Month: March 2018

by Rabbi Jeffrey Adler After a tenure of 4 centuries of slavery in Egypt, the time finally came for Israel’s deliverance. Adonai had told Avram during the reaffirmation of His covenant in Genesis 15, that “your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will be enslaved and oppressed 400…

by Rabbi Jeffrey A. Adler “Hodu l’Adonai ki-tov ki l’olam chasdo!”. “Praise Adonai, for He is good, for His lovingkindness endures forever.” So begins the last of the canonical psalms of the grouping called “Hallel”, or “praise”. While all the psalms have some element of praise, these (Psalms 113-118) are specifically recited at the special…

by Rabbi Jeffrey A. Adler Psalm 117, besides being the shortest chapter in the Bible, is another of that special collection of the Psalms known as the “Hallel Psalms”, praise psalms read/recited at special seasons of the Biblical/ Jewish calendar, most notably, Passover. “Hallel” means “praise”, which is the main theme of these great psalms,…