Days of Freedom

The yomim tovim are not merely "holidays," i.e. times to break from the routine of daily life and celebrate some past event, group of people, or societal institution. Rather, each yom tov is distinctively, intrinsically holy, and it is the unique kedushas ha-yom of each yom tov which generates the mitzvos which Hakadosh Baruch Hu commands us to keep that day. Each yom tov, if properly appreciated and taken advantage of, can be a time of unique spiritual growth. This volume collects twenty years (1999-2018) of divrei Torah that provide insight and guidance regarding the obligations and opportunities that we each have during this season of spiritual freedom. We hope that making them available in a sefer will, b'ezras Hashem, help each of us take maximal advantage of the unique opportunities intrinsic to Pesach, Sefira, and Shavuos. The divrei Torah contained herein were originally written by our rebbeim for publication on TorahWeb.org. The realities of the time pressures with which these Torah leaders function on a daily basis result in the divrei Torah on the web site often not being sufficiently edited, missing mareh mekomos, etc. These shortcomings were addressed for the version of the divrei Torah included in this volume.