By Alison Damast
Staff Writer
April 7, 2006
NORWALK -- The matzoh assembly line at Beth Israel Synagogue has spent the past week feverishly packing 5,000 boxes of unleavened bread.
The packages, each containing two pieces of round, handmade matzoh from Israel, will make their way into the mailboxes of area Jewish residents this weekend, just in time for Passover next week.
The matzoh project is spearheaded by Rabbi Levi Stone, executive director of the Schneerson Center for Jewish Life. He ordered more than half a ton of matzoh, all of which has been sent to Jewish families in Norwalk, Westport, Weston, Wilton and neighboring communities.
"This is matzoh that is tinged with holiness," Stone said. "People can say, 'Wow, I had matzoh handmade in Israel.' None of these two matzohs are the same, just like no two people are the same."
One of the boxes yesterday reached the home of Andrea Britell, a Weston resident who is a member of Beth Israel Synagogue. She plans to use the matzoh at her Passover seder. The eight-day Jewish holiday begins Wednesday night.
"It was just a beautiful thought," she said. "They will be the star feature of my seder. They look so authentic, and it is just so different from the store-bought ones."
Stone and volunteers from Beth Israel Synagogue worked until 5:30 a.m. yesterday to complete the matzoh project.
The project is a massive undertaking that has cost the Schneerson Center about $30,000. Most of the money has been donated by area families, including Wilton resident Phillip Miller.
"This is one of the three major holidays of the Jewish faith, and it is important that people remember it," Miller said. "I think that when you receive a gift like this, it spiritually and emotionally increases your chances of traditionally celebrating more of the holiday."
The Passover seder is the Jewish tradition of retelling the story of "Y'tziyat Mitzrayim," the Jews' exodus from Egypt 3,000 years ago.
During the eight days of Passover, Jews are supposed to refrain from eating bread products or food with flour and yeast. Instead, Jews eat matzoh, which is unleavened bread, to serve as a reminder that the Israelites fled Egypt before dough had time to rise.
The tan cardboard matzoh boxes, each stamped with the slogan "Get a Taste of Freedom," were spread haphazardly yesterday afternoon over rows of seats at Beth Israel.
Volunteers worked to the music of Matisyahu, the Hasidic reggae singer from Crown Heights in Brooklyn, N.Y., as they constructed the matzoh boxes and stuffed them with unleavened bread.
They also built a mini pyramid of matzoh boxes in front of the temple's podium to remind them of the Jewish exodus from Egypt.
"This project is a good idea because it will touch every soul of the Jewish people," said Edward Schwalbe, a volunteer who helped build boxes yesterday. "They'll see the box, and it will remind them right away."
Levi Stone's organization promotes the teaching of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbi who was the spiritual leader of the Chabad Lubavitch branch of Judaism.
The Schneerson Center was founded by Rabbi Yehoshua Hecht of Beth Israel.
Chabad-Lubavitch is an ultra-Orthodox Jewish movement with its headquarters in Crown Heights.
One of Schneerson's directives was that every Jewish person should have two pieces of "shmuroh" matzoh for their Passover seder. Shmuroh is a Hebrew word that means guarded, Stone said.
Shmuroh matzoh is carefully kept from any contact with water from the moment of harvest until baking.
The dough cannot be left idle for longer than 18 minutes, according to Jewish law, and is baked under strict rabbinical supervision.
Every year, Stone sends 20 to 50 pounds of shmuroh matzo to friends and acquaintances as a Passover gift.
He also once participated in a massive matzoh giveaway in Moscow in the early 1990s, a project that gave 150 tons of matzoh to 15,000 Jews in Russia.
"It was an unbelievable project. One thousand people lined up in front of the synagogue every day," Stone said. "I felt that people appreciated it so much."
The matzoh arriving in people's mailboxes will serve to remind them of the importance of Passover, which is one of the most observed Jewish festivals, Hecht said.
"This brings Passover into people's homes in a very inclusive way," Hecht said. "We are sending out something that the Jewish people have been doing for 3,300 years, which is eating matzoh for Passover. We wanted to bring this tradition and observance to as many people as possible."
Staff Writer
April 7, 2006
NORWALK -- The matzoh assembly line at Beth Israel Synagogue has spent the past week feverishly packing 5,000 boxes of unleavened bread.
The packages, each containing two pieces of round, handmade matzoh from Israel, will make their way into the mailboxes of area Jewish residents this weekend, just in time for Passover next week.
The matzoh project is spearheaded by Rabbi Levi Stone, executive director of the Schneerson Center for Jewish Life. He ordered more than half a ton of matzoh, all of which has been sent to Jewish families in Norwalk, Westport, Weston, Wilton and neighboring communities.
"This is matzoh that is tinged with holiness," Stone said. "People can say, 'Wow, I had matzoh handmade in Israel.' None of these two matzohs are the same, just like no two people are the same."
One of the boxes yesterday reached the home of Andrea Britell, a Weston resident who is a member of Beth Israel Synagogue. She plans to use the matzoh at her Passover seder. The eight-day Jewish holiday begins Wednesday night.
"It was just a beautiful thought," she said. "They will be the star feature of my seder. They look so authentic, and it is just so different from the store-bought ones."
Stone and volunteers from Beth Israel Synagogue worked until 5:30 a.m. yesterday to complete the matzoh project.
The project is a massive undertaking that has cost the Schneerson Center about $30,000. Most of the money has been donated by area families, including Wilton resident Phillip Miller.
"This is one of the three major holidays of the Jewish faith, and it is important that people remember it," Miller said. "I think that when you receive a gift like this, it spiritually and emotionally increases your chances of traditionally celebrating more of the holiday."
The Passover seder is the Jewish tradition of retelling the story of "Y'tziyat Mitzrayim," the Jews' exodus from Egypt 3,000 years ago.
During the eight days of Passover, Jews are supposed to refrain from eating bread products or food with flour and yeast. Instead, Jews eat matzoh, which is unleavened bread, to serve as a reminder that the Israelites fled Egypt before dough had time to rise.
The tan cardboard matzoh boxes, each stamped with the slogan "Get a Taste of Freedom," were spread haphazardly yesterday afternoon over rows of seats at Beth Israel.
Volunteers worked to the music of Matisyahu, the Hasidic reggae singer from Crown Heights in Brooklyn, N.Y., as they constructed the matzoh boxes and stuffed them with unleavened bread.
They also built a mini pyramid of matzoh boxes in front of the temple's podium to remind them of the Jewish exodus from Egypt.
"This project is a good idea because it will touch every soul of the Jewish people," said Edward Schwalbe, a volunteer who helped build boxes yesterday. "They'll see the box, and it will remind them right away."
Levi Stone's organization promotes the teaching of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbi who was the spiritual leader of the Chabad Lubavitch branch of Judaism.
The Schneerson Center was founded by Rabbi Yehoshua Hecht of Beth Israel.
Chabad-Lubavitch is an ultra-Orthodox Jewish movement with its headquarters in Crown Heights.
One of Schneerson's directives was that every Jewish person should have two pieces of "shmuroh" matzoh for their Passover seder. Shmuroh is a Hebrew word that means guarded, Stone said.
Shmuroh matzoh is carefully kept from any contact with water from the moment of harvest until baking.
The dough cannot be left idle for longer than 18 minutes, according to Jewish law, and is baked under strict rabbinical supervision.
Every year, Stone sends 20 to 50 pounds of shmuroh matzo to friends and acquaintances as a Passover gift.
He also once participated in a massive matzoh giveaway in Moscow in the early 1990s, a project that gave 150 tons of matzoh to 15,000 Jews in Russia.
"It was an unbelievable project. One thousand people lined up in front of the synagogue every day," Stone said. "I felt that people appreciated it so much."
The matzoh arriving in people's mailboxes will serve to remind them of the importance of Passover, which is one of the most observed Jewish festivals, Hecht said.
"This brings Passover into people's homes in a very inclusive way," Hecht said. "We are sending out something that the Jewish people have been doing for 3,300 years, which is eating matzoh for Passover. We wanted to bring this tradition and observance to as many people as possible."
Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
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