RSS
Pesach is Personal
An image from “Family at the Seder,” from the 1935 Haggadah by artist Arthur Szyk (b. 1894, Lodz, Poland—d. 1951, New Canaan, CT). Photo: Courtesy of Irvin Ungar
JNS.org – Passover is less than two weeks away, and it’s always interesting to see the many holiday customs that are observed by different communities. They are as different as we are. While the basic observances are pretty much universal, everybody seems to have their own unique way of celebrating. Each family has distinct traditions and customs handed down from generation to generation—not only Ashkenazi and Sephardi, Chassidic or Lithuanian, but every individual family. Whether it’s how to find the afikomen or our favorite seder songs, we all seem to have definite views on how things ought to be done.
Sometimes, our personal Passover practices can be rather outlandish. Take the woman who does not actually keep kosher year-round but during Pesach, she “changes over.” This isn’t logical, but who am I to be dismissive of a Jew’s desire to connect to God and keep a mitzvah? I can only hope that she will “change over” permanently and keep kosher for the rest of the year as well.
Historically, most families were stricter on Pesach than the rest of the year. The most religiously observant people underwent stringencies they never observed at other times. When I was growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., we never ate out during the eight days of the holiday. Not even at the homes of our most religious friends or people we ate with on Shabbat or Yom Tov. Why not? I suppose it was because every family has its own restrictions on Pesach. This one does this and the other does that. This fellow won’t eat this product and the other doesn’t touch that vegetable. We all respected each other’s right to be extreme or meshuggah frum on Pesach.
But why?
There are two reasons behind this special scrupulousness on Pesach. One is practical; the other is halachic and somewhat technical.
Practically speaking, we need to be stricter and take additional precautions on Passover because foods that are perfectly kosher during the rest of the year are for this one week strictly forbidden. Bread and biscuits, chocolate cake and challah, pizza and pasta, wafers and whisky may be 100% kosher and deliciously edible every week of the year, but during this one week, they become absolutely treif. We could easily make an innocent mistake and take a bite of any of these foods if available and within easy reach. So, we make sure that the house is thoroughly cleaned and that all chametz is locked away. Thus, no innocent mistakes can be made.
Then there is the halachic reason. You may have heard of the concept of bittul or “nullification.” This is a principle of kashrut that holds there are times when, for example, a small amount of milk becomes mixed into a larger amount of meat. The milk will be overwhelmed and “nullified” by the meat, and usually, the forbidden mixture may still be kosher. I hasten to add that these issues must be addressed by a qualified rabbi only.
Say you are preparing your Shabbat meal, and your domestic chef slips on a banana peel and accidentally spills her milk tea into your pot of chicken soup. Do not throw out the soup! Call your rabbi. Depending on the circumstances, he may be able to help save your Friday-night dinner from disaster.
You know the story of Tevye der Milchiger? He was the milkman in the shtetl. Well, one day, the unthinkable happened. The caterer was preparing a wedding feast, and one of his workers slipped on the proverbial banana peel and his milk tea went flying into a vat of meat. Can you imagine the calamity if there were no dinner for the hundreds of hungry wedding guests? The rabbi of the shtetl was called in to deal with this most serious halachic question—a very grave shaaloh indeed.
The wise old rabbi called Tevye into his private study. He closed the door tightly and whispered into the milkman’s ear: “Tevye, tell me the truth, how much water do you pour into your milk?”
“Rebbe, you would accuse me of cheating my customers?!”
“Tevye, it’s just me and you here behind closed doors. Please, it’s very important that I know. How much water?”
“Rebbe, efsher ah bissel, ‘maybe only a little bit.’”
“Tevye, I beg of you, your secret is safe with me. Please tell me the truth. How much water do you normally add to your milk?”
What can I tell you? By the time the rabbi extracted the whole truth from Tevye, he was satisfied that the meat for the wedding was not only strictly kosher but that Tevye’s milk was probably pareve!
Still, during Passover, the kashrut concept of bittul does not apply. Chametz is such a strict prohibition that it can never be overwhelmed, no matter how big the pot may be. Even an infinitesimal amount of chametz will render the biggest pot of Passover food absolutely forbidden.
Thus, we must be as stringent as possible to keep even the smallest piece of chametz far and away from us and our families. Hence, our extreme strictness on Pesach.
Some people ask why we need so many kosher-for-Passover products today when in the good old days, we never had all those options, and it was just fine. Others insist on every convenience over Pesach to make it more enjoyable. Still others will go to a beautiful hotel—in Israel or some exotic destination—where every luxury is laid on and it is truly their “Festival of Freedom.”
To each our own. Whether it is our unique childhood memories of fathers or zaydes conducting a traditional seder, or the seder songs of our youth that still play on our soul strings, the dedication to Passover is alive in Jewish hearts. Thus it should be for the festival that celebrates the very birth of our nation.
While it may be our national birthday and the very beginning of Jewish peoplehood, Pesach is also a very personal Yom Tov. We each celebrate it in our own ways and styles, with our own special memories and even our own curious idiosyncrasies as well.
I wish all my readers a chag kasher v’sameach!
The post Pesach is Personal first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.
Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
The post Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel

People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.
At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.
Mass prayers were later held in the square.
State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.
“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.
There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
TRUMP THREAT
Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.
Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.
A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.
According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.
Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.
Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.
The post Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival

Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
i24 News – Chants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.
One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.
This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.
The post Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival first appeared on Algemeiner.com.