Young Israel celebrates Passover with communal feast

By:Lea Kahn Staff Writer
   As they have done for thousands of years, Jews around the world gathered in their homes last week to celebrate the holiday of Passover with a festive meal, with the ritual Seder as a focal point of the evening.
   In Lawrence, seven Jewish students from The College of New Jersey joined a handful of congregants at Young Israel, the Orthodox congregation that occupies a house on Princeton Pike at Lannigan Drive, as Rabbi Yehuda Goldenberg led the group through the Seder and the feast commemorating the Exodus from Egypt.
   Passover is one of a handful of Jewish holidays that is mentioned in the Bible, Rabbi Goldenberg said after the Seder. Chanukah, which is another well-known Jewish holiday, is not considered as important as Passover because it is not mentioned in the Bible, he said. The origins of Chanukah occurred after the Bible was written.
   Passover — an eight-day holiday that began at sundown April 12 and ends today, Thursday — commemorates the liberation of the Jews from slavery in Egypt, according to the Web site Judaism 101.
   The prophet Moses approached the Pharaoh Ramses II repeatedly to free the Jewish slaves and allow them to leave the country. Each time, the pharaoh ignored Moses’ request.
   Finally, God unleashed 10 plagues in an attempt to convince the pharaoh to release the Jews — everything from blood to frogs to vermin to boils, cattle disease and locusts.
   The final plague was the killing of the firstborn child in every Egyptian household — except Jewish households.
   The name "Passover" derives from the fact that God passed over the houses of the Jews as he carried out the slaying of the firstborn in Egyptian families. God knew to pass over the houses of the Jews because the doorposts to their homes had a special mark, according to the Web site.
   During Passover, only unleavened bread — matzoh — may be eaten. Matzoh also is a reminder of the haste in which the Jews had to flee Egypt. The Jews had no time to let the dough for their bread rise. They took the dough with them into the desert, where it was baked into hard crackers by the sun.
   A Seder — one of the highlights of Passover — is held on the first two nights of the holiday. The head of the household presides over the Seder. The Haggadah, which retells the story of the Jews’ flight from Egypt, guides each step of the seder, according to the Web site.
   At each Seder table, there is a plate that holds five foods that remind participants of the struggle for freedom. Small plates containing each of the five foods are set on the table, so that Seder participants may sample them at specific points during the seder, according to the Web site.
   The haroseth is a paste-like mixture that is made up of chopped walnuts, wine, cinnamon and apples. It is intended to remind participants of the mortar that was used between the bricks of buildings that the Jewish slaves built for the pharaoh.
   A sprig of parsley is also on the plate. It reminds participants of springtime. But the parsley is dipped into a bowl of salt water, which is a reminder of the tears shed by the slaves.
   The egg on the Seder plate is another reminder of spring.
   The shank bone is symbolic of the sacrificial lamb — except such sacrifices are no longer made.
   The fifth item of food on the seder plate is bitter herbs, which is dipped into freshly ground horseradish. It is symbolic of the bitterness that afflicted the slaves.
   The Seder ritual includes blessings, the pouring of four glasses of wine (interspersed throughout the seder) and ritual questions about the meaning of the holiday. The Seder is designed to pique the curiosity of children, so they will learn about the holiday and pass on that knowledge to successive generations, according to the Web site.
   Throughout the Seder, songs may be sung. One of the most popular songs is "Dahyenu," which means "It would have been enough for us." It celebrates the favors God bestowed upon the Jews after he brought them out of Egypt, according to the Web site.
   The Seder concludes with the traditional wish that next year, the participants may celebrate Passover in Jerusalem.