Rabbi's Message
Rabbi Galperin became the rabbi at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in June, 2009. He brings to our synagogue the youthful vigour and passionate beliefs of the Chabad movement. Rabbi Galperin is available to officiate at weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, funerals and other life events.
A Pesach of Fives!
Pesach is a holiday of Fours - the Four cups of wine, the Four questions, and the Four sons. These are based on the Four expressions of Redemption by G-d: I will remove you, I will save you, I will redeem you, I will take you [from Egypt]. The number Four also has great mystical meaning, as the name of G-d is of Four letters
While we celebrate and get caught up in our Fours, drink our cups of wine, ask our questions, and talk to our Four sons; the Wise, the Wicked, the Simple, and the Speechless, we mustn’t forget our other numbers. The Fifth son, the son who does not even know of the Seder and does not participate, is out there waiting for our concern and invitation to join the Seder.
Chabad Headquarters sends pairs of young men every year to visit these Fifth sons, and conduct a Seder for them. They can be found in Bosnia, in India, in the hills of Peru, on the beaches of Spain. The annual Seder in Nepal alone attracts over a thousand backpackers - Israeli Fifth sons!
Windsor has many Fifth sons in our backyard, Men and Women who need their first invitation to a Pesach Seder and Judaism. Why don’t we make this Pesach a Pesach of Fifths and invite the Fifth son to our Pesach Seder? If you know of someone who has yet to experience a Seder, give us a call and we will welcome them with open arms.
May we merit in honor of this gesture to finally greet Elijah the Prophet to whom the Fifth cup is dedicated, who will announce the coming of Moshiach, and see G-d’s fulfillment of the Fifth promise of Redemption: I will bring you in to the Promised Land.
With best wishes for a Kosher and happy Pesach,
Rabbi Sholom Galperin