Passover Celebrations Around the World
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
Ethiopian Jewish Embroidery-Making Matzoh for Passover – NACOEJ
Ethiopian Jewish women making Matzoh
PASSOVER CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD
Ethiopian Jews’ history is strikingly similar to that of their Israelite ancestors. The Jewish community there underwent an exodus of their own in 1985, when Operation Moses and Joshua took almost 8,000 Jews from Sudan to a safe-haven in Israel. In commemoration of Passover and their own past, Ethiopian Jews break all of their dishes and make new ones to symbolize a complete break from the past and a new start.
Some Persian and Afghani Jews have the custom at the seder of lightly whipping each other with leeks and green onion stalks, simulating the beatings suffered in Egypt. Charoset is a mixture of chopped nuts and fruit, wine and spices eaten at the seder, representing the brick mortar used by Israelite slaves in Egypt. The Jews of Gibraltar mix a few particles from real bricks into their charoset!
On the seventh day of Passover, Polish Hasidic Jews reenact the crossing of the Red Sea by pouring water on their living room floor. As they walk through the water, they speak the names of the towns they would pass in the crossing.
Some members of the Cochin (Jews of southern India) community believe that a Jewish woman must be perfect in her Passover preparation during the 100 days before the actual seder, otherwise, the lives of her family would be in danger.
The largest Seder in the world is celebrated in Kathmandu, Nepal
Anousim or Oppressed Jews – In Cuba where Jews have had difficulty practicing their religion, traditional fruits are often not available. Apples and nuts and dried fruit were impossible to find. So Cuban Jews created a recipe called “Charoset of the Oppressed.” The mixture is basic and includes only matzah, honey, cinnamon and wine. Using this charoset at your Seder table will remind your family, especially the children, of the plight of Cuban Jews and all oppressed people around the world.
Moroccan Jews from the coastal areas of Morocco customarily go to the seashore the morning of the first day after Passover and dip their bare feet into the water to symbolize the Israelites crossing the Red Sea during the Exodus. Among Moroccan Jews, the end of Pesach is the portal to the Mimouna — the great Moroccan festival in honor of Rabbi Maimon, father of Moses Maimonides, a beloved leader of Moroccan Jewry more than 800 years ago. During the evening of the Mimouna, people traditionally visit one another in their homes, and ply each other with freshly prepared chametz foods, such as thin fragrant pancakes known as mufleita, stuffed dates, sweets and other delicacies.
The Inside Story on Passover
In each one of us there is an Egypt and a Pharaoh and a Moses and Freedom in a Promised Land. And every point in time is an opportunity for another Exodus.
Egypt is a place that chains you to who you are, constraining you from growth and change. And Pharaoh is that voice inside that mocks your gambit to escape, saying, “How could you attempt being today something you were not yesterday? Aren’t you good enough just as you are? Don’t you know who you are?”
Moses is the liberator, the infinite force deep within, an impetuous and all-powerful drive to break out from any bondage, to always transcend, to connect with that which has no bounds. But Freedom and the Promised Land are not static elements that lie in wait. They are your own achievements which you may create at any moment, in any thing that you do, simply by breaking free from whoever you were the day before.
Last Passover you may not have yet begun to light a candle. Or some other mitzvah still waits for you to fulfill its full potential. This year, defy Pharaoh and light up your world, with unbounded light!
GET A GUIDED MEDITATION FOR YOUR PASSOVER SEDER HERE:
Allow your eyes to close. Inhale and exhale. Listen to the sound of your breath. Do you not hear the distant sound of an ancient sea? Listen to your breath from that part of your heart that remembers being there at the time of the Exodus from Mitzrayim. Inhale and exhale and hear the moving of the waters echoing in your innermost ear as you inhale and exhale.
LET MY PEOPLE GO
Go down Moses, way down in Egypt land
Tell ole Pharaoh to let My people go!
Now when Israel was in Egypt land
Let My people go
Oppressed so hard they could not stand
Let My people go
So the Lord said, Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt land
Tell ole Pharaohs to let My people go
So Moses went to Egypt land
Let My people go
He made ole Pharaoh understand
Let My people go
Yes The Lord said, Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt land
Tell ole Pharaohs to let My people go
Thus spoke the Lord, bold Moses said
Let My people go
If not I’ll smite your firstborns dead
Let My people go
‘Cause the Lord said, Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt land
Tell ole Pharaoh to let My people go
Ethiopian Jewish Embroidery – Moses Parting the Red Sea – NACOEJ
Mahvelous Matzah Toffee Brickle
4-6sheets of *matzoh (plain – salted or unsalted) 1 cup (2 sticks) butter (or substitute margarine to make it parve)
1 cup dark or light brown sugar 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels (or white chocolate or milk-chocolate or butterscotch or peanut butter morsels)
1 cup finely chopped nuts – optional (pecans or walnuts or toasted/sliced almonds or pistachio)
Preheat oven to 350
1. Line a cookie sheet with foil & top with wax paper – it gets really gooey and sticky
2. Lay matzohs on baking sheets – break in half to fit gaps
3. Melt butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat – stirring constantly.
4. Let mixture boil and continue cooking for 3 more minutes
5. Remove butter/brown sugar mixture from heat and pour over matzoh
6. Bake approximately 15 minutes – don’t let it burn
7. Remove from oven and quickly sprinkle chips or morsels over the top
8. Let morsels melt for a couple of minutes then spread all over with a spatula
9. Sprinkle nuts over top and press down lightly to stick
10. Refrigerate until set, then break into smaller pieces
*Additional comments: After passover saltine crackers can be substituted (enough to cover cookie sheet).
The Seder Table – Artist Lynne Feldman
Moses in the Bulrushes by Mary Auld, Illustrated by Diana Mayo
Lavishly illustrated retelling of the Biblical story. Includes background information about the story, a useful word section and a section of questions to encourage further thought. The pictures depict Hebrews with brown skin tones.
