Passover—Festival of Foods

 Passover—Festival of Foods

Reflections by Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

Pesach goes by at least three names: Passover; Festival of Freedom; Spring Festival. Without a doubt, however, added to this list should also be Festival of Foods.

More than any other holiday in the Jewish calendar, the focus during Passover is on food. The idea here is not merely to add a particular pastry or dish, or even completely to avoid one. Passover is all about what we eat—or more specifically, what we don’t eat. Preparation for the holiday go far beyond spring cleaning: Some of us go so far as to open a special kitchen that might be closed the rest of the year; or go on a Kosher for Passover cruise, or stay at a hotel specifically equipped for the strictly observant among us. Others take out of storage whole sets of dishes, silverware and cooking utensils, and might even cover kitchen countertops with yards of aluminum foil. 

Shopping for KP (kosher for Passover) foods is an adventure. In some places, it may be somewhat more of a treasure hunt, but gradually, store managers are learning about our traditions and have become quite accommodating to our special needs.

And then we look for recipes.

Matzah is hard to chew. Its flavor is arguably existent. It may even irritate digestive systems (hence tzimmes with prunes, and all those fruit compote recipes!).

But as my wife used to say to our children when they started protesting, around the third day of the holiday: A week of a restricted diet beats a lifetime of slavery. No doubt about that. 

Of course, there are the endless transcultural arguments: Are kitniyot (legumes) kosher for Passover? Is rice a grain that needs to be avoided? Is corn syrup OK? Do you add sugar to your gefilte fish? 

But once we get past these questions, human inventiveness knows no bounds. We find substitutes for the flour and other grains that are such a staple of the regular diet many of us are used to. Matzah meal mixed with potato starch turns out not too bad at all, mixed with enough sugar, oil and eggs. It’s possible to make delicious Kosher for Pesach pancakes, rolls and cakes (though I might stay away from the factory-made boxed versions). And matzo brei—eggs scrambled with moistened pieces of matzah, then slathered with all sorts of sweet or savory toppings—is a year-round favorite in my house. Delicious and filling, easy to make, easy to clean!

True, after a week of KP foods, we might be more than ready to break Pesach at our favorite pizzeria. But it doesn’t mean that we don’t try to always improve on the blandness of our Bread of Affliction.

Ultimately, Passover is fun—and can be delicious as well. Most importantly, however, the foods we eat on this holiday should remind us not only of our humble origins as slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, but also of the ongoing plight of so many people—around the globe, but also among us, in our own communities—who are oppressed; who go hungry not seven days a week, but entire years at a time; who feel hopeless; who are confined by cultural, economic or health issues. 

Passover this year will commence on the evening of Friday, April 15. As we enter the final week of intense preparation for this Festival of Foods, let’s keep in mind the memories, traditions, and many lessons that the holiday contains for us.

A zissen Pesach: May the holiday of Passover be sweet for us all. May it bring joyful tidings of freedom, love and peace not only to Jews, but to all humanity around the world. 

© 2022 by Boaz D. Heilman