Passover matzah. Courtesy image
By Rabbi Jack Shlachter
Los Alamos
Jews around the world are winding down the last few days of Passover. Passover, which always starts on a full moon in the spring, began this year on the evening of Monday, April 22, and continues through Tuesday night, April 30. On Monday, April 29 at noon, members of the Los Alamos Jewish Center will gather for a half-hour service to remember deceased loved ones as part of the closing out of the holiday.
Passover is the most widely observed holiday on the Jewish calendar. The evening home- or community-based talk-feast ceremonies called “seders”, which opened Passover, were held on the first and second nights of the eight-day holiday. Before getting to the festive meal during the seder, participants experience several rituals mostly centered on foods, such as dipping parsley in salt water.
The Los Alamos Jewish Center hosted 60 people of all ages for the annual community second night seder last Tuesday evening. The evening centered around reading the story of the exodus of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt over three thousand years ago. The arrival in Israel of the Jews forty years later marked the beginning of the unbroken connection of Jews to Israel which continues to today.
During the eight days of Pesach (the Hebrew name for this festival) Jews eschew bread and other products designated as chametz, which is replaced by matzah. What are these two items? Chametz includes anything that has the potential to ferment and typically refers to grains that have come into contact with water. Top on the list is bread, but chametz also encompasses any food product made from wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt that has been allowed to “rise”. Matzah, on the other hand, is a combination of flour and water that has been carefully assembled and baked quickly to avoid any fermentation. In my opinion, matzah resembles cardboard, only less tasty, but some people actually like it!
Though allegedly reminiscent of the dough that didn’t have time to rise as the Jews escaped slavery in Egypt under Moses’ leadership, matzah is also a reminder that all too often we get puffed up with pride and self-importance. Passover is a time of year to do some spring cleaning not just in our homes but in our psyches as well. Haughtiness, arrogance, and conceit need to be swept out to allow us to acknowledge our own faults and cut others some slack. When we get rid of chametz (and our ego), we open a window to let others in. This annual cleaning thus has a spiritual as well as physical dimension.
It is totally appropriate to wish Jews a sweet Passover, and at the end of the holiday, you might even consider treating your Jewish friends to a piece of cake or a cookie!
