Author Archives: mstreiffer

Maggid: Telling the Story (A Seder Supplement)

NOTE: The primary purpose of the Pesach Seder is “maggid” – telling the story of the Exodus. According to the Talmud, we are meant to do so by expounding on Deuteronomy’s words of slavery and freedom – “My father was a wandering Aramean.” Here is my attempt for this year to find modern meaning inContinueContinue reading “Maggid: Telling the Story (A Seder Supplement)”

Between Holy and Ordinary (or “Why I Turn Off My Work Email on Shabbat”)

Once we were slaves. Now we are free. Shabbat is Zecher Liy’tziyat Mitzrayim – a reminder of our Exodus from slavery. On Shabbat, we are meant to embrace freedom, to throw off the shackles of the things that enslave us. As a Reform Jew, I take seriously the mitzvah of Shamor et Yom Hashabbat –ContinueContinue reading “Between Holy and Ordinary (or “Why I Turn Off My Work Email on Shabbat”)”

The Power of Jewish Camp (or “Thoughts from a Looong Drive”)

NOTE: This essay was cross posted on the rabbinical blog of Temple Kol Ami. Sitting in traffic on Highway 400, I decide that my six-year-old son has stared long enough at his iPod screen, so I try to make conversation: “So, Yair, what are you looking forward to the most at camp?” We are onContinueContinue reading “The Power of Jewish Camp (or “Thoughts from a Looong Drive”)”