Pre-Passover Rabbi-in-Residence with Rabbi Dr. Joshua Kulp

April 12, 2024 - April 14, 2024, 7:00 pm - 11:00 am

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About Our Visiting Rabbi

Rabbi Dr. Joshua Kulp is the Senior Scholar at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He has a PhD from Bar-Ilan and semichah from Hadar. He is the author of three books, as well as the English mishnah commentary on Sefaria. He lives in Modiin, Israel.

Friday Evening, April 12

7:00 pm Friday Evening Services Chapel, Livestream
7:45 pm Community Shabbat Dinner Gym  RSVP: https://wjcenter.shulcloud.com/form/kulpdinner2024.html
8:30 pm Lecture and Dessert Activity Center

The Cat that Ate the Mouse
The songs we sing at the end of the Haggadah are among the most beloved songs in the Jewish songbook. But where do they come from? In this fun talk, we will look at versions of these songs that come from the Cairo Geniza, Cochin India and Majorca (island off coast of Spain). And we will see a version of the Haggadah in which a mouse eats a cat! How about that!

Saturday Morning, April 13

8:30 am Torah Talk Library

Starving at the Seder: Why Do We Begin the Seder with Such a Measly Appetizer?
Parsley/Celery/Boiled potatoes and then two hours of talking? In this discussion we will look at texts that explain how it came to be that our seder began in such a way. As we will see, this small issue opens a window into understanding the history of this strange meal.

Saturday Evening, April 13

6:30 pm Congregational Mincha Chapel, Livestream
7:00 pm Seudat Shlishit and Lecture Activity Center RSVP: https://wjcenter.shulcloud.com/form/kulppassover2024.html
8:00 pm Congregational Ma’ariv Chapel, Livestream

A Game of Hide and Seek: Hiding Hametz Just to Find It
The Pesah ritual kicks into full gear on the evening of Pesah when we hide bread all over the house and then go and look for it with a candle, feather and bowl. But this is strange–why are we hiding hametz around our house when we just cleaned the house! We will look at the history of this practice and explore side issues such as searching with a flashlight and leaving the lights on during the search.

Sunday Morning, April 14

10:00 am Brunch and Lecture Activity Center RSVP: https://wjcenter.shulcloud.com/form/2024-dr.kulppassoversirsundaybrunch.html

Celebrating Seder in the Shadow of War and the Light of Redemption: Haggadot from the Founding of the State of Israel
Many people have called the October 7 War Israel’s second Independence War. Israel, certainly for the first time in over 50 years, and maybe for the first time since its inception, perceives itself as fighting for its very existence. So what is the message that we bring to our seder tables this year? How do we find meaning in the Haggadah in times of existential war? We will look at Haggadot composed during WWII for Jewish soldiers in the British army, Haggadot for Israelis soldiers from the Independence War and Haggadot from kibbutzim that helped found Israel in the 1940’s and 1950’s, all in an attempt to find inspiration and meaning from their experiences.

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