Certain aspects surrounding the Passover holiday are embedded in Israeli culture; I’ll briefly describe some that you might not have known about.
General Renewal
The month leading up to Passover is geared to renewal. Judging by the advertisements on Israeli media, this is not just about spring cleaning but a much broader renewal: from furniture in your home, to air conditioning, to a new car, to gym membership, to swimming lessons, to mindfulness training.
The Passover-Eve Traffic Jam
A relatively large proportion of Israel’s population lives in the center of the country, within an hour’s drive (at non-peak rush hours) of Tel Aviv, the country’s business and cultural capital. On the eve of Passover, a lot of these Israelis travel to celebrate the Seder with Savta and/or other relatives. It’s a tradition in Israeli culture to either get stuck in these huge traffic jams or to experience schadenfreude in light of them. And yes, there are always those stories of religiously observant families who, realizing that there is no way they will get to their destination before the holiday begins at sundown, veer off to a nearby town, somehow find a family willing to welcome them not just for the Seder but for sleeping accommodations and meals the next day! Inevitably, all involved speak of this as the most powerful and meaningful Seder of their lives.
Chocolate Spread
This culinary delight, a staple of Israeli children’s sandwiches for aruchat eser (the 10:00 a.m. meal), reaches its zenith on Pesach. For some, or so the advertisements would have us believe, it wouldn’t be Passover without chocolate spread and matzah. Chocolate spread has the texture of cream cheese and it comes in dairy or pareve options. I never ate this product growing up but I have to admit that the creamy, sweet chocolate combined with the crunchy, bland matza is a winning combination–so winning that you sometimes wonder whether going through complicated recipes with matzah meal, potato starch, and egg whites produces a dessert that is substantially better. To avoid tragic scenes, though, if you have observant people at your table and you are having a meat meal, make sure to have the pareve version of the chocolate spread. [Helpful hint for a different holiday: At Purim time, chocolate spread and peanut butter make fabulous Reese’s hamantaschen!]
The Great Passover Escape
Many Israelis use the Passover holiday for a trip abroad. After all, the first and last days of Passover are state holidays, and Passover eve and the interim days are partial holidays as well. Plus, if you have kids, you need to do something with them. Israelis with a sense of tradition and/or family who cause them “rigshee” (short for “rigshay asham” or guilt feelings), stay for the Seder and fly out to a nearby destination (say Cyprus) the day after. Depending on what you prefer, whether a luxury villa, a bed & breakfast, an all-inclusive hotel (either regular or kosher for Passover), it will often all be much cheaper abroad than the Israeli equivalent – even factoring in the cost of the airfare and car rental. Similar to Passover eve, the huge crowds at the airport, particularly on the day after the Seder, are ingrained in Israeli culture, and for those not involved in them, provoke a pleasant schadenfreude.
Endnote
Please learn from my mistake and think of Passover eve as akin to the eve of Yom Kippur rather than to Fridays (Sabbath eves) or the eves of other holidays, in terms of store-closings and public transportation. When I was a student in Jerusalem who was unaware of this rule, I showed up at the city’s central bus station at about 2 p.m. only to learn that I had missed the last bus to Kiryat Arba. I was embarrassed to cancel with my hosts and had to scramble for a new arrangement. Thankfully, the Staviskys, old family friends, lived near my yeshiva in Jerusalem, and they graciously hosted me for the Seder. It was a very meaningful experience. Happy holiday!
