(no subject)
a partial script of a presentation that I'm going to be giving in less than 48 hours.....
From the 18th to the 26th of April...Jews from all over the World will be celebrating the amazing Holiday of Passover! I am sure that you've noticed the Passover items in Grocery and Bakery..as well as the Passover menu in Prepared Foods. In about a week, many people will be buying up these items because on Passover the first two nights are the most "important".
Without making this Sound like a Sunday School lesson...in a couple of sentences...The story of Passover....Passover is a celebration and remembrance of the freedom of Israelite people from decades of slavery in Egypt. Every year at the same time of the Hebrew calender...although we celebrate the freedom...we also "remember" that we were once slaves.
The first two nights are events. That is when a feast called a Seder takes place. A Seder is more than just a dinner. Prayers are recited....songs are sung...rituals are performed..and of course...food.
As I said before...we celebrate but also "remember" How can the memory not be forgotten even though many many years have gone by and none of us were there? One way is reading the story of Passover. It is read at the Seder in a book called the Haggadah. The other is the food. On Passover...there are dietary restrictions. Basically on Passover, Jews are not supposed to eat any leavened foods derived from wheat, barley, oat, spelt, or rye. No bread..no cake...no cookies...cereals..etc. The list includes most snack foods and anything that doesn't say "Kosher for Passover". It is not the easiest diet to follow but that is the whole point.
Why?
The story says that when the Israelites left Egypt, they had to go right away and they had no time for provisions including waiting for the bread to be properly baked. What they had to take was a flat crunchy bread....Matzoh! That is the subject of my very first presentation. Matzoh is the staple of the Passover Diet. It is pretty much included in every meal one way or the other. Either having a piece on the side or making a sandwich out of it...It is the poor man's bread. It is called "the bread of affliction"! At a Seder, it is eaten three times. A Prayer is said over it. . It is considered a good deed to eat Matzoh during the Seder. This flat tasteless bread is a Jew's connection with the hard times of His ancestors.
There are many different types of Matzoh now. Besides "regular", there are egg matzohs, whole wheat matzoh, organic matzoh, chocolate matzoh, even gluten free matzoh. They were all created really to give some variety and of course, some people can't take a week or even a day eating Matzoh. (Talk about past). It is tough...but it was worse for the Israelites. The Orthodox eat a Matzoh called Shmurah Matzoh. They are round and very expensive and are very strictly supervised during the preparation.
Over the years..people have become creative with Matzoh. Creating things like Matzoh meal to make pancakes and desserts as well as Matzoh ball soup. My Mom used to make something called Matzoh Brei , which is Matzoh and egg fried up.
*
From the 18th to the 26th of April...Jews from all over the World will be celebrating the amazing Holiday of Passover! I am sure that you've noticed the Passover items in Grocery and Bakery..as well as the Passover menu in Prepared Foods. In about a week, many people will be buying up these items because on Passover the first two nights are the most "important".
Without making this Sound like a Sunday School lesson...in a couple of sentences...The story of Passover....Passover is a celebration and remembrance of the freedom of Israelite people from decades of slavery in Egypt. Every year at the same time of the Hebrew calender...although we celebrate the freedom...we also "remember" that we were once slaves.
The first two nights are events. That is when a feast called a Seder takes place. A Seder is more than just a dinner. Prayers are recited....songs are sung...rituals are performed..and of course...food.
As I said before...we celebrate but also "remember" How can the memory not be forgotten even though many many years have gone by and none of us were there? One way is reading the story of Passover. It is read at the Seder in a book called the Haggadah. The other is the food. On Passover...there are dietary restrictions. Basically on Passover, Jews are not supposed to eat any leavened foods derived from wheat, barley, oat, spelt, or rye. No bread..no cake...no cookies...cereals..etc. The list includes most snack foods and anything that doesn't say "Kosher for Passover". It is not the easiest diet to follow but that is the whole point.
Why?
The story says that when the Israelites left Egypt, they had to go right away and they had no time for provisions including waiting for the bread to be properly baked. What they had to take was a flat crunchy bread....Matzoh! That is the subject of my very first presentation. Matzoh is the staple of the Passover Diet. It is pretty much included in every meal one way or the other. Either having a piece on the side or making a sandwich out of it...It is the poor man's bread. It is called "the bread of affliction"! At a Seder, it is eaten three times. A Prayer is said over it. . It is considered a good deed to eat Matzoh during the Seder. This flat tasteless bread is a Jew's connection with the hard times of His ancestors.
There are many different types of Matzoh now. Besides "regular", there are egg matzohs, whole wheat matzoh, organic matzoh, chocolate matzoh, even gluten free matzoh. They were all created really to give some variety and of course, some people can't take a week or even a day eating Matzoh. (Talk about past). It is tough...but it was worse for the Israelites. The Orthodox eat a Matzoh called Shmurah Matzoh. They are round and very expensive and are very strictly supervised during the preparation.
Over the years..people have become creative with Matzoh. Creating things like Matzoh meal to make pancakes and desserts as well as Matzoh ball soup. My Mom used to make something called Matzoh Brei , which is Matzoh and egg fried up.
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