Photos: Passover 2012 begins

Posted Apr 06, 2012

By riacomacci

Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival commemorating the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar, which is in spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and is celebrated for seven or eight days. It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays.

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This photo taken Wednesday, released by The Lori Schottenstein Chabad Center, shows, from left, son Mendy, Rabbi Areyah Kaltmann, and sons Yitzi and Shea, taken at The Lori Schottenstein Chabad Center in Columbus, Ohio. Rabbi Kaltmann bought historic tractates, or passages that make up religious and civil law known as the Talmud, from an auction house. They are part of a limited number of books the U.S. Army authorized for publication. Associated Press
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A baker examines special matzo, a traditional handmade Passover unleavened bread, in a bakery in Kfar Chabad near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday. Jews are forbidden to eat leavened foodstuffs during the Passover holiday. The week-long festival, which commemorates the exodus of the ancient Hebrews from Egypt, begins at sundown Friday. Associated Press
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Orthodox Jews prepare special matzo, a traditional handmade Passover unleavened bread, at a bakery before the Passover holiday in the port city of Ashdod, Israel. Associated Press
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In this Tuesday photo, Hasidic Jew Levi Mentz, left, hands Nisim Keinan a piece of Matzah, the unleavened bread that is used during the Jewish holiday of Passover in Destin, Fla. The Hasidic Jews flew in from Brooklyn, N.Y., Monday as part of a Jewish outreach program. Their mission is to wander Destin, looking for anyone of Jewish descent, from locals to spring breakers. Associated Press
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In this Wednesday photo, Israeli chef Noam Dekkers of Liliyot restaurant holds two versions of a fish dish, one kosher for Passover and another served on a piece of bread, right, at a restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Jewish springtime holiday Passover is known as a festival of freedom, but its hallmark is a litany of dietary restrictions centered on not eating leavened bread for a week. The rules are so elaborate that chefs who want to observe the ritual law must prepare weeks before, cleaning away every last crumb, buying up doubles of kitchen utensils, and planning menus without bread or regular flour. Associated Press
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Amy Smith tries to coax her 5-year-old daughter, Emily, to eat a sprig of parsley during the Passover celebration at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Tampa, Fla., Tuesday. Tampa JCC Preschool South Branch children sang songs and made Seder plates to commemorate the story of the Exodus. Associated Press
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Ultra-Orthodox Jewish girl waits at a market where free potatoes where distributed Tuesday to large families in preparation for the upcoming Passover holiday in Jerusalem. The week-long festival commemorates the exodus of the ancient Hebrews from Egypt. Associated Press
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Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men collect spring water to be used in the preparation of matzo, a traditional handmade Passover unleavened bread, in Bnei Brak, an ultra Orthodox Jewish town near Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press
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In this Thursday photo, a worker of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa rabbinate immerses dishes from boiling water to remove remains of leavened food in one of the kitchens in Liliyot restaurant, making it kosher for the Jewish holiday of Passover, in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Jewish springtime holiday Passover is known as a festival of freedom, but its hallmark is a litany of dietary restrictions centered on not eating leavened bread for a week. The rules are so elaborate that chefs who want to observe the ritual law must prepare weeks before, cleaning away every last crumb, buying up doubles of kitchen utensils, and planning menus without bread or regular flour. Associated Press
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Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men gather to collect water from a water tower. It will be used in the preparation of matzo, a traditional handmade Passover unleavened bread, in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish town of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press
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Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men burn leavened items in a final preparation before the Passover holiday in the ultra Orthodox Jewish town of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday. Jews are forbidden to eat leavened foodstuffs during the Passover holiday. Associated Press
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Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men burn leavened items Friday in a final preparation before the Passover holiday in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish town of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel. Jews are forbidden to eat leavened foodstuffs during the Passover holiday. Associated Press
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Chef Noam Dekkers , in the back, watches workers of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa rabbinate blow-torch the grill stove in one of the kitchens in Liliyot restaurant, making it kosher for the Jewish holiday of Passover, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press
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Members of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia deliver matzo, an unleavened bread, for the Jewish holiday of Passover to inmates of the Butyrka prison in Moscow Wednesday. Kosher matzo is written on the box in Cyrillic. Associated Press