Celebrating Passover in Amenia

With the start of spring comes the Jewish holiday of Passover, an eight-day festival which began on sundown, March 25, this year and ends on Tuesday, April 2. In the Harlem Valley that means many of the Jewish faith will be celebrating at Temple Beth David in Amenia.Passover celebrates the freeing of the Jewish people from slavery in ancient Egypt. The historyThe history of the holiday is that Moses was sent to the Pharaoh with God’s message to free the Israelites from slavery, but the Pharaoh refused. God retaliated against Egypt with the 10 plagues — the last of which was to kill their firstborn. Those of the Jewish faith were told to mark their homes with the blood of a spring lamb, to spare their firstborn the same fate as the Egyptians’. Because the Jewish firstborn were not slain, and were “passed over,” the holiday of Passover was created.“Passover for us commemorates the universal yearning for freedom as expressed in the Exodus, over 3,000 years ago,” explained Rabbi Jon Haddon, of Beth David. “In a sense it is the most important holiday for the Jewish people because without freedom there is no humanity, so I think all people are able to identify with Passover, no matter what their religion is.”The meaningIn Hebrew, the word for Egypt is mitzrayim, which means narrow or constricted places, which Haddon said is fitting for the Passover holiday.“We look at Passover also as a time for us to shed off constricting things in our life which are causing us pain or constricting our life opportunities to clean the slate,” he said. “It’s a time for renewal and optimism and hope.”The traditionThe Amenia synagogue held a Passover service on Saturday, March 23; it will hold another short service, followed by a Seder, on Friday, March 29, at 6 p.m. The Passover Seder is a traditional ritual feast that includes eating and drinking food and wine from the Passover plate, with each food representing part of the Exodus. It includes eating matzo, which commemorates the flat unleavened bread the Israelites ate when they left Egypt; bitter herbs, to signify the bitter slavery endured by the Israelites; and drinking four cups of wine or grape juice, to celebrate newfound freedom. While eating from the Passover plate the Haggadah, which tells the story of the Exodus, is read from at the table. The Haggadah ensures children will learn the story of the Exodus at Passover.Rabbi Haddon held Passover services on Wednesday, March 27, at The Fountains in Millbrook. He said he expects 30 to 40 people to attend Friday’s service and Seder in Amenia, and that he’s looking forward to the event.“We have a small congregation with a big heart — that’s the way I describe the temple,” Haddon said. “For services we just don’t get a lot of people, but I don’t count the house. For the 10 or 12 people who come it can be just as inspiring as if there were 100.”For more information on Passover services call 845-373-8264 or go to www.congbethdavid.org. Temple Beth David is located at 3344 East Main Street (Route 343) Amenia.