Why Is This Week Different From All Other Weeks?

By Doron Tauber

Here we are once more. Ahh, can’t you just smell the shmura in the oven? Starting today at sundown, Pesach (Passover) will have officially begun. For all us practicing Jews out there, it means a week without leavened products, or anything with corn syrup. This weekend, the stores were packed full of Jewish mothers fighting to get the last brisket or jar of horseradish. Seder night is a big night, we all gather around the table with our families, we say the Four Questions, we dip our fingers in our wine (or grape juice!) and we hide the afikomen.

I have been asked many times in my lifetime why we eat matzos. If you’re Jewish or know already, don’t bother reading any further. But for those of you who don’t know and maybe are a little curious, go ahead. Passover is celebrated on the 15th day of of Nisan (google it). The story goes that roughly 3,000 years ago, the Jews were slaves to the Egyptians, where we were forced to build the Pyramids (this of course is not true, as in ancient times, all citizens were required to help build national monuments, but no matter) and live horrible lives. One day, a simple Jewish herder, Moses, was told that he must free the Jews from Egyptian bondage. This led to his famous cry of “Let my people go!” which went completely unheeded. Moses met with the Pharaoh to try and encourage him to heed the warning of the Lord. He warned that if the Pharaoh did not comply, ten horrible plagues would descend upon all of Egypt.

First, the Lord turned the Nile river to blood. Then he released swarms of frogs and other gooey creatures amongst them. Then lice began to infect the people of Egypt. Each time, Moses went to warn the Pharaoh that the plagues would continue if the Jews were not released. Although thoroughly freaked out, the Pharaoh stood firm in his refusal to free the Jews. The fourth plague came in the form of wild beasts. I’m not sure what animals they had in Egypt, so maybe herds of camels ran through. Then came the disease of the cattle upon the people. I’m sure the Egyptians were thoroughly disgruntled by then. Even more so when the next morning they discovered themselves covered with stinking pustules. Back went Moses, but still the Pharaoh would not grant his people their emancipation. Moses shook his head and left, hopefully getting inside before the hail started to fall, a strange occurrence indeed in Egypt (not that the others weren’t). If the diseased cattle, crushed crops, and general mayhem weren’t enough, the next plague that came was that of the locusts. Now not only were the Egyptians sickly and tired, but now they were starving. A logical ruler by this time would have realized a few Jews weren’t worth all that trouble, but kudos for sticking to your convictions. The next plague seems a bit weak compared to the other ones, yet it must have made Moses’ journey back to the Pharaoh quite difficult, as the plague was darkness. I didn’t know a solar eclipse was that big of a deal, but apparently it was bad enough to be the second plague to the climax.

The last plague is where the term “Passover” actually comes from. Before this plague, Moses plead to the Pharaoh that if he did not free the Jews, that the first born son of every Egyptian would be slain. Thoroughly upset, the Pharaoh disregarded the wellbeing of his nation and still refused to deliver the Jews to their desert. That night, Moses received a message from God, which he passed on to the Jews. They were instructed to mark their doorways with lamb’s blood so that the Angel of Death might “pass over” their dwellings. Some of us call it Pesach because that is the Yiddish translation of “to pass over”. Just as Moses warned, the first born of every man and beast of Egypt was slain, save for those of the Jews. Even the Pharaohs own son was killed, and in his grief, he finally released the Jews, but told them to leave as fast as they could. In their haste, they were not allotted time for the rising of their bread, thus resulting in the first matzos. This tradition carried on until today, leading to all the “Kosher for Passover” stickers on the food at Shalom’s and Kosher Mart (my family’s 2 Jewish supermarkets of choice).

Now for the good part. As the Jews were hurriedly fleeing Egypt, they realized there was a large body of water separating them from the “land of milk and honey.” Not very good planning on their part. But never fear, Hashem was there to save the say, with the climactic “parting of the Red Sea” business. We all conjure up that Hollywood image of Moses standing there, arms outstretched, holding a staff, wind blowing through his [robes?] and the foamy waves splitting down the middle. In reality, if something like this actually did happen, it was probably a lot less exciting. Probably just a low tide as the sea prepared for an epic wave. Anyway, the Jews ran through the parted sea, and were very happy on the other side. Meanwhile, the fickle and mentally imbalanced Pharaoh decided that letting the Jews go was a bad idea after all, and sent his army after them. Once the Jews had arisen from the other side of the sea, the story goes that the great waves came together and swept the army away. Seems like a waste of a perfectly good military, if you ask me. Then the Jews were free and la-dee-da. Of course once they were free they had to wander the desert for 40 years, during which time Moses brought down the 10 Commandments. Finally they arrived in what would become their homeland of Y’Israel. They fought the Philistines and Babylonians for the land, won, and inhabited it for many years, only to be thrown out and have to fight there way in again until their [hopefully] permanent residence in modern day Israel. It’s been a long struggle, but we’ve really shown our chutzpa. So go out and have a great seder!