5780 — Purim: Purim and Pesach: So Close and Yet So Far Away

Introduction

On the surface, Purim and Pesach have a number of things in common: 1) we drink four cups of wine on Pesach; we drink ad d’lo yada on Purim. 2) We have a festive meal on Pesach; we have a festive meal on Purim. 3) We remember the story of the enslavement and the exodus on Pesach by telling a story, called the Hagadah; we remember the story of deliverance on Purim, by reading a text called Megillat Esther. 4) We invite those in need to join our seder on Pesach; we give gifts to the poor and portions of food to our friends on Purim. Despite these similarities, Purim and Pesach are dramatically different. In this podcast, Rabbi Meir Schweiger examines those differences and shows how Purim can be seen as a stepping stone to Pesach.

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Credits
Rabbi Meir Schweiger – Faculty Host for Pardes from Jerusalem
Larry Kluger – Creative Consultant
Arlene Harel – Production Coordinator
Adam Titcher – Executive Producer and Director of Digital Media

Meir Schweiger

Rabbi Meir Schweiger taught at Pardes for more than four decades before retiring in 2020. Originally from the Bronx, New York, he made aliyah in 1972. He studied at Yeshiva University, Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh and Yeshivat Har Etzion, received rabbinic ordination in Jerusalem, and later earned an M.Ed. in Teaching Bible from Herzog College.

At Pardes, Meir taught a wide range of subjects including Chumash, Talmud, Halakha and Siddur. He served as Mashgiach Ruhani, guiding the school’s spiritual life through coordinating and supervising tefillot, tiyulim, shabbatonim, and pre-holiday yemei iyun. For more than 10 years, Meir was also the Director of the Pardes Fellows’ Program for returning 2nd year students and the Educational Director of the Pardes Learning Seminar.