A joyous Passover to you!

[Padraig18]

The 4 questions:

Why do we eat only matzoh on Pesach?

Matzoh reminds us that when the Jews left the slavery of Egypt they had no time to bake their bread. They took the raw dough on their journey and baked it in the hot desert sun into hard crackers called matzoh.

Why do we eat bitter herbs, maror, at our Seder?

Maror reminds us of the bitter and cruel way the Pharaoh treated the Jewish people when they were slaves in Egypt.

Why do we dip our foods twice tonight?

We dip bitter herbs into Charoset to remind us how hard the Jewish slaves worked in Egypt. The chopped apples and nuts look like the clay used to make the bricks used in building the Pharaoh's buildings

We dip parsley into salt water. The parsley reminds us that spring is here and new life will grow. The salt water reminds us of the tears of the Jewish slaves.

Why do we lean on a pillow tonight?

We lean on a pillow to be comfortable and to remind us that once we were slaves, but now we are free.

Mazel tov!

:D

[Aristus]

1. I'm not Jewish, but a joyous Passover to all of you who are.

I was privileged to enjoy a beautiful Passover supper about nine years ago, on the evening of the day when I met my future wife, no less. A friend had been invited to a Passover Seder supper and was asked to bring someone he knew. He asked me to go with him. It was a beautiful supper. Very moving and the hosts were the nicest, kindest people you could imagine. I was a total stranger to them, but they treated me like family. I'll never forget that as long as I live.

Interesting side note: The wife of the host family was Jewish, but the husband was Irish-Catholic. After supper, he treated us to a decidedly non-Jewish rendition of "Amazing Grace" on his bagpipes. It was a surreal, wonderful moment.

[Padraig18]

2. My great-uncle is Jewish.

He's a widower, and this will be the first year I won't be at his house for Passover seder; I'm kind of sad, actually, because I've always had a great time there, listening to him tell stories about the old country (Poland) and his escape from the Nazis and how he came to be in America.

Uncle Ernst is a great guy, and I wish I could be there with him tonight...