ISRAEL: Passover “sitting around and eating”

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Jewish families around the world are celebrating today’s start of the Passover holiday with lavish communal meals. Observant Jews in Israel throw out or burn leavened food products, known as hametz; others just temporarily ‘sign away’ ownership of their hametz to a non-Jew.

Celebrating the liberation of the Jews in Egypt from slavery, the week-long holiday is intensely family-oriented. One Jewish blogger in the U.S. pronounced it ‘one of my favorite holidays. Why? Because you don’t have to go to the synagogue and it’s mainly about sitting around and eating.’

For those who aren’t near their families, Chabad Jewish outreach centers around the world are hosting mass Seder meals. The world’s largest annual Seder seems to take place in Nepal, a favored spot for thousands of young Israeli backpackers.

In Israel, Passover was preceded by several weeks of debate over a court ruling permitting the display of leavened products in restaurants and bars. Vocal protests and possible physical attacks from angry ultra-orthodox Jews are feared by some restaurant owners. Others have fretted about whether or not cigarettes are hametz.

Israeli security typically shifts into high alert during Passover. The army sealed off crossings from the West Bank on Friday. After Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip launched a massive attack on a border crossing early Saturday morning, an Israeli army spokeswoman said the attack may have been timed to disrupt Passover celebrations.

—Ashraf Khalil in Jerusalem

Caption: Hope you’re hungry. Credit: Public Domain