We avoid lamb in mourning for the loss of the Temple, basically. Not all Jews avoid lamb for Passover.
AND we typically make a special donation to some charitable cause (this year, I'm planting an awful lot of baby trees), because once the Temple was destroyed, it was no longer possible to run the sacrificial system, and (I quote)_ "the place of sacrifice is taken by deeds of lovingkindness" (which involve both actual deeds and monetary donations to charities).
OK - that's the physical preparation. What about the spiritual meaning?
Chametz - things that are fermented - are things that 'puff up', and by analogy, there are things that puff up people - pride, primarily. Inflated opinions of one's importance in the world -
So JUST AS we clean our physical homes of physical chametz, we SHOULD ALSO clean our spiritual selves of spiritual chametz - those ideas and thoughts that make us 'risen' in our own minds.
So to speak - you can, of course, go a long way with ideas of this sort, and many people do.
However, for a LOT of Jews, Passover is very much reminiscent of the American Thanksgiving: a major FAMILY AND FRIENDS get together event involving a whole lot of traditional foods - and not very much else. Even in Israel, where observance is easy because the holiday special days are actually NATIONAL holidays (unlike here in the US, where I had to ask for and get my precious few vacation days approved to use of obligatory holidays, EVERY year - and when you only get 80 hours of vacation time, it is sometimes hard to use up half of them, a day or two at a time, for religious observance, leaving a bare week, for an ACTUAL vacation.
Prepping for Passover
Re: Prepping for Passover
History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.
Re: Prepping for Passover
In addition to the first seder (tonight) which I am hosting here at home with our neighbors (not Jewish), the synagogue is hosting a catered seder for the second night, for people who either don't have one at home, or want to celebrate with their synagogue family. It's Reform, so it is VERY short, and I'd - personally - prefer something longer, more 'meaty' and more traditional - thought not a typical ORTHODOX event, which would involve separation of the sexes, AND probably wouldn't end until the wee hours of the early morning!
The holiday lasts seven days in Israel, and eight days in the diaspora (everywhere outside Israel) for very old historical reasons - in former days, diaspora communities had to wait for a messenger to arrive from Jerusalem to tell them when the holiday started (that is, when the first of each month began) because those dates were set by observation of the New Moon IN JERUSALEM - there was, once, no standardized calendar.
So outside Judea it became the custom to celebrate holidays an extra day (not just Passover, also Shavuot and Sukkot), and at Passover, in Israel there is ONE seder, on the first night, and outside Israel, there are TWO - one the first night, and again on the second.
So Passover outside Israel lasts eight days, rather than seven - that is GRADUALLY changing in more liberal communities, but not very fast.
The holiday lasts seven days in Israel, and eight days in the diaspora (everywhere outside Israel) for very old historical reasons - in former days, diaspora communities had to wait for a messenger to arrive from Jerusalem to tell them when the holiday started (that is, when the first of each month began) because those dates were set by observation of the New Moon IN JERUSALEM - there was, once, no standardized calendar.
So outside Judea it became the custom to celebrate holidays an extra day (not just Passover, also Shavuot and Sukkot), and at Passover, in Israel there is ONE seder, on the first night, and outside Israel, there are TWO - one the first night, and again on the second.
So Passover outside Israel lasts eight days, rather than seven - that is GRADUALLY changing in more liberal communities, but not very fast.
History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.
Re: Prepping for Passover
And now - for the Christians who seem to worry about this a lot - remember please, Jewish days begin at sundown.
So 'the first night' is the BEGINNING of the day of Nisan 15th - the night of the full moon.
When the Temple stood, the staff there was busy ALL DAY on the 14th - the day before Passover - slaughtering lamb after lamb after lamb, for each family group to take home to roast (whole) for Dinner That Night - which was the 15th of Nisan, at sundown.
This now applies to those people who try to figure out the narrative of the crucifixion, depending on their particular take on whether the event did or didn't happen on Nisan 14th, or simply on some regular FRIDAY, with Shabbat beginning at sundown, rather than Passover beginning at sundown.
It is important to one of the gospel writers (I think John) that the crucifixion had to be the 'eve of Passover' that way Jesus dies literally WHILE the lambs are being slaughtered at the Temple, in preparation for the holiday meal occurring after dark that night - which doesn't have to be a Friday at all.
In fact, we usually take funny calendrical measures to be sure it DOESN'T fall on a Friday!
But the typical Christian narrative has Jesus dying on Friday, and resurrecting on Sunday morning - which is 'the first day of the week (beginning on Saturday night) but 'early in the morning' (which is half way through the 24 hour day).
So 'three days' is Friday (sixth day), then Saturday (seventh/Shabbat) and then Sunday (first day).
Those are, in fact, the literal names of the days of the week in Hebrew:
First Day
Second Day
Third Day
etc
to Sixth Day and then
Shabbat.
So 'the first night' is the BEGINNING of the day of Nisan 15th - the night of the full moon.
When the Temple stood, the staff there was busy ALL DAY on the 14th - the day before Passover - slaughtering lamb after lamb after lamb, for each family group to take home to roast (whole) for Dinner That Night - which was the 15th of Nisan, at sundown.
This now applies to those people who try to figure out the narrative of the crucifixion, depending on their particular take on whether the event did or didn't happen on Nisan 14th, or simply on some regular FRIDAY, with Shabbat beginning at sundown, rather than Passover beginning at sundown.
It is important to one of the gospel writers (I think John) that the crucifixion had to be the 'eve of Passover' that way Jesus dies literally WHILE the lambs are being slaughtered at the Temple, in preparation for the holiday meal occurring after dark that night - which doesn't have to be a Friday at all.
In fact, we usually take funny calendrical measures to be sure it DOESN'T fall on a Friday!
But the typical Christian narrative has Jesus dying on Friday, and resurrecting on Sunday morning - which is 'the first day of the week (beginning on Saturday night) but 'early in the morning' (which is half way through the 24 hour day).
So 'three days' is Friday (sixth day), then Saturday (seventh/Shabbat) and then Sunday (first day).
Those are, in fact, the literal names of the days of the week in Hebrew:
First Day
Second Day
Third Day
etc
to Sixth Day and then
Shabbat.
History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.
Re: Prepping for Passover
Thanks agricola. Interesting info.
Re: Prepping for Passover
and yes, we DO miss bread and pastries, pasta, cereal etc fro the week! That's kind of the point.
History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.
Re: Prepping for Passover
Did you survive Passover okay?
The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it.----Karl Marx
Re: Prepping for Passover
Oh sure - and my husband and I went straight out for pizza as soon as it was over. This is ALMOST (but not quite) as popular a Jewish custom as Chinese food on Christmas Day.
Nothing like carbs after a week long carb fast.
I ate an entire 12 inch pizza all by myself (and so did he).
Nothing like carbs after a week long carb fast.
I ate an entire 12 inch pizza all by myself (and so did he).
History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.