COMMUNITY MAGAZINE March 2021

ADAR - NISSAN 5781 / MARCH 2021 35 (Answer: Egypt); “Where are you going?” (Answer: Jerusalem); “What are you carrying?” (Answer: matzah ). Moroccan Jews take the sack and tap it on the head of each person at the table while saying in Hebrew, “In haste we went out of Egypt.” The Festive Meal The tray is brought back to the table, and the reading of the Passover story begins. After the second cup of wine, and before the meal is served, various berachot are said over foods. First, we wash hands, say the blessing and eat a portion of matzah . Next comes the maror (bitter herbs) dipped in haroset . This symbolizes our hope that all the bitterness of exile will be eliminated, and the Holy Temple will be rebuilt. The sticky haroset reminds us of the cement with which the slaves made bricks in Egypt. It can be made from any number of dried fruits. Syrian Jews usually make a paste using dates, wine, finely chopped nuts, and cinnamon. Next comes the korekh, a sandwich of matzah , bitter herbs (romaine), and haroset . It is the custom of Aleppan Jews to eat the shank bone from the seder plate, before eating the egg. Syrians customarily serve lamb shanks as an entrée, with rice. (Sephardic tradition permits eating rice during Passover, whereas the practice among Ashkenazim is to refrain from rice throughout the holiday.) Lastly, each person eats the hard-boiled egg before the meal, symbolic of the festival sacrifice which was offered at the Temple in Jerusalem. While every culture offers unique ways of entertaining guests, Syrian hospitality has always been concerned with opening one’s home to friends and family in the most gracious, generous way. So the seder meal will be generous, and will include soup, a chicken dish, a beef dish, a stuffed vegetable, a rice dish and vegetables. While each family adapts their seder to particular traditions handed down from generation to generation, the Passover story and associated foods remind us of Hashem’s hand in our lives, past, present, and future. Sarina Roffé is a journalist and author of Backyard Kitchen: Mediterranean Salads and Backyard Kitchen: The Main Course, cookbooks based on her grandmother’s catering company Salem Catering, as well as the Sarina’s Sephardic Cuisine cooking app. The books are available on Amazon.com. KEEP YOUR FAMILY'S CONNECTION TO ISRAEL STRONG YOUR LAND OF MITZVOT 011972-544379365 . david@adama613.com בס"ד OWN A PIECE OF PRIVATE LAND IN THE CENTER OF ISRAEL RECEIVE a fenced in field with signage, irrigation systems, wheat, barley, grapes, etrog & fruit trees FULFILL 30 Mitzvot that are dependent upon the land of Israel VISIT with your kids and grandkids at your field and perform the mitzvot with our farmers ENJOY your own olive oil for Chanukah and Wine for kiddush & pick your own 4 minim ENJOY your fruits, give to the poor, share with relatives USE your field and Adama 613 welcome center for your Bar Bat Mitzvas and simchas REVIEWED approved by leading halachic authorities Rav Asher Wiess and "Machon Hatorah V'haaretz " Rabbi David Ziering W W W . A D A M A 6 1 3 . C O M