All information was received from the History Channel.
One of the Jewish religion’s most sacred holidays, Passover (Hebrew: Pesach), celebrates the story of the Israelites’ leaving from ancient Egypt. Jews observe the weeklong festival with rituals, traditional Passover meals and the retelling of the exodus tale of Moses leading the Hebrews to their ancestral home in Canaan, later recognized as the Land of Israel. Some Orthodox Jewish men pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City to celebrate.
One of the Jewish religion’s most sacred holidays, Passover (Hebrew: Pesach), celebrates the story of the Israelites’ leaving from ancient Egypt. Jews observe the weeklong festival with rituals, traditional Passover meals and the retelling of the exodus tale of Moses leading the Hebrews to their ancestral home in Canaan, later recognized as the Land of Israel. Some Orthodox Jewish men pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City to celebrate.
God sends down manna from heaven to feed the Hebrews
http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/passover/pictures/passover/god-sends-down-manna-from-heaven
Orthodox Jews Praying in Jerusalem
One of the Passover rituals for
Jews is removing all leavened food products (known as chametz) from their home
before the holiday begins and not eating them during Passover. They instead eat a type of
flatbread called matzo. This is because “the Hebrews fled Egypt in such haste that there
was no time for their bread to rise,” or because matzo was “lighter and
easier to carry through the desert than regular bread.”
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On the first two nights of Passover,
families and friends gather for a religious feast known as a Seder. During the meal, the story of the exodus
from Egypt is read from a special text called the Haggadah (Hebrew for
“telling”), and rituals corresponding to various aspects of the narrative are
performed.” Vegetables are dipped into salt water representing the tears Jews shed
and bitter herbs (usually horseradish) symbolizing the unpleasant years of
their slavery are both eaten. A Seder plate has Passover foods with meanings to
the exodus story, including “matzo, bitter herbs, a lamb shankbone, a roasted egg, and a
mixture of fruit, nuts and wine known as charoset.” Charoset signifies
the mortar Jews used while adhering bricks as slaves in Egypt. Other menu items include poached fish patties
called gefilte, chicken soup with matzo balls and matzo kugel (a pudding made
from matzo and apples). Vegetarians usually substitute beets for the shankbone.
Seder Plate
http://food.visitphilly.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/matzah.jpg
Matzo Kugel
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Children are a significant part of the Seder
and are expected to be involved in its customs. At a point during the meal, the
youngest child narrates the four questions that ask what differentiates that
night from all other nights. In many households,
young people also like partaking in the traditional hunt for the afikomen, a
piece of matzo that is hidden earlier in the evening. The finder is given a
prize or money.
Finding the afikomen
http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/clevelandjewishnews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/52/1522219e-1347-5c25-92cc-536cc90c3cf9/4e8db553d77aa.image.jpg
For more on the history of Passover in Israel, visit:
Visit this blog next week for another post on a holiday and related recipes!
Work Cited
History Channel Staff. Passover. (2009). A&E Television Networks. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
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