With Passover approaching, Jews around the world will be making preparations to commemorate the plight of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt by eating Matzoh and Maror at approximately 7.29pm BST on Monday 29th March 2010.
Unleavened bread, or Matzoh, commemorates the hurry in which the Hebrews left Egypt following the Passover, or Pesach. According to the Torah, the bread did not even have time to rise before Moses led them into the desert.
Maror, or bitter herbs, represent the bitterness of slavery and form part of a traditional meal held after nightfall at the beginning of Passover.
The US President is preparing to host a Seder meal at the White House tonight, and Jews throughout Israel will be cleaning cars, cooking food and undertaking chores which will become forbidden by the eveningtime.
In his Thought for the Day, the British Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks said:
…the story of Passover taught us as children that the world doesn’t have to be the way it is. Slaves can go free. The hungry can be fed. We can become God’s partners in the work of redemption. Never underestimate the power of a story to enlarge the moral imagination of a child.
