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Wishing all a Ziessen Pesach*

* a sweet Passover

The 8-day Jewish Biblical Festival of Pesach (PEH-sahkh, PAY-sahkh) begins on the 15th day of the month of Nissan (that’s the Babylonian ‘Nissan’, not the Japanese ‘Nissan’), which this year will be at sunset today on the civil calendar.

Named for the ‘passing over’ of the Angel of Death that slew the first born sons of the Egyptians, Pesach (PEH-sahkh, PAY-sahkh) celebrates the liberation of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt and the beginning of the Israelite, now Jewish people, and has been continuously celebrated for more than 3,300 years.

According to the current understanding of Biblical chronology, the Exodus from Egypt took place 890 years before the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians in 421 BCE, or in 1310 BCE, during the reign of the Pharaoh Adikam (not, as generally believed, and as portrayed in the movie “The Ten Commandments”, during the reign of Ramses II).

Pesach is the only major Jewish celebration completely centered on the home and not in the synagogue, and is marked by special dietary restrictions, mainly the prohibition against using any grain or leavened product, other than matzoh (unleavened bread), and ritualized meals, Seders (SAY-d’rs), for the specific order of the meal as written down in the Haggadah (huh-GAH-duh).

The Haggadah is a collection of excerpts from the Torah (the Five Books of Moses), the Mishneh (a code of Jewish law written by Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, otherwise known as Maimonides or the Rambam) and the Midrash (stories expanding on incidents in the Bible to derive principles or Jewish law or to teach moral lessons), interspersed with numerous rituals, such as the eating of Matzoh and the drinking of four cups of wine.

In the U.S., with more than 40 million copies distributed since 1934, the familiar Maxwell House Haggadah is the longest-running promotion by a major brand.

There is no doubt that Passover is the most challenging holiday for which to prepare. Like anything important and worthwhile, it requires a lot of effort and dedication. The key to Passover is organization. Not only must special food be bought and stored, but the entire house, including garage and cars must be rid of all traces of chumetz (KHUH-mitz), leavened food (wheat, barley, spelt, rye, and oats).

In addition to the normal kosher dietary laws, no grain or leavened product or cooking utensil, plate or tableware that has touched a leavened product may be used. Traditional Jewish families will put away their everyday meat and dairy pots, pans, dishes, glassware and tableware and replace these with meat and dairy pots, pans, dishes, glassware and tableware reserved for use only on Passover.

As with Shabbat (Sabbath), there is a prohibition against work on the first two and the last two days of Passover, except that cooking is permitted, unless one of these four days falls on Shabbat, then cooking, too, is prohibited.