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Irina Bairamukova
The history of the holiday takes its roots in the high antiquity. Approximately 5 thousand years ago Judaist tribes celebrated it in spring as a holiday of calving cattle, afterwards Easter was connected with the beginning of reaping, later – with the leaving of Jews from Egypt, where they were in the Egyptian slavery over a period of more than two hundred years.
In the night of the 15th of Nisan the Lord carried out a trial over Egypt and helped his people out to the Red Sea in the year of 2448, and therefore the 15th of Nisan is the first day of Pesah. So is the word Easter called today in Jewish, which in the Russian translation means “passing by.” In 2009 Pesah was celebrated from 9th till the 15th of April. According to a Bishkek resident, Leonid Shafir, the holiday of spring and freedom lasts seven days from 15th till the 21st of the spring month, Nisan, of the Jewish calendar, starting always with the sunset. In the center of celebrations is the Easter Seder, notably a thoroughly regulated ester evening consisting of a number of elements: Easter Haggada, a prayer, which tells about the Outcome from Egypt, and the Easter repast in compliance with the tradition. The essence of the holiday of Deliverance “Pesah” has as a fundamental principle the necessity of such a quality as modesty, depreciation of “I.” After coming back from synagogue the whole family and guests gather around the table with candles, nice dishes, either new or especially Eastern, which is never used during the year, or arranged in compliance with the rules of Eastern kashrut. During the Eastern narration all Jews pass 5 required stages: first – to eat matzo, unleavened white bread, second – to drink 4 cups of wine and grape juice, third – to eat maror (bitter greenery from horseradish to leaves of salad), fourth – reading of Agada, and fifth – reading of praising psalms. Chicken soup with trickled pastries of matzos, gefilte fish and baked meat are included into the Eastern repast.
Since the Law of Messiah forbids Jews to take sour food during the holiday (products from wheat, rye and oats, leguminous, pearl barley, corn; peas, millet and mustard, because these products can begin to ferment; malt liquor, beer and other alcoholic drinks on the basis of yeast). That food, which they did not have time to provide themselves with, when leaving Egypt, then Jews call Pesah also “the holiday of unleavened bread” or “matzos.” It is baked at home, but since this process is absolutely unique - matzo should be baked exactly in 18 minutes, otherwise the process of fermentation starts and it becomes not kosher – in recent years matzo, produced in Israel with the help of machinery, is being brought to synagogue. As the rabbi, Arye Reichmann, a ton of matzo has been supplied this year!
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