Passover

Passover (Pesach) commemorates the Israelites’ exodus from slavery in Egypt. The first two nights center on the Seder — a structured meal and retelling of the story, with Matzah, bitter herbs, and four cups of wine along the way.

For the full eight days, chametz (leavened grain products) is set aside in favor of Matzah and other Passover-appropriate food.

Selling your chametz before the holiday, and ordering shmurah Matzah, are both things we can help with.

The last hours of Passover carry their own meal: Moshiach’s Dinner, a tradition begun by the Baal Shem Tov, who kept an open door for it so that anyone who wished could come. It is a feast with four cups of wine and Matzah, held as the holiday closes — on that afternoon the haftorah reads Isaiah’s prophecies of the world to come, the wolf living with the lamb, and the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe taught that by then the light of Moshiach is already shining. We hold one each year, with singing, stories and a good deal of food; the date goes on the calendar as Passover approaches.