Palestine daily herald. [volume] (Palestine, Tex.) 1902-1949, 1906-04-10
BEGINNING OF THE
JEWISH PASSOVER
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
FESTIVALS OF THE WHOLE
YEAR.-JEWlsH EASTER.

Special to the Herald.
New York. April Holiday marks
the beginning of the feast of the
Passover, one of the most important
Jewish festivals of the whole year.
1t is the Jewish Easter, according to
the Hebrew chronology, and is OBJ.
served by all branches of the faith,
the reformed section abbreviating the
season of unleavened bread to seven
days and being less strict as to full
fillment of the ancient traditions.
The initial services of the feast arc
in the homes of the worshippers,
after a season in the synagogue.
One quaint and interesting Gus
tom which is observed by strictly or
thodox families is ''B1i'kas Chumetz."
searching for leaven, which begins
twenty-four hours before the Pass
over Then in the strictest silence
the whole house is searched, every
closet and corner is looked into to
see that no "chumetz" or leaven is
left in the building; for every ortho-
dox Jew deems it his solemn duty to
see that everything containing leaven
is removed from the house. The
head of the house, with a large wood
en- spoon and a feather in one hand
and a wax taper in the other, fol
-. - 10 90,
searches the house thoroughly from
top to bottom. If any crumbs of
leaven should be found they are then
brushed into the spoon with the
feather, then the feather is placed
on top and the two tied together
with string. On the following morn
ing the whole thing is burned, the
house is declared clean, and prepare
tions are Immediately begun for the
great feast on the following day.
For week or more previous to the
Passover the pushcart men of the
New York ghetto make harvest. In
the streets of the lower East Side
their carts, which line the curbs
make the thoroughfares almost i'm
passable. Table ornaments, crock
cry, laces, ribbons, pictures, lamps,
baskets, groceries, meats and, in fact,
almost all the needs of the East Slider
are supplied from the pushcarts
Many in this season buy entire new
outfits of clothing in order that every.
thing they have on their bodies may
be absolutely clean, and it is the am
bition of every Jewish housewife to
have as many new furnishings in her
home on this occasion as her purse
can buy. Houses are swept and
scrubbed from top to bottom, every
sign of dirt is removed, and new fur
niture and cooking utensils are
bought to replace anything of the |
kind that shows signs of being I'M
sanitary. For those who are too
poor to buy new plates, there is a
law of Mastering" A mole is dug
in the ground, stone or large piece
of solid metal, which has been
brought to white heat, is placed
within, and those things which are to
be "kashered" are placed on top.
Boiling water is then poured over
this, and the things are not removed
until all steam has disappeared. AT.
ter being rinsed they are dried and
put away ready for use.
Only unleavened bread, or mat.
10th" is allowed to be eaten in Pass
over week, and every family lays in
a supply. Over 1,25O,OOO pounds of
'matzoth," or 31,25O,OOO cakes. are
in New York City by its
Hebrew population every Passover
The orthodox and foreign Jews will
have nothing but hand made mat
10th" but the American and Re
formed Jews use those made by ma
Oklahoma PresbVteFians