Jews to Gather to Celebrate the 1st Night of Passover

Like their ancestors who fled from slavery thousands of years ago, the children of Temple Etz Chaim in Thousand Oaks got a bitter taste Tuesday of what it was like to be a slave.

As practice for a ritual that will be duplicated in homes across Ventura County tonight as Jews celebrate the first night of Passover, they ate unleavened bread known as matzo, parsley dipped in saltwater and beet horseradish.

“Ugh,” said 10-year-old Daniel Mahler as he bit off a tiny piece of parsley. “It’s bitter.”

Precisely the point, his teachers explained.

The foods, eaten as part of a Passover ritual called a Seder, are meant to symbolize the hardships the Israelites suffered as they fled from Egypt and the joy of reaching freedom.

“It’s sour,” said 9-year-old Jessica Breiter after taking a bite of the parsley dipped in saltwater. “But we eat it because it reminds us of the tears our people cried.”

Most Jews will celebrate the holiday in their homes tonight with a traditional meal, songs and Passover stories from the haggada, a script for the Seder ritual.

Community Seders planned for Thursday, the second night of Passover, at temples across the county have all sold out.

That’s not surprising, said Michael Lotker, chairman of the religious practices committee at Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks.

The eight-day holiday, which commemorates the Israelites’ escape from slavery, is the most celebrated holiday in the Jewish faith, observed by 90% of Jews nationwide, Lotker said. “Theologically, [this holiday] is very central to Judaism,” he said. “We are commanded to feel as though we personally are slaves and God personally redeemed us. It is the central story in Judaism: the passage from slavery to redemption. We celebrate the essence of that moment at the Passover Seder.”

The holiday is also, according to Jews stocking up on kosher-for-Passover foods at supermarkets in Thousand Oaks on Tuesday, a time for family.

Rochelle Dodson likens it to Christmas.

“Even people who aren’t religious, they celebrate Christmas,” she said. “[Like Passover], it is a time for family and for reconnecting with your childhood memories.”

But before it can be enjoyed, much preparation goes into the ceremony.

Jews must clear their cupboards of forbidden foods, swap their everyday dishes with those kept especially for the holiday, clean the house from top to bottom and prepare a traditional, festive feast.

“There is a lot of last-minute cleaning and scrubbing going on right now,” said Rabbi Moshe Bryski, the executive director of the Chabad of the Conejo. “Most people will be shopping and cooking and cleaning [today]. The entire house must change over.”

Of course, some households are stricter than others.

Instead of keeping a separate set of dishes, Dodson and many others run their usual set through the dishwasher.

“I’m not that into it,” she said. “It’s mostly ritual and symbolic to me.”

Regardless, Passover is a holiday that strikes a chord with nearly every Jew, said Sara Karamas, who works at the Hebrew school at Temple Etz Chaim.

Even nonpracticing Jews, many of whom may allow holidays such as Sukkot or Purim to pass unobserved, will go out of their way to mark the arrival of Passover, Karamas said.

“They will celebrate it in some way or another--even if it is just to eat matzo for the Passover week,” she said.