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Seder dinner honors centuries-old
Jewish Passover custom
Thursday, April 21, 2005 3:07 AM
EDT
By Lana Drucker
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
A holiday steeped in tradition, Passover has been celebrated
by Jews for more than 3,000 years. This year, the Jewish
holiday begins at sunset on Saturday evening. The holiday,
which will continue for eight days, commemorates the Jewish
peoples' freedom from slavery in Egypt.
Taking place the first two nights of the holiday, the Seder
dinner is perhaps the most important event in the Passover
celebration.
During the dinner, a Seder plate is placed on the center of
the table containing five foods that remind those
celebrating of the struggle the Israelites endured in their
quest and freedom from slavery.
In many
local homes and synagogues, Seder dinners will be held to
celebrate the Passover holiday.
"Passover is the holiday that symbolizes the Israelites'
freedom and the process they had to go through to get free
from Egypt," said Cheryl Raskind-Hood, president of Women of
Reform Judaism, the sisterhood group at Temple Kol Emeth in
Marietta. "It is the story about what Moses and the
Israelites had to through on their journey from slavery to
freedom."
During the Seder, which means "order," the Passover story is
read in a special traditional order from a book called the
Haggadah, which means "to tell." There are different parts
to the Seder, and during the ritual, different traditional
and symbolic foods are eaten. After the Seder, a complete
dinner is served.
Before Passover begins, homes observing the holiday are
cleared of all signs of bread or anything using yeast, and
all dishes, silverware, pots and pans are changed for a set
reserved for Passover.
During Passover, Jews do not eat any leavened bread and
instead eat matzo - signifying the Israelites' only
provision during their escape from Egypt, matzo is made of
wheat but not allowed to ferment or rise.
"Passover is celebrated for eight days," continued Ms.
Raskin-Hood. "During that time, we do not eat bread, or
anything that rises and nothing that can ferment either,
such as corn."
A Seder dinner table is set differently than a regular
dinner table. The Seder plate and three pieces of matzo,
which are placed in a matzo cover, are set as the
centerpieces of the table.
Before the
dinner can begin, the head of the family will sanctify the
holiday with a benediction over a cup of wine. In all, four
cups of wine will be consumed at certain intervals
throughout the dinner.
The Seder plate will be set with traditional foods - each
with a symbolic meaning. In the center of the plate, a
roasted lamb bone is placed.
Today, many families use a chicken or turkey neck in place
of the lamb bone. The bone symbolizes the lamb that was
sacrificed at the Holy Temple of Jerusalem on the eve of the
exodus out of Egypt.
The blood of the lamb was then used to mark the doors of the
Israelites, so their homes would be passed over and they
would be protected when the spirit of God passed through
Egypt and struck down the Egyptians.
An egg, parsley, bitter herbs, charoset and salt water sit
centered around the bone.
During the Seder, certain practices are adhered to. The
middle piece of matzo will be broken in half and hidden to
be hunted by the children at the end of the meal.
The piece of parsley will be dipped in the salt water; the
parsley, or other green vegetable, signifies rebirth or
spring and the salt water represents the tears of the
slaves. The bitter herbs, such as horseradish, will be eaten
in remembrance of the bitterness of slavery.
Charoset, a mixture of apples, nuts, wine and cinnamon, is a
reminder of the mortar the slaves used to make their bricks
for the Pharaoh.
The egg, which is usually roasted or hard boiled, symbolizes
the perpetual cycle of life, from birth to death to
re-birth.
After the Seder, a family meal, usually consisting of
traditional foods such as chicken soup, brisket, kugel,
matzo balls and other kosher foods, will be served.
Today, the traditional Seder dinner is celebrated very much
as it was thousands of years ago.
However, some have made adaptations and additions to the
dinner to represent today's culture and life.
At Temple Kol Emeth, two traditional Seder dinners will be
served during Passover. But on Monday, the sisterhood held a
Women's Seder dinner.
"We spoke of women's voices," said Ms. Raskin-Hood of the
evening. "We told of women's roles in the Exodus story and
we also changed the prayers a little bit - to take on a more
feminine holistic sense."
Also, on the women's Seder plate, an orange is included. The
tradition of placing an orange is believed to have been
started in the 1970s when a female Jewish scholar was
referring to the recent ordination of the first reformed
women rabbi during a speech. In response, a man replied, "A
woman belongs on the bimah" - the speaker's platform from
which the Torah is read - "as much as an orange belongs on
the Seder plate!" In response, the scholar replied, "Women
bring to the bimah what an orange would bring to the Seder
plate: transformation, not transgression."
The women at Temple Kol Emeth place the orange on their
Seder plates as a symbol of women's inclusion in the Jewish
religion and the sweetness that women bring to the religion,
said Ms. Raskin-Hood.
ldrucker@mdjonline.com
Traditional Charoset
Makes 20 ½-teaspoon servings
Keeps 3 days under refrigeration
¾ cup walnuts
¼ large cooking apple
Kosher wine to moisten
2 level teaspoons cinnamon
2 level teaspoons sugar
Mince the walnuts and the apple. (You can use the food
processor for this.) Moisten with the kosher wine and flavor
with cinnamon and sugar. The consistency should be that of
mortar.
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