Jewish community prepares for Passover

BROWNSVILLE — Rabbi Asher Hecht of Chabad of the Rio Grande Valley was in Brownsville on Monday as part of an effort to distribute kosher shmurah matzahs to Jews here and around the world for the observance of Passover.

The well-known Jewish holiday commemorates the Israelites’ exodus from slavery in Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. This year, it falls on Friday and continues for eight days through April 7.

The dates are determined by the Jewish calendar. Eating matzah, or unleavened bread, is central to the holiday.

Passover matzah, shmurah matzah in Hebrew, is symbolic of the bread the Jews prepared for their hasty exodus from the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. They couldn’t wait for their dough to rise and thus ate unleavened crackers called “matzah.”

Present day shmurah matzahs, literally watched matzahs, are similar to the ones eaten by the ancient Jews. From the moment the wheat is harvested, the ingredients are carefully watched to ensure that they do not come into contact with moisture and become leavened, which would be prohibited on Passover, according to information provided by Chabad-Lubavitch, the organization distributing the crackers worldwide, and to which Hecht belongs.

On a deeper level, Jewish tradition teaches that this intensive process and careful guarding gives the shmurah matzah an infusion of faith. It is thus important to use shmurah matzah at the seder, a 15-step family-oriented tradition and ritual-packed feast observed on each of the first two nights of Passover.

Hecht said that for Jews, the annual Passover observance involves personal self-examination and liberation from societal expectations. The holiday provides a time to ask yourself whether you’re doing something, or wishing you didn’t have to, because of societal pressure — and then to take it easy for a few days and “liberate yourself.”

The effort that brought Hecht to Brownsville is part of a global Passover campaign that began in 1954 to create awareness and promote the holiday’s observance. Hecht said the campaign aims to make sure every Jew, regardless of affiliation, position or location, has the provisions they need to celebrate Passover.

He said the Chabad-Lubavitch organization expects to distribute some 4 million hand-baked shmurah matzahs around the world leading up to the beginning of Passover on Friday. Locally, the rabbi said he would distribute about 1,000 boxes of the unleavened crackers, some of them in person and some through the mail.

Passover will be observed with festive seder dinners Friday and Saturday night. Other holiday observances include restricting the consumption of leavened products, such as bread and pasta, instead eating unleavened products such as matzah.