Blood libel or ritual murder libel is an antisemitic canard which falsely accuses Jews of murdering Christian children in order to use their blood in the performance of religious rituals. Historically, echoing very old myths of secret cultic practices in many prehistoric societies, the claim as it is leveled against Jews was rarely attested to in antiquity but it was frequently attached to early communities of Christians in the Roman Empire, reemerging as a Christian accusation against Jews in the medieval period. This libel—alongside those of well poisoning and host desecration—became a major theme of the persecution of Jews in Europe from that period to the present day.
Matzo, matzah, or matza is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which chametz is forbidden.
Passover, also called Pesach, is a major Jewish holiday that occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. The word Pesach or Passover can also refer to the Korban Pesach, the paschal lamb that was offered when the Temple in Jerusalem stood, to the Passover Seder, the ritual meal on Passover night, or to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. One of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals, Passover is traditionally celebrated in the Land of Israel for seven days and for eight days among many Jews in the Diaspora, based on the concept of yom tov sheni shel galuyot.
The Passover Seder is a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar. The day falls in late March or in April of the Gregorian calendar and the Passover lasts for seven days in Israel and eight days outside Israel. Jews generally observe one or two seders: in Israel, one seder is observed on the first night of Passover; many Jewish diaspora communities hold a seder also on the second night. The Seder is a ritual performed by a community or by multiple generations of a family, involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. This story is in the Book of Exodus (Shemot) in the Hebrew Bible. The Seder itself is based on the Biblical verse commanding Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: "You shall tell your child on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" Traditionally, families and friends gather in the evening to read the text of the Haggadah, an ancient work derived from the Mishnah. The Haggadah contains the narrative of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, commentaries from the Talmud, and special Passover songs.
Granola is a breakfast food and snack food consisting of rolled oats, nuts, honey or other sweeteners such as brown sugar, and sometimes puffed rice, that is usually baked until it is crisp, toasted and golden brown. During the baking process, the mixture is stirred to maintain a loose breakfast cereal consistency. Dried fruit, such as raisins and dates, and confections such as chocolate are sometimes added. Granola is often eaten in combination with yogurt, honey, fresh fruit, milk or other forms of cereal. It also serves as a topping for various pastries, desserts or ice cream.
Matzah balls or matzo balls are Ashkenazi Jewish soup dumplings made from a mixture of matzah meal, beaten eggs, water, and a fat, such as oil, margarine, or chicken fat. Matzah balls are traditionally served in chicken soup and are a staple food on the Jewish holiday of Passover, though they are not eaten during Passover by those who observe a prohibition on soaking matzah products.
Manischewitz is a leading brand of kosher products based in the United States, best known for its matzo and kosher wine. Founded in 1888, it became a public corporation in 1923 and remained under family control until 1990, when it was bought out by a private equity firm. On April 7, 2014, Sankaty Advisors, an arm of the private equity firm Bain Capital, bought the company from a group that included the investment firm Harbinger. It is the world's largest matzo manufacturer, one of America's largest kosher brands, and the first American exporter of matzo.
Afikoman, a word originally having the connotation of "refreshments eaten after the meal", is now almost strictly associated with the half-piece of matzo which is broken in two during the early stages of the Passover Seder and set aside to be eaten as a dessert after the meal.
Chametz are foods with leavening agents that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to halakha, Jews may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover. This law appears several times in the Torah; the punishment for eating chametz on Passover is the divine punishment of kareth.
Gebrochts refers to matzo that has absorbed liquid. In Hebrew, gebrochts is known as matzo shriya or shruya. Gebrochts is an aspect of Passover kashrut observed by many in the Hasidic Jewish community, and among some other Ashkenazi Jewish groups influenced by Hasidism.
Aron Streit, Inc. is a kosher food company founded in Manhattan, New York City, best known for its product Streit's Matzo. It is the only family-owned and operated matzo company in the United States, and distributes matzo in select international markets. It holds about 40 percent of the United States matzo market with its major competitor, New Jersey based Manischewitz.
Yehuda Matzos Moshe Ludmir & Sons Ltd., or simply Yehuda Matzos is a large Israeli matzo company based in Jerusalem which is a large local matzo company and leading exporter to the United States, Canada, and other countries.
During the 2008 Passover season, kosher-for-Passover margarine in the United States was short in supply due to several issues, leading to a scramble among kosher consumers to obtain the staple since it features prominently in many Passover recipes.
(1745-1815,also named Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz)
Pesach Sheni occurs every year on 14 Iyar. This is exactly one month after 14 Nisan, the day before Passover, which was the day prescribed for bringing the Korban Pesach in anticipation of that holiday. As described in the source text for this mitzvah, the Israelites were about to celebrate Passover one year after leaving Egypt.
The White House Passover Seder was an annual private dinner held at the White House on the Jewish holiday of Passover during the presidency of Barack Obama. Obama initiated it in 2009 for his family, staff members, friends, and their families. The gathering recited the Passover Haggadah, discussed the themes of the Passover Seder and their relation to current events, and partook of a holiday-themed meal. Obama hosted and attended the Seder each year from 2009 to 2016. It was the first Passover Seder to be conducted by a sitting U.S. president in the White House.
Matzah pizza is a type of pizza made by baking a piece of matzo that has been topped with sauce and cheese. Because Jewish law prohibits the consumption of leavened bread during Passover, some individuals use matzo as a substitute for traditional pizza crusts during the holiday.
The Birds' Head Haggadah is the oldest surviving illuminated Ashkenazi Passover Haggadah. The manuscript, produced in the Upper Rhine region of Southern Germany in the early 14th century, contains the full Hebrew text of the Haggadah, a ritual text recounting the story of Passover – the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt – which is recited by participants at a Passover Seder. The text is executed in block calligraphy and accompanied by colorful illustrations of Jews performing the Seder practices and reenacting Jewish historical events. The Birds' Head Haggadah is so called because all Jewish men, women, and children depicted in the manuscript have human bodies with the faces and beaks of birds. Non-Jewish and non-human faces are blank or blurred. Numerous theories have been advanced to explain the unusual iconography, usually tied to Jewish aniconism. The Haggadah is in the possession of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, where it is on permanent exhibition.
Matzoquiles is a Mexican-Jewish fusion dish somewhat similar to the Ashkenazi Jewish dish matzah brei, the Mexican dish chilaquiles, and the Yemenite Jewish dish fatoot samneh, and is popular during Passover.
Matzo lasagna, also known as matzagna, is a Jewish type of lasagna made by layering sheets of matzo with typically a tomato or a bechamel sauce and various cheeses. It originated from the Italian Jews and is popular in Israel, the United States, and the rest of the diaspora. It is similar to the traditional Sephardic Jewish dish mina; though the fillings differ as mina is typically made with meat or a spinach and feta filling while matzo lasagna is made with sauce and cheese.
