Preparing for Passover

Portland, ME — At one time, Ellie Miller didn’t mind staying up until 2 or 3 in the morning cleaning the oven or lining cupboards in preparation for Passover, only to get up for work the next day.

Today, that’s not as feasible, and she tries to find other ways to finish the cleaning and cooking in preparation for the Passover holiday, beginning April 2 this year.

In the days and weeks prior to Passover, Jews are asked to clean their homes of any chametz, or leavened food, which also symbolizes “getting rid of things that are weighing you down in life,” said Avis Smith, education director at Temple Beth El, a conservative congregation in Portland.

While the work, which includes extensive house cleaning and specialized cooking, can be overwhelming and exhausting, it also can be liberating and wonderful, said Miller, director of the Levey Day School in Portland.
The preparation that goes into the holiday, she imagines, is a lot like the training prior to a race, “being totally exhausted, but also feeling this incredible sense of accomplishment.”

Miller has been in charge of her family’s Passover celebration, including hosting the Seder, for about 20 people, for more than 30 years.

“It just really is quite wonderful,” she said. “Are there moments I could scream — sure. But there’s nothing like it.”

The Passover holiday celebrates the Jews’ exodus out of Egypt and freedom from slavery, and thus is considered a festival of freedom.

For Daniel Leeman, who serves as cantor at the Beth Israel Congregation in Bath, the holiday is about “trying to eradicate the Egypt that’s inside of us — the habits and choices we make that enslave us.”

“To some, it’s just exciting and wonderful,” Leeman said. “A lot of people find the entire thing somewhat burdensome. … People complain about the burden, but they do it every year with a smile.”

Some people have devised customs that allow them to adhere to the rules during the holiday without getting too overwhelmed by the work that precedes it, he said.

For instance, some families will go to a hotel to avoid the time-consuming house cleaning.

Others, he said, will create makeshift Passover “kitchens” in their cellar or attic and close off their actual kitchens for eight days, thus avoiding having to haul in a new set of dishes and line the sink and cupboards.

Others will use paper and plastic dishes and utensils during the eight days of Passover.

It can be a challenge at times, Smith said, to remember the sense of freedom associated with the holiday: “When you’re scrubbing the grout off your tiles, maybe it’s not in the forefront of your mind.”

The hands-on nature of the holiday, though, is part of what makes it so special, she said.

Smith said her grandmother used to scrub all of the walls in her home prior to Passover and would make her own wine in her basement. The preparation, she said, reaffirms one’s connection to his or her own family and to the Jewish family, as a whole.

“You really feel as though you identified with your tradition, with your ancestors,” Smith said. “It’s a way of identifying with the Jewish people.”
Passover is the most widely celebrated Jewish holiday in the country, said Rabbi Moshe Wilansky, director of Portland’s Chabad House. Some Jews will begin preparations for Passover a month ahead, and others may make smaller efforts.

Many Jews who don’t follow dietary regulations will still make some kind of an effort during Passover, Smith said. “They feel this is something manageable that they can do. It’s only for a week.”

For Marilyn Weinberg, a member of Beth Israel in Bath, Passover is a time to celebrate as a family. When they were young, her children would help with preparations, and her husband is still responsible for making the matzo brei. Weinberg said she enjoys trading recipes with others and making dishes like gefilte fish, a recipe she only brings out during Passover.

“I’m doing what my mother did,” Weinberg said. “I’m following a tradition that’s been done for centuries.”