Karpas
According to Kabbalah, tibul (dipping) is symbolic of bitul (negation of the self) and both words are made up of the same Hebrew letters. The purpose of dipping one food into another is so that the first food will surrender some of its own taste and “give way” to a more desirable quality found in the flavoring agent.
Ironically, while dipping food suggests surrender for the food, it bears the opposite connotation for the dipper himself! A person usually dips his food into a flavoring agent because he desires a better eating experience.
However, on Pesach, our dipping experience is totally different. Instead of being an expression of culinary expertise, we dip ourselves and emulate the karpas, trying to have our own genuine bitul to Hashem, just as the karpas has bitul to the salt water.
Every day we have a mitzvah to mention Yetzias Mitzraim, so how do we fulfill this mitzvah differently on Pesach?
On a regular day, we just recite the pshat (simple meaning) but on Pesach we have a Seder to tell us that we need more than just pshat – tonight we need a seder (סדר). Samech is for sod, Daled is for derush, and Reish is for remez.
[Sod, derush, and remez were all given to Moshe Rabbeinu, along with the simple pshat, which is why PARDAS (פרדס) im HaCollel is the same numerical value as “Moshe” (משה).]
Kosher by the Numbers
45,052 actual miles flown during 14 flights over 17 days on Rabbi Krinsky’s most recent kosher inspection trip
99.28% of more than 8000 original subscribers continue to receive the OK’s QuickKosher business electronic newsletter
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39,064 number of cell phone minutes used by OK staff in the month of January 2010
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“אתה בחרתנו Atah v’chartonu mikol ha’amim…v’romamtanu mikol ha’l’shonos… You chose us from all the nations… You elevated us…”
Jews make up 0.2% of the world population, but 54% of the world chess champions, 27% of the Nobel physics laureates and 31% of the medicine laureates.
Jews make up 2% of the U.S. population, but 21% of the ivy league student bodies, 26% of the Kennedy Center honorees, 37% of the academy award-winning directors, 38% of those on a recent Business Week list of leading philanthropists, and 51% of the Pulitzer Prize winners for nonfiction.
Israel has more high-tech startups per capita than any other nation on earth, by far. it leads the world in civilian research-anddevelopment spending per capita. it ranks second behind the U.S. in the number of companies listed on the NASDAQ.
Between 1980 and 2000, Egyptians registered 77 patents in the U.S., Saudis registered 171, and Israelis registered 7,652.
After the recent earthquake in Haiti, even though only 8 Israelis were known to be in Haiti during the quake, Israel set up the biggest field hospital in Port-au-Prince, able to treat 500 patients per day.
!מי כעמך ישראל
Mi k’amcha yisroel!