HOW WE CELEBRATE

For most of the 1,200 years after the Exodus, the major ritual of Passover was bringing a lamb to the Temple in Jerusalem as a sacrifice. This ritual commemorated the sacrifice made by all the Hebrew family who, on that last night of Egyptian slavery, marked their doorposts with the blood of a lamb. At the Temple, the lamb was slaughtered by a kohen (priest), part of the animal was offered as a sacrifice, and the family that that brought the animal then gathered to eat the remainder. During the celebratory meal, parents and children engaged in a lengthy discussion of the Exodus, fulfilling the Torah's command that parents tell their children the story of how G-d freed the Jews. This long-ago meal is the origin of the Pesach "Seder," a word that literally means "order." Since the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E., Jews no longer offer animal sacrifices. The Seder now serves as the commemoration of Yitziat Mitzrayim (going forth from Egypt). By participating in the Seder, one fulfills the commandment, incumbent upon each of us in every generation, to regard ourselves as though we, too, were liberated from Egypt.

Bread products are forbidden throughout the holiday, and matzah is eaten in its place to remind us that the Hebrews left Egypt in such haste that their bread did not have time to rise. The sun on the Israelites’ backs baked flat matzah as they fled. During the weeks before Passover, homes systematically are cleaned, and all bread and other chametz is removed. Chametz is any leavened food product containing flour that has fermented, such as bread, cake, pasta, or dough made from wheat, barley, rye, spelt, and oats. Alcoholic beverages, such as whiskey made from fermented grain, are also eschewed. Additionally, Ashkenazic Jews, whose origins are European, do not eat foods known as "kitniyot," which consist primarily of legumes and rice.