel Cohen's Weekly Message: Fwd: Rabbi Cohen's Weekly

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rabbi Cohen <rabbicohen@agudathsholom.org>
Date: Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 4:46 PM
Subject: Rabbi Cohen's Weekly
To: robert.raymond@cas-stamford.org

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RABBI DANIEL COHEN'S WEEKLY MESSAGE

Click here for Rabbi Cohen's Archive of Podcasts

MOST RECENT PODCASTS

"AN EMPTY SEAT AT YOUR SEDER: A SIYUM ON MAKOT"

"OUR EDDIE JACOBSON MOMENT: THE PRE-MIDNIGHT PASOVER MIRACLE (AIPAC REFLECTION)"

Quick Links

NEWRabbi Cohen's Passover Website

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Agudath Sholom Website

New CAS Passover Site Now UPDATED

Pesach marks the birth of the Jewish nation. This year, I decided to give birth to a new idea to spread the joy and the information you need for Passover.
Click here to visit the new site.

Check out the Ask the Rabbi blog for your Passover Q&A. I'll update this as I receive more questions

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Cohen

PASS OVER NO ONE THIS PESACH

Click here to donate to the CAS Passover Fund

In the hours before the seder will start, please consider these three ideas to enhance your Passover experience.

1. The Empty Chair - I remember sedarim as a child, when we would set an empty place for our Soviet Jewish brethren. Fortunately, we are long past the need for that. I know that many have continued this custom, setting aside the empty place for victims of terror attacks in Israel or the Israeli soldiers who are missing in action. Prayer for the MIA's

This year may we have in mind St. Sgt. Ilan Sviatkovsky of Rishon Letzion, and Maj. Eliraz Peretz of Eli (whose brother, Uriel, was killed by Hizbollah in 1998). They were killed by Palestinian terrorists this past Friday night in Gaza. Due to the holiday, their families may only observe an abridged shiva, which has already ended.

2. The Pesach Personality Plays - Yeshiva University produces Pesach to Go Booklets which contain many wonderful ideas. The 2006 version (see http://www.yutorah.org/togo/pesach/articles/Pesach_To-Go_-_5766.pdf) contains a series of Pesach interviews with Biblical personalities as in a talk show which is a great way to create an interactive expereince at the seder. You can even ask the kids to get dressed up or walk through a pan of water, as we do, to reenact the splitting of the Red Sea.

3. The Counting of the Omer - The period of time between Pesach and Shavout affords us not only a opportnity to count the days but to make them count. Sign up for Rabbi Simon Jacobson's omer reminder (www.meaningfullife.com) as he provides new insights into harnessing the capacity of each day for spiritual growth. Bring his insights to the seder on the second night as we begin the counting of the Omer.

Diane and I wish you and your families a happy and healthy Pesach and the fullfilment of the blessings at the end of the retelling of the story of the Exodus -

May G-d enable us to celebrate other festivals in peace and happy in the reconstruction of Jerusalem. May G-d who has brought us from slavery to freedom, from anguish to joy, from mourning to festivity bring us from darkness to great light.

Chag Kasher Vesameach!

Rabbi Daniel Cohen