Intermountain Jewish news., 1926-02-04

We come into the Jewish home and
we are suddenly dazzled by the
brightness, by the brilliance, by the
cleanliness of everything; for the
Jewish mother, understanding the sig
nificance of this festival to her people,
has spent days, and even weeks in
cleaning the house, in removing the
dirt of the past year; and you will
see on the table new dishes. because
she wants to make distinction be-
tween the usual, the ordinary, the
trite, on this wonderful occasion that
has come.
And we see long table at which
is seated patriarchial father, a
father with white hair, father whom
you might picture as an Abraham, as
one of the patriarchs of the Isreal-
ties; and you see also seated there
their sons and daughters and their
children, and you find that some of
them have come hundreds and even
thousands of miles, in order to be
with their parents, in order to glad
den their hearts and add greater joy
to this already joyous festival.
And this patriarch is dressed in n
long white robe, and he has on his
head beautifully decorated silk hat,
and he lies on cushions. He does not
sit as the rest of them. He lies on
cushions in the manner of the an
cient freemen of Egypt and Rome, be-
cause he wants to feel free, he wants
to be in the mood of freedom, pure
and holy freedom of both body and
soul, and he wants to act like free
man, and not like a slave.
The Coming of Elijah and Messiah
And so he reclines. Then he rises
and sings with sweetly-sung tune,
n benediction to God, thanking him
for having given him this glorious
day. And then we hear shrill, small
I voice. 1t is the voice of the youngest
son as he asks the question: "Why
is this night different from all other
nights 2" and for half an hour the
assembled guests answer that ques-
ton. They read the answer that takes
them back through the haze of CEN
turies, takes them back to the time
when they too were burdened with
stories, when they too were fettered,
when they too were enslaved under
: the hands of the task-masters, when
they had to work by the sweat of
their brows in order to please the
whim of great Pharaoh.
And then comes the treat of the
evening, feast of delicacies such as
only Jewish mother knows how to
prepare. And we see the father, this
patriach, pour wine into a special COB
! let and he asks someone to open the
door, and then he explains the mean
, ing of it. He says that this goblet of
wine is for Elijah, that beautiful ro-
mantle character in Jewish literature
who will be the forerunner of the
. Messiah; and we do not know when
he will come, but come he will. For
thousands of years, year after year
, we have opened our doors expecting
5 him, and we who have been perse.
l cuted, we who have been treated ir
f the most shameful manner by Other
/, peoples, have felt the thing just as
5 the apocalyptical writers Of old have
l felt, that there must be a Messiah
e that there must be coming into {
e millennium; and when this Messiah
S will come, it is our belief that He will
2 take us all back to our Holy Land
E There will be resurrection Of tht
!, dead This is the old traditional be
e lief that the dead will rise from tn,
e ground and come back with the liv
e ing to the land of their fathers, an'
4 there they will rejoice, and there the,
| will sing songs of praise and glad
ness; there they will live a free un
f fettered life and come back once NOR,
{ into their own.
t Ceremonial Explanation
i The father explains these things
: And on the table we see bitter herbs
!, and he tells us that those are to re
:, mind us of our embittered life il
e Egypt We see the unleavened brea
t which we were forced to bake upol
: the burning sands by the heat of tn
{ sun, owing to our hasty departure ou
u of the land Of the oppression. We Sc
c special compound which is to re
It mind us of the bricks that we wer