Jewish Holiday Spotlight: Passover
Passover Begins with the First Seder on Friday, March 30th
“Who lives, who dies, who tells our story ...”
You might recognize these words from the musical “Hamilton” but they apply as well to our upcoming Passover holiday. Will you be having a Passover Seder (which means ‘order’) at your home, or attending one? During our Seder, we tell the Passover story – how the Jewish people went from slavery to freedom – a story that has lots of drama, sadness and joy, just like the story of Alexander Hamilton. However, the Seder is the oldest theatrically produced meal known to humankind. The first Passover feast is described in the Bible, in Exodus, chapter 12.
In telling the Passover story during the Seder, we have something very special to help us with the story’s elements – special foods we eat only during Passover. Here is a listing of the symbolic foods that help us tell the Passover story:
Matzah: This non-rising bread baked quickly, recalls that the Jews fleeing Egypt had no time to wait for their bread to rise and to bake it properly.
Salt water represents the bitter tears shed during the years of slavery and the water needed in the spring to make things grow.
Grated horseradish, bitter herbs or romaine lettuce are a reminder of the bitterness of slavery.
Roasted shankbone (sometimes the bone of a chicken leg is subsituted) symbolizes the ancient sacrificial lamb of the Passover service and the rebirth of nature in the spring.
A mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine or grape juice represents the mortar used by Jewish slaves to build pyramids for Egypt’s pharaohs
Parsley or other available greens recalls the green of the spring and the renewal of faith and hope.
A hardboiled egg which is browned by roasting or putting under a flame, represents life, continuity as well as being a special offering during Temple times.
Alexander Hamilton’s story is 242 years old. If you’re lucky you saw “Hamilton” told on stage, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Our story of Passover and the Jewish people is 3000 years old. We are fortunate to tell the Passover story every year at a meal as old as the Bible and, through symbolic foods, we are able to experience it as well. We hope you and your family will keep this ancient story going and will tell our story of the Jewish people at a Seder during the wonderful Passover holiday.
It may come as no surprise that there are plenty Hamilton inspired Passover resources just waiting to increase the drama of your seder. Check out Haggadot.com or this Hamilton Haggadah for more inspiration.
If you would like more information about celebrating Passover in your home please contact Malissa at malissaw@jfssd.org and she can put you in touch with additional resources.
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