Let's talk about Passover.

First off, technically, I'm not Jewish. However, you might as well call me Sarah J. Gimstein. I spent much of my childhood in a suburb that had a fairly big Jewish population, so most of my friends were Jewish. While my own mother never made matzo ball soup for me at home, I certainly got my fair share of matzo (oh, how I loved matzo smeared with butter) and latkes at friends' houses after school and on the weekends. And holidays? I knew all about the holidays when I would enviously wonder what my Jewish friends were doing on "their" holidays, absent from school. Lucky!

You see, I have an utter fascination with Jewish traditions and holidays that goes beyond my childhood trauma of not getting presents for a week during the winter Holidays and not having my own bat mitzvah. The history and traditions that drive Jewish religious holidays are almost always related to food in one way or another. Many of the holidays are commemorated with a family meal (much the way American Thanksgiving is all about dinner), yes, but the most interesting connection between Jewish holidays and food is the Torah’s strict dietary laws that rule much of how any given holiday is observed.

Next Wednesday evening, April 12, begins the eight day holiday of Passover, commemorating the exodus of the Israelites from ancient Egypt, and marks the freedom and birth of the Jewish nation. The Israelites had been slaves to the Pharaoh in Egypt, and even after requests by Moses to the Pharaoh for freedom, Pharaoh refused to release the Jews. Without getting into too much historical detail, basically, ten plagues fell upon Egypt. In the tenth and final plague, the first-born of every man and beast was to be killed, except for those who marked their homes with blood - this was to be a sign for the plague to "pass over" the Israelites, protecting their families from the plague. From this, we get the name of the holiday "Passover" because this final plague is what convinced the Pharaoh to finally let the Israelites go. The Israelites packed up and got themselves out of there in a hurry. The Passover holiday is time to reflect on this history and celebrate the freedom from enslavement.

And of course, everything about the holiday is food. There are two commandments in the Torah related to Passover, and both of them are related to food. The first commandment is that the Passover story be told in every Jewish household on the first two nights of the holiday. This is called Seder. The Seder is a sort of religious service that takes place around the dinner table around which friends and family have gathered. The head of the household tells the story of Passover, using a Seder plate that has representative foods on it. This storytelling helps Jewish people (especially children) understand and appreciate the freedoms that they now enjoy. Once the story has been told and the service is over, dinner is served. We'll be covering the Seder dinner in more detail later here on Slashfood.

The second commandment from the Torah regarding Passover is the avoidance of leavened bread, or "chametz." This is why Passover is also known as the "Festival of Unleavened Bread." In the story, the Israelites had to leave Egypt in such a hurry that there was not even enough time to let dough rise and bake bread. The Israelites took their unleavened dough with them when they fled Egypt, and under the heat of the desert sun, baked them without leavening into hard crackers. These hard crackers are matzo. Thus, during the eight days of Passover, Jewish people don't eat any bread that has been leavened. Instead, they eat matzo. Passover is also called the "Festival of Matzos," as matzo becomes an ingredient in many dishes from matzo ball soup to desserts.  

"Chametz" also includes anything made from the five major grains -- wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt -- that has not been completely cooked within 18 minutes after coming into contact with moisture. In most cases, this also means that pasta is not allowed for Passover as well. In the strictest Jewish households, even grains like like rice, corn, and legumes like beans and peanuts will be avoided as well. In fact, the rule about abstinence from chametz is so strict that the week before Passover begins, Jewish households actually purge their households of all chametz, either consuming it all before Passover begins, giving away their leavened breads, or selling it to non-Jewish neighbors and friends.