Beth Cochran
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 12, 2006 12:00 AM Linda Jacobs' fondest childhood memory of Passover is the large Seders with family and friends in Washington state, her father leading the evening prayers and her grandfather hiding the Afikoman, a piece of matzo eaten at the end of the meal, for the children to find.
Jacobs, 48, now has a family of her own. For the past decade, the Litchfield Park resident has made a habit of flying back to her hometown or going to a friend's house to celebrate Passover. Today, when the Jewish holiday begins at sundown, the Jacobses will attend a traditional Seder hosted by Chabad of the West Valley.
"We always had a huge Seder when I was growing up," Jacobs said. "There was five of us, and we always had between 30 and 40 people over at our house for Seder. So we always helped prepare for the dinner."
Passover's central culinary staple is the matzo, or unleavened bread, which symbolizes the Israelites' liberation from the pharaoh. When the Jews followed Moses out of Egypt, they were in such a hurry that they couldn't wait for their bread to rise. The flat cracker was also the main food the Jews ate when they served as slaves of the Egyptians.
"One would think that when you're freed, you'd have time for bread to leaven. But when the time came, they said, 'Let's make matzo and get out of here,' " said Rabbi Shelly Moss of Temple Beth Shalom in Sun City. "It's interesting that it was the bread of affliction but also the bread of haste."
As a remembrance, observant Jews refrain from eating leavened bread for eight days during Passover. The word is a reference to God sparing the lives of Jewish firstborns, literally passing over the houses of the Jews when he slaughtered the firstborns of Egypt.
Chabad of the West Valley has been hosting community Seders since opening in Glendale about five years ago, said Chana Lew, program director and director of the Hebrew school.
"Every year, different people have come by and joined the Seders, and some people have gone on to have them in their own homes," Lew said.
For the remainder of Passover, Jacobs will put aside leavened foods, such as bread, cookies, cereal or pretzels, and prepare special school lunches for her daughters, Micaela, 14, and Moriah, 12.
"I remember my mom would make big trays of chicken legs," Jacobs recalled, "so our lunches would consist of chicken legs, a hard-boiled egg, matzo with peanut butter and some fruit."
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 12, 2006 12:00 AM Linda Jacobs' fondest childhood memory of Passover is the large Seders with family and friends in Washington state, her father leading the evening prayers and her grandfather hiding the Afikoman, a piece of matzo eaten at the end of the meal, for the children to find.
Jacobs, 48, now has a family of her own. For the past decade, the Litchfield Park resident has made a habit of flying back to her hometown or going to a friend's house to celebrate Passover. Today, when the Jewish holiday begins at sundown, the Jacobses will attend a traditional Seder hosted by Chabad of the West Valley.
"We always had a huge Seder when I was growing up," Jacobs said. "There was five of us, and we always had between 30 and 40 people over at our house for Seder. So we always helped prepare for the dinner."
Passover's central culinary staple is the matzo, or unleavened bread, which symbolizes the Israelites' liberation from the pharaoh. When the Jews followed Moses out of Egypt, they were in such a hurry that they couldn't wait for their bread to rise. The flat cracker was also the main food the Jews ate when they served as slaves of the Egyptians.
"One would think that when you're freed, you'd have time for bread to leaven. But when the time came, they said, 'Let's make matzo and get out of here,' " said Rabbi Shelly Moss of Temple Beth Shalom in Sun City. "It's interesting that it was the bread of affliction but also the bread of haste."
As a remembrance, observant Jews refrain from eating leavened bread for eight days during Passover. The word is a reference to God sparing the lives of Jewish firstborns, literally passing over the houses of the Jews when he slaughtered the firstborns of Egypt.
Chabad of the West Valley has been hosting community Seders since opening in Glendale about five years ago, said Chana Lew, program director and director of the Hebrew school.
"Every year, different people have come by and joined the Seders, and some people have gone on to have them in their own homes," Lew said.
For the remainder of Passover, Jacobs will put aside leavened foods, such as bread, cookies, cereal or pretzels, and prepare special school lunches for her daughters, Micaela, 14, and Moriah, 12.
"I remember my mom would make big trays of chicken legs," Jacobs recalled, "so our lunches would consist of chicken legs, a hard-boiled egg, matzo with peanut butter and some fruit."
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