Once more: Passover (Pesach) lasts eight days, seven if you’re Reform or live in Israel. The dietary restrictions are in place the whole time. Also, on the second night, we started “counting the Omer,” (Sefirat HaOmer), which we will do daily for a total of 49 days, until the holiday of Shavuot. This commemorates the Temple offerings of an “omer” of grain as commanded in Leviticus 23:15–16, which was in the 2nd day Torah reading. To help you keep track, there are online Omer counters such as The Homer Calendar (favored by my husband) as well as apps like Chabad’s Omer Counter.
The Sabbath in the middle of Pesach (i.e., not the 1st, 2nd, 7th, or 8th day) is called Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach and it has its own Torah and haftarah readings, as do the 7th and 8th days. Here is your crib sheet:
| April 27, Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach | Exodus 33:12 – 34:26 Moses sees the back of God then carves two more tablets. Renewal of the covenant. Brief texts re: Sabbath, holidays, boiling a kid in its mother’s milk. | Num. 28:19-25 Holiday sacrifices. Same as first two days minus v. 16-18. | Ezekiel 36:37 – 37:14 [or 37:1-14] Valley of the dry bones vision. Resurrection imagery. |
| April 29, 7th day Pesach | Exodus 13:17-15:26 The splitting of the Re(e)d Sea, the Song at the Sea. | Num. 28:19-25 Ditto | II Samuel 22:1-51, David’s song of thanks for rescue from Saul et al. Also the Haftarah for Ha’azinu in the fall. Contains Psalm 18. |
| April 30, 8th day Pesach | Deuteronomy 15:19-16:17 Consecration of the first born. Holidays: Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot. | Num. 28:19-25 Double ditto | Isaiah 10:32 – 12:6 Messianic vision, which we’ve been leading up to since Shabbat Shekalim seven weeks ago. |
It’s a pity that the holiday is often overlooked after its first day or two. There is a lot of good stuff in the assigned readings besides the usual texts about sacrifices that we read on other holidays as well; for instance, the first scroll reading for the eighth day is also read on Shemini Atzeret and second day of Shavuot. If you step back, you see how the Passover readings progress from the first Passover and the Exodus on the first day (Exodus 12:21-51) up to the redemption of the messianic age on the eighth (Isaiah 10:32 – 12:6). In between, we read about the renewal of the covenant after the Golden Calf incident; Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones, teaching that physical resurrection is worthless without spiritual resurrection; and the splitting of the Red (better, Reed) Sea, accompanied by a joyous song, the Song at the Sea (Exodus 15:1-21).
There is a lot of singing on these latter days of the holiday, on the 7th day, the Song at the Sea and David’s song of thanks and, on Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach, the Song of Songs (Shir HaShirim), also known as The Song of Solomon. It is chanted using a melody that is also used for Ruth on Shavuot and Ecclesiastes on Sukkot.
This time of year, as spring seems to come and go, I think of Chapter 2, verses 11-12:
11For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtle*
Is heard in our land.
*Turtle is an archaic word for turtledove.
Yes, that translation is from one of the King James versions. It’s beautiful and scans nicely. In 2001, I received a copy of The Song of Songs: A New Translation by Ariel Bloch and Chana Bloch (paperback). At a seminar, one of the authors related the difficulties in translating accurately without hurting either the poetry or the lyrical eroticism. There are dozens and dozens of and musical compositions based on verses from the Song of Songs, written from the 12th century to the 21st. I know some of them, but I have just scratched the surface. So far.
Shabbat shalom, chag sameach, and zei gezunt,
Irene
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aish.com, Jewlarious
A little boy once returned home from Hebrew school and his father asked, “What did you learn today?”
He answered, “The Rabbi told us how Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt.”
“How?”
The boy said “Moses was a big strong man and he beat Pharaoh up. Then while he was down, he got all the people together and ran towards the sea. When he got there, he has the Corps of Engineers build a huge pontoon bridge. Once they got on the other side, they blew up the bridge while the Egyptians were trying to cross.”
The father was shocked. “Is that what the Rabbi taught you?”
The boy replied, “No. But you’d never believe the story he DID tell us!”
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A Simpsons Exodus (Last sent out in 2019.)
This is an excerpt of a “Simpsons” episode, “Simpsons Bible Stories,” written by Tim Long, Larry Doyle, and Matt Selman that aired on April 4, 1999, a version of the Exodus with Milhouse as Moses and Principal Skinner as Pharaoh. At this point, Moses/Milhouse and Lisa have been imprisoned in a pyramid by Chief Wiggum.
Milhouse and Lisa climb the spikes, like a ladder, until they reach the top of the pyramid. They remove the capstone and slide down the side, blowing a rams’ horn.
“Our time has come!” Milhouse shouts. “Follow me to freedom!”
Meanwhile, Bart is chiseling “I will not deface,” as a rebus, into the blackboard. He hears the commotion and runs outside.
Wiggum runs into Skinner’s chamber to tell him the children of Israel are escaping. Skinner is unconcerned until he is reminded that this would leave him without a labor force.
Meanwhile, the children have reached the shore of the Red Sea.
Lisa: Oh, we’ll never be able to swim that far.
[Skinner and his army of chariots appear on the horizon]
Bart: Oy, caramba!
Milhouse: [throws down his staff] Screw this; I’m converting. [to the sky] Save us, o mighty Ra!
Lisa: Hey, cut that out! I have an idea.
[shortly later, as clouds gather, the children are lined up at the latrines]
Okay, Moses — lead your people.
Milhouse: Flush!
[the children do so, in unison. The Red Sea is soon drained]
It’s a miracle! I performed a miracle! I’m a genius!
Lisa exhorts everyone to cross. Skinner sees what has happened and commands his troops into the “temporarily dry sea.” As soon as they are part of the way across, the water returns, swamping them all. The men surface and begin horsing around like kids in a pool. Lou complains that Eddie is splashing him, but Wiggum just tells him to splash Eddie back.
Safely on the other side of the sea, the children cheer.
Milhouse: Well, Lisa, we’re out of Egypt. So, what’s next for the Israelites? Land of milk and honey?
Lisa: [consulting a scroll] Hmm, well, actually it looks like we’re in for forty years of wandering the desert.
Milhouse: Forty years? But after that, it’s clear sailing for the Jews, right?
Lisa: [nervously] Uh-huh-hum, more or less — hey, is that manna? [the children cheer and run off into the distance]
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https://upjoke.com/counting-jokes
Counting Jokes
- When counting down, I can’t stand negative numbers.
I stop at nothing to avoid them. - A retired boxer goes to see his doctor because he’s having trouble sleeping. “Have you tried counting sheep?” the doctor asks.
“I tried,” the boxer explains, “but every time I get to the number nine, I stand up.” - I’ve been counting calories.
I’m trying to beat my high score. - Counting binary numbers
is as easy as 01 10 11. - “Clever Hans” was a horse that could count. But you know what’s more impressive than a counting horse?
…a spelling bee.
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https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/spring-quotes
Quotes about Spring
- O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind? Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love! Sitting Bull
- Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’ Robin Williams
- In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours. Mark Twain
- The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring. Bernard Williams
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Torah Portion Humor Weekly 
Shalom
So tell me, Irene, what happens if you can’t get milk that’s labeled kosher for Passover?
for thelife of me I don’t see what the difference is.
Milk is kosher for Passover if you buy it before the holiday and don’t open it until the holiday. After that, it has to be certified. The explanation didn’t make a lot of sense to me, so I’ve forgotten it.