Mendel Bluming | Blogger

In every English version of the Haggadah that I have seen, there is one word that is always translated incorrectly. When listing the Ten Plagues that smote the Egyptians, second one in Hebrew is called Tzefardeya. This is always translated as Frogs. But the original Hebrew is in the singular. The translation should be Frog. Now indeed, it is a little awkward to translate it literally. One frog hopping around does not seem like much of a plague. And to be fair, in many languages the singular form can denote a group, so perhaps Frog can mean Frogs. But there must be a reason why the Haggadah calls this plague the plague of a frog. Lice is in plural, so why is frog singular? The talmudic tradition answers that actually, the plague of frogs started with one single frog. A large frog emerged from the Nile River. The Egyptians saw it, and knowing that Moses had warned them there would be a plague of frogs, attacked the giant frog with sticks. As they struck the frog, it started ...

The key to the powerful treasure of the Seder is in the Four Questions On all other nights we don’t dip in but tonight we do, twice... Some of us go through life without ever being present. We may be sitting in one place, but our mind is elsewhere. We are constantly focusing on what needs to happen next, or where we would rather be, and never experiencing the moment for what it is. Hold on I’ve got to grab this call and get to this text, I’ll be right with you… We can miss out on the magic of today, simply because we are distracted. Tonight will be different. Tonight we will immerse ourselves in the moment, and be totally transfixed by the Seder and its message. We will dip ourselves entirely in the words of the Haggadah.  Not once but twice - in time and in mind we will be fully present at the Seder to find  freedom by remembering who we are and where we are going and what this life is all about…. Menachem M Bluming & Chabad.org