Anyone else preparing for Pesach

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Hi all - I was wondering if there were any other Jews out there getting ready for Pesach. Besides all the cleaning, there's a lot of extra work for those of us on farms - switching the critters over to a diet that doesn't include wheat, oats, etc..., or selling them (nominally) and arranging for their care, planning menus, getting the chametz seeds in the ground or out of the house. I was just wondering if there were any other observant (or not so observant) homesteading families out there getting ready for the holiday?

-- Sharon in NY (astyk@brandeis.edu), March 25, 2002

Answers

Could you please explain why you have to change the animals diet and so forth ?

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.

we did a walk through of the last supper as Jesus would have done it at our church. i thought it was beautiful. do you eat the roast lamb or the eggs? we didnt have the lamb, but they said they do not eat it as there is no temple in Jerusalem to sacrifice at anymore...

-- js (schlicker54@aol.com), March 25, 2002.

Please explain more, this sounds interesting. Id Like to know what the holiday celebrates and what you must do to observe it. Does this have something to do with Passover? Mike

-- Mike in KS (mhonk@kscable.com), March 25, 2002.

Hi Sharon, We are a christian family interested in celebrating the holidays that Jesus would have celebrated and in the manner he would have. We don't even know when to start. We are thinking about not doing Christmas as we feel it has become a pagan holiday (no offense anyone) and Jesus would be embarrassed over it all. We put mre stock into Easter because thats when he did what he came to do. Can you help me out with Passover - is this what you're preparing for or is that another holday? Gloria

-- Gloria in MD (mullinaxclan@webtv.net), March 25, 2002.

FYI, even Christians observe Passover. I try to observe Passover but I'm pretty sure some of the wrong foods get past me. Also, do some research on Easter and Christmas and you may be surprised at what you find. You have to keep an open mind though and accept what you find. Feel free to email with questions. Mike

-- Mike (uyk7@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.


Sharon, we are getting ready for Pesach, too, although not as observantly as you are--we don't change animal's diets or even sweep out the crumbs from the house. I'm basically a secular Jew, and my husband is Catholic. I grew up in an observant home, however, so I vividly recall the preparation that Pesach entails. We do have a sedar the first night, and I attempt to follow the dietary rules.

For those that asked, leavened bread, as well as rice, corn, and grains are prohibited at Passover because the Jews were not able to eat these during the Exodus. There was just not enough time to let the bread rise (Matzo is unleavened bread eaten during Passover). So, Jews following a special diet that excludes these foods. Passover lasts for eight days and commemorates the freedom of the Jews from enslavement in Egypt. Like most Jewish festivals and rituals, it involves remembrance of the past and being with family. The sedar (am I correct that it lasts for two nights, Sharon?) is a special meal that involves recalling the story of Exodus through prayers, readings, and eating a meal. The Sedar plate is a round plate that includes special preparations used during the sedar, eg.., bitter herbs to remember the tears of those enslaved, eggs to signify a new beginning... (interestingly, eggs also have a special role in Easter!) The participants read from a prayer book called a Haggadah. My fondest memory as a child is searching for the hidden Matzo in order to get a quarter as a prize! We'd also leave out a glass of wine for the prophet Elijah, who would come during the night.

It's really a nice holiday. I can certainly understand why Christians would be interested in this holiday being that Jesus was a Jew. I have met Christians that celebrate Passover. You can learn about it quite easily, through books on Judaism, or probably even the internet.

-- amy (acook@in4web.com), March 25, 2002.


Thank you for sharing , and eveyone enjoy your holiday.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.

I'm not Jewish...what's Pesach? I've never heard the term. I'm assuming it's related to Easter, but what is it? Just curious.

Russ

-- (imashortguy@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.


Lots of Good information for Christians looking to learn more about the Jewish feasts/festivals. Messianic Israel Ministry it is located at http://www.mim.net. I agree with you Mike about Christmas and Easter. I was very surprised myself when I did some research and found out just how pagan they both are!

-- Kathy (Philli@Peoplepc.com), March 26, 2002.

Pesach is indeed the Hebrew for Passover. We change the animal's diets because it is forbidden for us to own, profit from or receive enjoyment from wheat, oats, barley, etc... Corn, beans and rice we can't eat, but can use to feed animals, so we gradually switch the hens over to corn, soy meal and ricebran for 8 days.

This does have something to do with Easter - the death of Christ took place during the 8 days of Passover and the last supper was a Seder, but it preceeds Easter by quite a bit.

I am aware that some Christians celebrate Pesach, however I would imagine that your celebrations differ dramatically from ours - Jews are bound by two sets of texts, the Torah, which Christians call the Old Testament, and by the Talmud, which is 3+000 years of Jewish law. Since Jesus and later early Christianity specifically define themselves as not subject to Pharasitical law, ie, the Talmud, much of what we do wouldn't apply to a Christian. The decisions about what grains constitute chametz (ie, leavenable grains) came in the 10th century CE, long after the schism between Judaism and Christianity, so it would have nothing to do with what Jesus did. I can't tell anyone who wants to have a Seder of the type that Christ did how to do it, since Jewish law is a living thing and has been altered many times since then. I'm sure a Rabbi or serious Christian scholar could tell you.

What we do is clean out every inch of our homes, lest there be crumbs or other bits of leavened bread, cake, etc... We wash every surface, shake out every bit of bedding, move every piece of furniture. We exchange our dishes and pots and pans for special ones (remember, we already have two sets of everything, since we keep kosher and seperate meat and dairy) that have never been touched by leavening. Some of our pots and pans we kasher (make acceptable for use) by boiling them, using a blowtorch (fun pyromania) to heat them to glowing, or by soaking glasses for 3 days. We cover every kitchen surface with paper or plastic. Then we get rid of our chametz - all the pasta, bread, flour, whole grains, grain seeds, and anything that might contain chametz as an ingredient - salad dressings with thickeners, mustards, nearly everything. Lots we give away to a food pantry, some we sell nominally to our neighbors, after packing them away in boxes. Then we fill our pantries with unleavened foods. For those of us who live on farms, we switch over the animal's diets, sell or get rid of extra feed, clean the barns and garages,etc... On the last night, we search for thing we may have missed, burn what we find and consign it to dust. For 8 days and nights we will eat no bread or flour of any kind - instead, matzah, potato dishes, etc...

Then we make a seder, that retells the story of our escape from slavery. On the seder plate we put a burnt lamb shank (we don't actually make animal sacrifices, instead, it *symbolizes* the temple offering), a roasted egg (symbol of another kind of sacrifice), charoset (a fruit mixture that mimics the mortar that slaves used to build for the Egyptians), a bitter herb for the bitterness of slavery, a green to symbolize our new life, and matzah, unleavened bread. Also a cup of wine for the prophet Elijah, a glass of water for the prophetess Miriam, to symbolize the well she opened after the crossing of the Reed Sea. We retell the story (it takes about 5 hours) twice on the first two nights of Pesach, from a volume called a Haggadah (means telling). It is a commandment that we all drink wine, eat the bread of affliction, and mourn the deaths of our enemies at the same time we celebrate our release (that last part seems especially appropriate to me, since we've killed some 3500 Afghan civilians in the last few months, with not much mourning).

Again, I don't think this should be taken as guidelines for a Christian who wants to celebrate Passover as Jesus did, but this is what we do!

A good Passover, a Happy Easter, a merry Vernal equinox to all!

-- Sharon in NY (astyk@brandeis.edu), March 26, 2002.



Gosh I hope its followed by a week of sleep .Seems like alot of work and waste.That was not ment to be offensive .I thought Catholic mass was alot of work , you got us beat.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@hotmail.com), March 26, 2002.

Like reading all about the holiday, I think having a celebration and actually tying it together with tradition and scripture would make it a powerful experience. Regarding Jesus, I was under the impression that Jesus specifically said that He did not come to do away with the law. He kept all the law, in no point did the Pharisee's find Him guilty of breaking it. He kept passover like all the other Jews.

-- Esther (realestatez@hotmail.com), March 27, 2002.

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