Jewish tradition passes over calendar
April 17, 2015
Every year, the first few months of the year hold religious significance in the minds of Christians and Jews alike. While Christians celebrate Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Jews partake in an eight day long (in most cases) holiday called Passover.
“I dread this time every year, but I know that it’s important to acknowledge in respect for the Jews back then,” freshman Max Snyder said
During this time, it is custom that Jews abstain from the consumption of rising food or yeast. That essentially means no pasta, (most) bread, chips, and many other foods.
“So I can’t have yeast because in Egypt when we were fleeing from the Egyptians, we didn’t have enough time to make bread, so we eat matzah to honor them,” freshman Jake Englander said.
Matzah (or Matzo) is a bread that is baked without yeast, and is commonly eaten by Jews during Passover as a replacement for risen bread.
“It’s called a ‘seder’. It’s a big dinner on the first and second nights with special foods where you retell the Passover story,” Snyder said.
These special foods include food such as Zeroah, Beitzah, and of course Matzah. This cuisine is very important to Jewish culture during Passover.