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Passover.
Passover is the holiday that marks the birth of the Jewish nation, the nation which from the moment of its historical appearance was the people of Almigty G-d. The history of the holliday is the story of the Exodus. Passover is celebrated for eight days (seven in Israel). On the eve of Passover the Seder is organized. During the Seder the leader of it tells the audience the Haggadah - the story of slavery and the Exodus, everybody participate in praying and the feast meal. We are to drink the necessary traditional four cups of vine, we eat matzot and maror - the bitter grass of slavery. Our Sages tell us that there came four sons to eat and to listen to their father story of the Exodus: a clever one, a villain, a simpleton, and he who does not know anything about it. Each of them has his own notion about the Commandments of the Tora but they still know and observe the obligation to participate in the Passover Seder. At present we have another fifth son, who knows nothing whatsoever about Passover who even does not consider it as his personal holiday On the evening of the 16-th of April 2003 the hall of the hotel "Riga" was overcrowded. More then 250 guests came to Seder organized by Habad - Lubavich Latvia. The feeling of unity overflowed our hearts with joy. We each and everybody are free. The Seder proceed strictly according to its route and was led by Rabbi Mordechai Glazman. The chairmen of the Jewish Communities of Latvia also greeted the audience. So the firs step towards the Receiving of the Tora on the Mount Sinai is made. The Haggadah is read. Part of it is the father's answer to his son's questions about the exception of the given night in comparison to every other night of the year. The motto of the holiday each Jew is to feel as though he or she has just been liberated from the slavery in Egypt. Next evening with the beginning of the second day of Passover we start to count Omer - 49 days connecting it, the holiday of the Exodus from Egypt, and Shavuot, the day commemorating the Giving of the Tora on the Mount Sinai. The celebration at school took place on the 15-th of April the last school day before the holidays. Some entry words and then competitions. First of them asked that the children made a recipe for any dish suitable for Passover and not a much time consuming one. Everything necessary was prepared beforehand. In 15 minutes the dish was granted to the judges. The second competition was about Plagues. Each class chose the animal the children were going to make before and the necessary materials were also collected in advance. The best results got the tenth grade. Then there was a play 'A Field of Wonders'. Each class sent a representative, the prize went to the boys of the 8-th form. The search of hametz was performed and its collective burning on the bonfire at the schoolyard. The celebration at school is over. Till tomorrow - the evening of the Seder. back |
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