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Community Corner

Jewish Holiday Celebrates Springtime and Renewal

Passover is about more than just the matzah.

For many people, Passover (also known in Hebrew as Pesach) is all about the matzah

Often a square-shaped cracker made simply of flour and water, matzah is the “bread of affliction” that Jews eat to remember the Exodus from Egypt and redemption from slavery.

However, Passover, which begins this year on Monday night, is much more than avoiding leavened foods such as bread, pasta and cereal for eight days. It also combines several ancient festivals with the theme of rebirth to celebrate the transition to spring.

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In the agrarian society when the Torah was written, spring was a time for the first lambs to be born and for the first grain to be harvested. Following the Exodus that comes at the end of the Passover story, the Jews began their journey as a nation to receive the laws on Mount Sinai.  

“The festival that in Jewish history has become known as Passover received its importance through the Exodus, which made a pre-existing festival into the Jewish celebration of freedom,” said Rabbi Ron Isaacs from in Bridgewater. “Weeks before the holiday, Jewish families perform their annual spring cleaning, scouring and cleaning areas that may have been neglected throughout the year. Every single piece of leaven is removed from the home on the night before Passover, since Jewish people are only permitted to eat matzah [unleavened bread] during the holiday.”

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The Passover seder, which literally means “order,” is a highly-choreographed meal that serves as the holiday’s central observance and one of the most widely observed Jewish rituals.

Passover takes place in the Jewish month of Nisan, traditionally considered to be the first month of the new year, and the seder is full of rich symbols related to the start of spring.  Just as the flowers are beginning to bloom and the days are growing steadily longer, the Passover seder echoes what is happening in nature.

Unlike Rosh Hashanah and other Jewish holidays that center on the synagogue, Passover observances mostly take place in the home, with the seder being the primary ritual observance. 

“Things come alive again in spring, and parents can teach their children about going from slavery to being free and second chances during Passover,” said Carol Rubnitz, director of at Temple Sholom in Bridgewater. 

There are plenty of great Haggadahs [booklets telling the Passover story and rituals] and books for kids of all ages about Passover. Kveller, a Jewish parenting website offers sample seders, recipes, activities and even songs on its Passover site.

The seder plate used during the festive meal features several elements related to springtime. 

First, the karpas [a green vegetable, usually parsley] quite literally represents the reawakening of the land as the long, cold winter finally ends, and many people plant seeds during the Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shevat [New Year of the Trees] in January, so that they have lots of parsley ready in time for Passover. 

Next, the z’roa, a roasted lamb shank bone, symbolizes both the sacrifice the Jews made before leaving Egypt and the birth of the first lambs of the season. 

Finally, the beitzah, a roasted egg, is round and it signifies the cycle of life, much like the colorful eggs that are part of the Easter tradition. To commemorate both the z’roa and beitzah, families eat a hard-boiled egg or lamb during the Passover seder. 

“Passover is clearly the greatest of all of the Jewish historical festivals,” said Isaacs. “It brings Jews into close touch with their people’s past, wakening them to the proud consciousness of being free and sharing the glowing aspirations of their liberated ancestors.”  

Rather than focus on the hardships suffered by the Jewish people during slavery, the holiday emphasizes joy and renewal. 

“In the darkest days of bygone years, the synagogue and home resound with song and thanksgiving on Passover,” Isaacs said.  “As springtime fills each creature with joy and hope, so the feast of redemption promises the great day of liberty to those who still chafe under the yoke of oppression.”

Throughout the eight days of Passover, the religious school at Temple Sholom will be closed, but there are plenty of opportunities to come together and worship during the holiday. 

Hebrew High School students from Temple Sholom will visit the Stein Assisted Living Residence in Somerset to show off their talents by singing and dancing at the annual Hebrew High Matzah Ball. 

Services take place on the first two and last two days of the holiday, and the temple will host its annual Grandparents Sabbath at 8 p.m. Friday. Grandparents are invited to attend services along with their grandchildren, and, in a special ceremony of welcome, a blessing and a flower are given to each of the participants. 

For more information, contact Temple Sholom at 908-722-1339.  

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