The Washington times., 1902-04-21
Jewish PASSOVER
WEEK BEGINS TODAY
Orthodox Will Abstain From
Eating Leavened Bread.
PASACH WARE TO BE USED
Special Services in Every Hebrew House.
hold-Children Take Part in Home
misunderstanding the Matzoths Ac-
cording ito Mosaic Law.

The Jewish Passover commences today.
and for one week from this date the peo-
pie who adhere to the ancient customs
and will abstain from many articles of
food which at other times of the year are
looked upon as necessary.
Among the reformed Jews the season is
of Importance only in so far that they
have religious services at their houses of
worship on the first and last days of the
week and have the unleavened bread on
hinder OF the ancient custom than as a
part Of the meal.
Preparations for Celebration.
But among the orthodox Jews great
preparations are made for the proper
celebration OF the feast. The habitations.
no matter whether they are large or
small. dark apartment in double
decker tenement house or a prctentious
private house. are thoroughly cieansed.
and every kitchen utensil which Is used
in the rest of the year is put away to
make room for the Pasach kitchen ware.
An orthodox Jewish household must be
extremely poor where there are not spe-
cial kitchen utensils and tableware for
the Passover.
On the first evening of the feast the
members OF the family gather about the
table. which is laid as deliberately as the
householdcr's purse will allow. and then
the story OF the Passover is read by the
head of the family, and the origin Of the
feast is explained to the children, who
take part in the quaint ceremony by re-
sponses and songs. No matter how poor
the family may be. there is always
vacant chair at the table when this cere-
mony, known as the Seder. takes place, to
typify hospitality.
This is the chief religious ceremony of
the week. and Is observed to some extent
even among the reformed Jews, who have
modernized the ceremony, however. by
reading the story in English instead Of
using the original Hebrew.
Unleavened Bread.
The amount Of unleavened bread con-
sumed in the course OF the week follow
ing the Seder is very large. Several tak-
cries make the unleayened bread. called
matzoths. all the year. Some of the prod
uct Is sold out OF season. but the greater
Part is delivered within a few weeks OF
the Passover. There are many small bak
ing establishments where work is carried
on for two or three months in anticipa-
ton Of the Passover rush. The product OF
the small concerns goes for the most part
to the ultra orthodox Jews, FOR whom the
regular factory made matzoths are too
modern.
This bread, which resembles large
crackers. is made entirely from -four and
water. In the large concerns the mass is
mixed and kneaded by machinery. but in
the smaller establishments this work is
done by hand. The dough is passed be-
tween metal rollers and then cut into
square or round pieces.
Made According to Mosaic Law.
A venerable man who stood watching
the men at work In one of the basement
bakeries explained why only square mat
zoths were made there. He said:
According to the Mosaic law the mat
zothS must be in the oven in eighteen
minutes after the dough is mixed. This
can be done very easily when all the ma
teriai is cut into squares. But when you
have to gather up the pieces that fall be-
tween the disks. roll them out and cut
them up, mere time is consumed and the
mass is liable to leayen. That's the rea
son we have our Passover bread square,"
Nearly all the bakeries employ some
machinery. This is true even of those
where hand made" matZoths are baked.
The machinery in these consists OF stamp
ing presses on which the unleavened
dough is cut into the pieces which are az
terward baked. There are few places
where even these mechanical appliances
are dispensed with and the product is
strictly handmade and as nearly like the
original Passover bread as it can be pro-
duced.
One of these places is presided over by
a long bearded rabbi. whose duty 1t is to
see that the place is kept perfectly clean
and that everything connected with the
of the bread is conducted
on the lines laid down by the Mosaic law.
When the dough is taken from the
trough in which 1t has been mixed it is
turned over to men who knead it by
means of a wooden bar hinged to the
kneading board Then the mass is cut
into small pieces and passed over to wo-
men who knead ii again and cut IL into
small bits. which are rolled out into
pieces that are nearly circular, but the
ragged edges show that the pieces have
not been cut. and the matzoths are there
fore more acceptable to the orthodox
There are several grades of matzoths
on the market, ranging in price from 5
to 10 cents pound. and these are deliv-
cred in bulk. packed in dry goods boxes,
in paper packages, and In fancy boxes.
"Of course" said one small baker, our
customers are for the most part Jews
who buy the matzoths because they wish
to keep the Passover. but we have many
customers also who are not Jews, who
prefer the unleavened bread to crackers.
and our list of such customers is becom-