Nissan 9, 5772 · April 1, 2012 | Editor's Note:
| Dear Readers, At the Seder we will read of four sons: one wise, one wicked, one simple and one who does not know how to ask. These represent the four types of people-all of us-who attend the Seder. Now, it's easy to label people. To stick them into a box, to call one person wise and another simple. But no one ever really fits so neatly. We are complex, and constantly changing and growing. We are often a combination of these four aspects, which is why another way of understanding the four sons as four individuals is to understand them as four aspects within each and every one of us. There is a beautiful teaching that cheirut, the Hebrew word for "freedom," is an acronym for these four sons. The Hebrew letter chet is for chacham, the wise son; the reish is for rasha, the wicked son; the vav is for v'she-eino yodei'a lish'ol, the one who doesn't know how to ask; and the tav is for tam, the simple son. When all four are viewed as a composite, when we learn to understand that people are much deeper than they first appear, we can truly experience freedom-freedom from paralyzing misconceptions and stereotypes. In fact, in order to be free, we must hone our ability to see that we and others are much more than we first perceive. Best wishes for a liberating and joyous Passover, Sara Esther Crispe,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team |
 | By Sara Esther Crispe |  |
|  | | | A Passover Insight
We have to relive it, experience it: the pain of it, the miracle of it, the way we hit rock bottom and realized that we had no one to turn to except for G-d...
By Elana Mizrahi |  |  | | | From traditional to gourmet to low-fat and sugar-free, this section has everything you need for delicious food the entire week of Passover. You will love these recipes so much, you might just find that you use them throughout the year!
|  | | | | Appreciating the Process
Passover is a celebration of what could be considered a moot point. What good does it do me to get out of one prison, if I'm in a different one now?
by Shalvi Weissman | | | | ALSO THIS WEEK ON THEJEWISHWOMAN.ORG: | | | "You take on way too much." Jab. "You can hardly cope with what you have." Jab-jab. "You're hanging by a thread, Girlfriend." Uppercut. "You are failing." Ouch . . .
By Sarah Zadok | | | | | Making Passover Personal
I think that I've had the ebbs and flows of this feeling throughout my life. Sometimes I feel so close to G-d that I can almost touch Him; other times I feel like more of an empty shell, rather than someone with a G-dly soul . . .
By Angela Goldstein | | | | | A Belt, Shoe and Stick
"Getting out of Egypt" means I become consciously aware and free myself of these limitations, living the infinite life I'm capable of. The seder is a template for getting out. That means we must continuously re-enact it not only in each generation, but each day we have the blessing to be here on planet earth...
By Shimona Tzukernik | | | | | A Passover Lesson
The thing we hate most about clich�s is the fact that they are so often true, especially the ones we wish were the opposite of the truth. There's an old saying that It is easier to take a Jew out of exile than to take the sense of exile out of the Jew...
By Chana Kroll | | | | | Food allergies still do bring lots of challenges, as many of the traditional foods eaten on Passover contain one or more of the Big Eight. We try to have fun in our house, but at the same time get back to the basics with simple ingredients . . .
By Sara Atkins | | | | | |
Featured Judaica:  The Passover Haggadah
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