Monday, March 26, 2012

Fun facts(?) to know and tell about Pesach

Aside for the one about Coke, I have absolutely no idea if these are true...

- In the British territory of Gibraltar, Jews actually mix the dust of bricks into their *charoset*, a symbol of the mortar used to hold together the brick walls the Jews built in Egypt.
- Many Jews were in synagogue for Passover when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. The American Jewish Historical Society notes that synagogue bimahs “were quickly draped in black and, instead of Passover melodies, the congregations chanted Yom Kippur hymns.”
- Coca-Cola makes a special batch of kosher-for-Passover Coke with real sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup, because corn products are forbidden during the holiday. Look for the bottles with yellow caps.
- In Vilna, Poland, during World War I, it was very difficult to find kosher wine. Rabbinical authorities made a special announcement to allow sweet tea to be substituted for the traditional four cups of wine during the
seder ceremony.
- Centuries ago during Passover, Jewish people living in the Sahara abandoned their fortified villages and marched into the desert, in memory of the first Passover.

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