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Like the holiday of Sukkot, the intermediary days of
Passover are known as Chol HaMoed (festival weekdays) and are imbued with
a semi-festive status. It is a time for family outings and picnic lunches
of matzo, hardboiled eggs, fruits and vegetables and Passover treats such
as macaroons and homemade candies. The prohibition against eating leavened
food products and regular flour during Passover results in the increased consumption
of potatoes, eggs and oil in addition to fresh milk and cheeses, fresh meat
and chicken, and fresh fruit and vegetables. To make a "Passover cake,"
recipes call for potato starch or "Passover cake flour" (made from
finely granulated matzo) instead of regular flour, and a large amount of eggs
(8 and over) to achieve fluffiness. Cookie recipes use matzo farfel (broken
bits of matzo) or ground nuts as the base. For families with Eastern European
backgrounds, borsht, a soup made with beets, is a Passover tradition. Some
hotels, resorts, and even cruise ships across America, Europe and Israel also
undergo a thorough housecleaning and import of Passover foodstuffs to make
their premises "kosher for Pesach", with the goal of attracting
families for a week-long vacation. Besides their regular accommodations and
on-site recreational facilities, these hotels assemble a package of lectures
given by a "rabbi in residence," children's activities, and tours
to entertain Passover guests. Each meal is a demonstration of the chefs' talents
in turning the basic foodstuffs of Passover into a culinary feast. |
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Passover is probably the best known of the Jewish holidays,
mostly because it ties in with Christian history (the Last Supper was apparently
a Passover seder), and because a lot of its observances have been reinterpreted
by Christians as Messianic and signs of Jesus. Passover begins on the 15th
day of the Jewish month of Nissan. It is the first of the three major festivals
with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Shavu'ot
and Sukkot). Agriculturally, it represents the beginning of the harvest season
in Israel, but little attention is paid to this aspect of the holiday. The
primary observances of Passover are related to the Exodus from Egypt after
400 years of slavery. This story is told in Exodus, Ch. 1-15. Many of the
Passover observances are instituted in Chs. 12-15.
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The name "Passover" refers to the fact that G-d "passed over" the houses of
the Jews when he was slaying the firstborn of Egypt. In Hebrew, it is known
as Pesach (that "ch" is pronounced as in the Scottish "loch"), which is based
on the Hebrew root meaning "pass over". The holiday is also referred to as
Chag he-Aviv (the Spring Festival), Chag ha-Matzoth (the Festival of Matzahs),
and Zeman Herutenu (the Time of Our Freedom) (again, all with those Scottish
"ch"s). Probably the most significant observance related to Passover involves
the removal of chametz (leaven; sounds like "hum it's" with that Scottish
ch) from our homes. This commemorates the fact that the Jews leaving Egypt
were in a hurry, and did not have time to let their bread rise. It is also
a symbolic way of removing the "puffiness" (arrogance, pride) from our souls. |
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Chametz includes anything made from the five major grains (wheat, rye, barley,
oats and spelt) that has not been completely cooked within 18 minutes after
coming into contact with water. Traditional Jews of Ashkenazic background
also avoid rice, corn, peanuts, and legumes (beans) as if they were chametz.
All of these items have been used to make bread, thus use of them was prohibited
to avoid any confusion. Such additional items are referred to as "kitniyos."
We may not eat chametz during Passover; we may not even own it or derive benefit
from it. We may not even feed it to our pets or cattle. All chametz, including
utensils used to cook chametz, must either be disposed of or sold to a non-Jew.
The process of cleaning the home of all chametz in preparation for Passover
is an enormous task. To do it right, you must spend several days scrubbing
everything down, going over the edges of your stove and fridge with a toothpick
and a Q-Tip, covering all surfaces that come in contact with foil or shelf-liner,
etc., etc., etc. After the cleaning is completed, the morning before the seder,
a formal search of the house for chametz is undertaken, and any remaining
chametz is burned. |
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The grain product we eat during Passover is called matzah. Matzah is unleavened
bread, made simply from flour and water and cooked very quickly. This is the
bread that the Jews made for their flight from Egypt. We have come up with
many inventive ways to use matzah; it is available in a variety of textures
for cooking: matzah flour (finely ground), matzah meal (coarsely ground),
matzah farfel (little chunks, used as a noodle substitute), and full-sized
matzahs (about 10 inches square, a bread substitute). The day before Passover
is the fast of the firstborn, a minor fast for all firstborn males, commemorating
the fact that the firstborn Jewish males in Egypt were not killed during the
final plague. |
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On the first night of Passover (first two nights for traditional Jews outside
Israel), we have a special family meal filled with ritual to remind us of
the significance of the holiday. This meal is called a seder, from a Hebrew
root word meaning "order." It is the same root from which we derive the word
"siddur" (prayer book). There is a specific set of information that must be
covered in a specific order. This is the seder. An overview of a traditional
seder is included later in this page. Passover lasts for seven days (eight
days outside of Israel). The first and last days of the holiday (first two
and last two outside of Israel) are days on which no work is permitted. See
Extra Day of Holidays for more information. Work is permitted on the intermediate
days. These intermediate days on which work is permitted are referred to as
Chol Ha-Mo'ed, as are the intermediate days of Sukkot.
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