The Seder, the Sorrow and The Simchah

MESSAGE TO OUR READERS

It is with gratitude to Hashem and much satisfaction that we present this special eleven-section Pesach issue.

Much thought and an enormous amount of work went into to trying to provide important reading material for readers of every age and interest that reflect serious contemporary events.

On Pesach we celebrate not only the miracles we merited in Mitzrayim and the splitting of the sea, but the miracles we experienced throughout the generations. One of the greatest miracles of all is the miracle of our survival.

In order to try to comprehend the magnitude of this miracle, we must educate ourselves about the exiles of past and the present.

In this issue we experience the torment and the sorrow, the enslavement and the bondage, as well as the rising up from the ashes and the rebuilding.

Among the numerous supplements included in this issue are separate magazines dedicated to two seminal events in our history: The saga of the Marranos — from the days of the inquisition until today, and the “Beyond the Ghetto Walls,” marking the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. In both these supplemental magazines we lift the curtain on often misunderstood eras and they will serve as a crucial educational tool in bringing to life the heroes and the despots and separating fact from fiction.

Some readers may wonder, how does this supplement enhance our simchas Yom Tov? The answer is actually quite simple. Just as we have the mitzvah of “v’samachta b’chagecha,” we have the mitzvah of “v’higadeta l’vincha.” It is our duty to talk to our children about Yetzias Mitzrayim and the birth of the Jewish nation; it is similarly our duty to talk to our children and to celebrate the rebirth of the Jewish nation out of the ashes of the Holocaust.

Our weekly Inyan and Kinyan magazines, combined in this special issue, will provide hours of enjoyable and enlightening reading. Adults who seek relaxing, lighter reading will doubtless turn to our story supplement

As it does every Yom Tov, the Places to Go supplement will help families find sites to visit on Chol Hamoed.

For the youngsters, there is of course Binyan magazine, as well as a special Binyan story supplement.

In these tumultuous days, the hearts and minds of many of our readers are worried about the ongoing, painful happenings in Eretz Yisrael. In response to a flood of letters and inquiries from our readers, we present in the “A” section of this issue a special feature tracing the history of the the bnei yeshivos and the military draft from 1947 until today.

We reached out to leading English speaking Rabbanim residing in Eretz Yisrael and present their views. We also interviewed chareidi politicians from both UTJ and Shas for their thoughts and opinions.

In the “C” section, we present two special messages from Harav Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik, shlita, Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivas Brisk in Yerushalayim; and Harav Shmuel Auerbach, shlita, Rosh Yeshivah of Maalas HaTorah, in which they issue a clarion call to world Jewry over the threat to Torah learning in Eretz Yisrael.

As we prepare to fulfill the mitzvah of “v’higadeta l’vincha,” on a night dedicated to our children, we would like to bring to the attention of our readers two crucially important features: one on breaking the stigma, the other on children safety.

In the month of Nisan our ancestors merited redemption, and in the month of Nisan we will merit as well. May we all merit to write, publish, and read this paper next year in a rebuilt Yerushalayim.

To Read The Full Story

Are you already a subscriber?
Click to log in!