2 Faiths Herald a Holy Time : Passover: There’ll be a glass of wine for a naval officer in the Gulf at his family’s Seder.

Each Seder, the Raskins observe an ancient Passover tradition--setting an extra glass of wine on the dinner table for the prophet Elijah to stop by and enjoy.

But this year, there will be a second empty place-setting at the Seder table for Joseph Raskin, 25, the youngest of the three Raskin children. Raskin, a deck officer aboard the battleship Missouri, is on his way home to Newport Beach from the Persian Gulf and won’t make it back in time for Passover, which begins tonight, opening a weekend that is among the holiest of the year for Jews and Christians alike.

“We’ve gotten together for Seder for as long as I can remember,” said Dave Raskin, 27, Joseph’s older brother. “It’ll be strange not having him around.”

Thousands of miles from home, Joseph Raskin, who shipped out in October, will be leading the Seder for Jewish crewmen aboard the Missouri.

“At the end of Seder, one of the things that everyone does is sing a Hebrew song (with the refrain), ‘Next year in Jerusalem,’ ” Dave Raskin said. At Joseph’s Seder, according to his brother, “He said he’s going to be singing, ‘Next year in California.’ ”

For the Raskins and thousands of Jewish families in Orange County, the traditional themes of Passover have taken on new meaning because of the Gulf War. Passover marks the liberation of the Jews from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses more than 3,000 years ago. The eight-day holiday is charted according to the lunar calender and falls at different times of the secular year.

Some Jewish spiritual leaders consider the recent military defeat of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and the preservation of Israel as modern miracles on a scale similar to the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt.

“We have seen great miracles of God at this time with the victory in the Gulf,” said Huntington Beach Rabbi Aron David Berkowitz. “The holiday commemorates that God will help us triumph over those that are trying to destroy us--those that hate the Jewish people.”

Traditionally, Seders are held in homes and synagogues on the first two evenings of Passover. The ritual meals require mind-boggling preparations because no chometz --food products containing leavening--may be eaten, and every trace of such products must be removed from Jewish homes, offices, desks, lockers and cars by the time Passover arrives.

And during Passover, practicing Jews eat matzos, or unleavened bread. Tradition says the Jews, in their haste to leave Egypt, didn’t take time to allow the bread to rise and the resulting matzos became a symbol of freedom. Today, however, the eating of matzos made of flour and water symbolizes Jews’ efforts to humble themselves and become closer to God.

“The chometz represents evil because bread (with leavening) lifts itself up. It represents haughtiness and the evil inclinations in the Jew,” said Rabbi B. Fajnland Kashruth, administrator for the Rabbinical Council of Long Beach and Orange County. “We search for the bread in the physical house but we also search for it (pride) in the spirit and soul of the Jew.”

The Raskins and others with relatives who saw combat in the Gulf have a whole new meaning to ponder this holiday season. Raskin was aboard the Missouri in March when an Iraqi missile was fired at the ship, his brother said. Although the missile was shot down before it reached the target and no one aboard was injured, the incident was a terrible scare for his family.

“I think Passover has more significance than in past years because everyone is safe now,” Raskin said. “This year, we’re going to set down an extra glass of wine for Joey.”