JTS Celebrates Passover

Passover is a time to gather with family and friends and celebrate our people's journey out of Egypt.

As we come together around the seder table, we take part in traditional rituals and ask four questions to which we attach new meaning each year.

To all, we say hag sameah!

Torah Commentary and Translations

Torah Commentary 5763, 5765, 5766, 5769, 5770, 5771 Translations Parashah (Day 1) Parashah (Day 2) Parashah (Shabbat Hol Hamoed) Parashah (Day 7) Parashah (Day 8) Maftir (All Days) Haftarah (Day 1) Haftarah (Day 2) Haftarah (Shabbat Hol Hamoed) Haftarah (Day 7) Haftarah (Day 8)

Passover Resources From The Library

Learn more about the Prato Haggadah (ca. 1300), one of the oldest of all illuminated Spanish Haggadot and one of the few unfinished illuminated Hebrew manuscripts. Explore the Prato Haggadah page by page via The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary's interactive digital portal.

With the largest collection of Hebraica and Judaica in the Western Hemisphere, The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary has a wealth of resources to help celebrate Passover, including more than 3,000 Haggadot.

The selections below on Rabbinic, Religious, and Historical Books, CDs and DVDs, and Resources for Children, were curated from The Library's vast collection and we invite you to visit The Library to explore them in depth.

Rabbinic, Religious, and Historical Books:

CDs and DVDs:

Resources for Children:

Jonathan Klawans (LC '91) provides this essay, originally published in Biblical Archaeology Review, entitled "Was the Last Supper a Passover Seder? Probably Not!"

The article picks up where earlier work by Baruch Bokser (z"l) leaves off. Even if the Last Supper was not a Seder, Jewish and Christian celebrations of Passover and Easter are intricately connected, in surprising ways.

Naomi Graetz (Seminary College '66) presents "A Passover Triptych." Originally published in The Women's Seder Sourcebook, Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, Tara Mohr, Catherine Spector (editors) (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2003): 164–166.

Enjoy a list of Passover melodies and songs from Hazzan Jack Chomsky (HL '82) who serves at Congregation Tifereth Israel in Columbus, Ohio.

Two quilts made by Heather Stoltz (GS '04), founder of Sewingstories.com:

Miriam (approx 35" x 45") This quilt, made from both hand painted and commercial fabrics, shows Miriam and the Israelites rejoicing in song after crossing the Reed Sea.

Nisan 5766 (April 2006) (approx. 8.5" x 11") Part of my Journal Quilt Series, this piece is about April 2006. During that month, of course, much of the focus is on Passover, the holiday when we celebrate our freedom from slavery in Egypt. My quilt depicts the splitting of the Reed Sea, through which the Israelites were able to escape Pharaoh's wrath. Although this passage is cause for much celebration, it will be a long forty years in the desert before they see the Promised Land. In my own life, I felt as though I passed through a great obstacle by making the decision to relocate and find a new career that month. I knew that I was moving in the right direction, but I also knew that the period of transition would be long and difficult.

Hametz Removal Guide and Selling Your Hametz at JTS

A guide for removing hametz for Passover from the Rabbinical Assembly.

Mekhirat Hametz—Selling Hametz Before Passover

The Gabbaim in the Women's League Seminary Synagogue and Stein Chapel will be available immediately after services from Monday, March 28th through Shaharit on Thursday, April 14th to arrange to sell your hametz.

They will also be available Monday, April 4th from 12:15–1:15 p.m. in the Dining Hall, and Tuesday, April 5th from 8:30–10:00 a.m. in the front lobby of JTS.

Creating Lively Seders

Dr. David Arnow graduated phi beta kappa from Brandeis University and earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Boston University in 1982. No longer practicing, Dr. Arnow has been an activist in the Jewish community and a writer for many years. Dr. Arnow's many articles on issues of Jewish interest have appeared in Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, Judaism, Journal of Jewish Communal Service, Contemporary Judaism, Moment Magazine, Tikkun, Journal of Israeli History, and numerous Jewish newspapers. Listen to a lecture on "Creating Lively Seders," and read the program brochure from this interesting discussion.

Dr. Arnow is the author of the new volume of Creating Lively Passover Seders: A Sourcebook of Engaging Tales, Texts & Activities, Second Edition, published in 2011 and coeditor of and a contributor to My People's Passover Haggadah, 2008. More information and additional resources for Passover can be found at Lively Seders.

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