PESACH (PASSOVER) TRADITIONAL DINNER

Each year around Mid April (the date is settled accordingly to the Jewish calendar that is different from the regular one) we celebrate Pesach (Passover) in our house with  close family.

Preparations start days before with cleaning the house  leaving nothing that has flour in the house (we eat only Matzo in Pesach) ,Cooking the special and traditional food,buying presents, and converting the house to make room at one table to all the guests.

This year our eldest Granddaughter Yuval (13) came over 2 days before the event to help Shula with the cooking and she was just marvellous

Technorati Tags: Passover

and helpful doing it.

During the the fest we read and sing the Agada (The story of the Exodus) and the kids have great roll participating and learning about the History so they can continue the tradition.

In the middle of reading the Agada the one that conducts the evening (usually the host) has to hide a Matzo and while he “washes” his hands the kids “find” and keep it in a safe place, when the Host wants to continue reading the Agada he can not do it before retreating the Matzo ,here the kids “bargain” and ONLY after they get their presents they give the Matzo back and the evening can continue.

It is a great family gathering combined with history stories,songs,wine and a lot of food….I always need a diet after this evening.

Here is a short explanation I picked from the web about the Holiday.

Here is another link from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover

 

Pesach (English: Passover, Hebrew: פסח)
Pesach is a Jewish and Samaritan holy day and festival commemorating the Hebrews escape from enslavement in Egypt.
Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan (equivalent to March and April in Gregorian calendar), the first month of the Hebrew calendar's festival year according to the Hebrew Bible.
In the story of the Exodus, the Bible tells that God inflicted ten plagues upon the Egyptians before Pharaoh would release his Hebrew slaves, with the tenth plague being the killing of firstborn sons. The Hebrews were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb and, upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord passed over these homes, hence the term "Passover".When Pharaoh freed the Hebrews, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. In commemoration, for the duration of Passover, no leavened bread is eaten, for which reason it is called "The Festival of the Unleavened Bread". Matzo (unleavened bread) is the primary symbol of the holiday. This bread that is flat and unrisen is called Matzo.