Happy Passover
I wish I had a ton of time to write in my blog now, but instead this is going to be short and segmented.
Passover is one of the three most important holidays in Judaism. Missing Passover is like missing Christmas for the Christians. This is the time when all Jews, no matter how religious or not religious they are - celebrate the holiday. The story of Passover is way too long to write about, so I won't go into details. The dinner we eat on Passover eve (tonight) is called a Seder. Literally - Order. Because there's a specific order to the dinner. We read from a book called Haggadah and then we eat. We finish the dinner with singing (optional). Some dinners last four hours and some last six hours. It depends how religious you are. But it cannot go less than four hours because of the amount of reading and amount of food that is eaten during the Seder. Four cups of wine are mandatory during the Seder (which is why I couldn't invite my Muslim friends to the dinner, but could invite my Catholic friends instead).
The cooking for Passover typically takes several days. I started on Sunday and have been diligently cooking something every evening since. Today I still have four dishes to make. One involves boiling eggs for ten hours (I always get surprised looks when I mention this dish). When I get a chance I'll have to add in the menu for tonight for your pleasure.
Oh, and the dietary restrictions on Passover are a pain in the @ss! Literally. We're not allowed to eat bread or anything made of flour (cookies, crackers, pizza, etc.). Only Matzah, meat and cheese.
Last year I spent the Seder with my family back in Israel. This year I'm spending it with two devout Catholic families. Only problem - they may be Catholic but they hardly agree on anything to do with religion. So the dinner typically becomes quite contentious with the two mothers arguing Christianity at a Jewish Seder. For me - pure entertainment. I can't wait to see the outcome THiS year.
At the end of the Seder the little kids go searching for the Afikoman. A hidden Matzah. When they find it they get a present. Because these are Catholic kids, I got them Easter Bunnies made of chocolate. Talk about confusing little kids about religion...
Passover lasts eight days. The first day of Passover begins the counting of the seven weeks before the harvest holiday - Shavuot. During this period of time no Jewish weddings are allowed, except during one day that falls in the middle called LAG Ba'OMER (literally "33rd day of the harvest").
Wishing everyone a Happy Passover and beginning of Spring!
Passover is one of the three most important holidays in Judaism. Missing Passover is like missing Christmas for the Christians. This is the time when all Jews, no matter how religious or not religious they are - celebrate the holiday. The story of Passover is way too long to write about, so I won't go into details. The dinner we eat on Passover eve (tonight) is called a Seder. Literally - Order. Because there's a specific order to the dinner. We read from a book called Haggadah and then we eat. We finish the dinner with singing (optional). Some dinners last four hours and some last six hours. It depends how religious you are. But it cannot go less than four hours because of the amount of reading and amount of food that is eaten during the Seder. Four cups of wine are mandatory during the Seder (which is why I couldn't invite my Muslim friends to the dinner, but could invite my Catholic friends instead).
The cooking for Passover typically takes several days. I started on Sunday and have been diligently cooking something every evening since. Today I still have four dishes to make. One involves boiling eggs for ten hours (I always get surprised looks when I mention this dish). When I get a chance I'll have to add in the menu for tonight for your pleasure.
Oh, and the dietary restrictions on Passover are a pain in the @ss! Literally. We're not allowed to eat bread or anything made of flour (cookies, crackers, pizza, etc.). Only Matzah, meat and cheese.
Last year I spent the Seder with my family back in Israel. This year I'm spending it with two devout Catholic families. Only problem - they may be Catholic but they hardly agree on anything to do with religion. So the dinner typically becomes quite contentious with the two mothers arguing Christianity at a Jewish Seder. For me - pure entertainment. I can't wait to see the outcome THiS year.
At the end of the Seder the little kids go searching for the Afikoman. A hidden Matzah. When they find it they get a present. Because these are Catholic kids, I got them Easter Bunnies made of chocolate. Talk about confusing little kids about religion...
Passover lasts eight days. The first day of Passover begins the counting of the seven weeks before the harvest holiday - Shavuot. During this period of time no Jewish weddings are allowed, except during one day that falls in the middle called LAG Ba'OMER (literally "33rd day of the harvest").
Wishing everyone a Happy Passover and beginning of Spring!
posted at
4/12/2006 08:00:00 AM
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