Passover Facts: 6 Things You Didn't Know About Passover

For most Americans, Passover is that time once a year when their Jewish friends can't eat pizza. But there's actually a lot more to the holiday than what Jews can and cannot eat, and whose firstborn was killed or not killed (sorry Pharaoh!). For a good overview of the actual holiday, I suggest checking out these two sites. But if you want to impress your Jewish friends with some cool Passover facts, or if you need some good lines to break the ice with at your Seder, read on:

1. The World's Largest Passover Seder Takes Place in Nepal, of All Places. Each year members of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement hold their "Seder on Top of the World" in Kathmandu for Jewish locals and travelers alike (I'm gonna guess more the latter than the former). Last year they had around 2,000 people attend the festivities, and you can bet your tuchus that between the flowing wine and the thin air, it was quite the party.

2. Abraham Lincoln Was Assassinated During Passover. According to the American Jewish Historical Society, many Jews were in synagogue for the holiday when news of Lincoln's assassination broke. Altars in temples "were quickly draped in black and, instead of Passover melodies, the congregations chanted Yom Kippur hymns. Rabbis set aside their sermons and wept openly at their pulpits, as did their congregants." Sadly, a time that was supposed to be full of celebration became one of mourning.

3. Coca-Cola Makes a Special Batch of Kosher Coke for Passover. While Coke is generally a kosher product, the dietary laws tighten during the Passover holiday making high-fructose corn syrup a no-no for observant Jews (it really should be a no-no for everybody all the time, but that's neither here nor there). In response, Coca-Cola pumps out a batch of limited edition Coke that uses (gasp) real sugar instead of the kitniyot corn. Look for bottles with yellow caps on them to be sure you're getting the right one, baby! (I know, that was Pepsi's old jingle, but close enough.)

4. The First American Edition of the Haggadah Was Published in 1837. The Haggadah is the book or text Jews read from during Passover. It tells the origins of the holiday and explains how the Seder is supposed to proceed. Solomon Henry Jackson, an English-born American Jew, published the first American edition of the Haggadah in 1837 in New York. Jackson had moved to the city in the 1820s to establish the first Hebrew printing press, and The Jew, a monthly newspaper and the first Jewish periodical in the United States. One could say Jackson was the original member of the Jewish media elite.

5. Gefilte Fish is Really Good, I Swear. I know, I know, a bottle of gefilte fish looks more like something you'd find in science class than in a supermarket, but trust me when I say this: it tastes great. Some are even calling it "the new bacon." Explaining the ingredients or the process of making it would probably only hurt my case, so I'm just going to say that if you haven't tried it, you're missing out. Just think of it as a fish hot dog, and as you can tell from Hebrew National dogs, we Jews know how to do mushy meat!

6. Manischewitz is a Brand, Not the Hebrew Word for Kosher Wine. Just as a Kleenex is really a "facial tissue," and Q-Tips are actually "cotton swabs," Manischewitz is a proprietary eponym. Founded in 1927 by Leo Star, the Manischewitz winery has basically cornered the kosher wine market here in the US with their sweet concord grape wine. Yet like Coca-Cola, Manischewitz uses corn syrup to sweeten things up a bit, so surprisingly not all Manischewitz is actually kosher for Passover. *Follow HuffPostLiving on Twitter and become a fan of Huffington Post Living on Facebook*

Comments

[SGAZ]

Sugar is sugar folks whether it is the white granulated kind or HFCS. As a registered dietitian I can tell you that your body will process sugar or high fructose corn syrup in the exact same way. Each one provides 4 calories per gram. The goal is moderation.
Stephanie Green, RD

[nutrilove]

Great article about Passover! As a nutritionist, I enjoyed the tidbits about the food involved. However, I have to point out a passing remark made in point three, about Coke with real sugar. The article claims that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) should be a no-no for everyone. In that case, so should sugar. ALL sweeteners should be used in moderation—HFCS is NO DIFFERENT from sugar or honey in make-up or effect on the body. Much misconception has been spread about HFCS, though, and this comment perpetuates the misinformation. However, if you look at real science, rather than media messages and gossip, you will see that scientists continue to confirm that HFCS is no different than other sweeteners. Of course, to observe the holiday and avoid anything made with grains, by all means get Coke with real sugar. But do not be fooled that this is any better for you NUTRITIONALLY than any other kind of Coke. The best remedy for the consequences of all sweeteners is to follow a balanced and healthy eating plan!

Page Love, MS, RD, LD, founder/owner of Nutrifit, Sports, Therapy, Inc.

[Philji]

Here are some more facts few people know -- or don't like to think about. Namely, what happens next, after the Book of Exodus ends with Moses seeing the Promised Land from a distance. Do we imagine that the Hebrews went to the offices of Milk and Honey Real Estate to purchase a parcel of land? Nope, they invaded. They conquered. They laid waste to Jericho. As described in the Book of Joshua, “The army advanced on the city, every man straight ahead, and took it. Under the ban they destroyed everything in the city; they put everyone to the sword, men and women, young and old, and also cattle, sheep, and asses.” Then, in a series of massacres that would take a miniseries to depict, Joshua takes on every tribe in the region, and “he left no survivor, destroying everything that drew breath.” The invaders, like today’s suicide bombers, acted on what they considered God’s will.

It is understandable that religious leaders would end the story before those bloody episodes. But it does not serve us well to forget them. Not when the dark side of Islam is in the forefront of our minds and passages from the Koran are used to depict Islam as a uniquely violent religion.

Every religion points to the light, and every religion has a shadow. The more honest we are about the dark side of our past, the more likely it is that we can stand on common ground in the light.

[Dennis NJ]

I have the kosher Coke, buy it every year. It does taste better as I love Coke and drink lots of it. The ingredient label says it contains sucrose so it may not be cane sugar. Sucrose; a crystalline disaccharide, C1 2H2 2O1 1, the sugar obtained from the sugarcane, the sugar beet, and sorghum, and forming the greater part of maple sugar; sugar.

Also when I was in China they use cane sugar. Yummy. With the prices of corn hopefully they will go back to using cane sugar through out the year.

[RoccoBoma]

OK, I am a non-Jew. Gefilte fish, as I have experienced it (homemade, in a jar, at a deli) is nothing more than a horseradish delivery system. I just tried matzoh kugle; meh. I'll take some whitefish, a half-sour and the suffering.

[local21]

After 20 days and nights Moses came down Mount Sinai with the 5 commandments written on a stone tablet.

After seeing the Israelites were serving gefilte fish for dinner Moses climb back up Mount Sinai and waited another 20 days and nights to insure that all the remaining gefilte fish was eaten.

[salzy1]

As a Jew who's attended upwards of 60 seders, I'm sick to death of this holiday; the story, the food and everything else. I opted out of attending a seder this year and it felt great. As for matzah and gefilte fish: YUCH!!

[LMPE]

I'm a Jew and I eat pretty much whatever I want on Passover. I'm not a particularly observant Jew. I could identify the people who made the Looney Tunes cartoons before I knew the story of Passover.

[LiberalBuzz]

From a non Jewish person I found this absolutely fascinating.

BUT I have tried the fish and I am sorry but I almost lost everything I had eaten for the week by the time I was done. Like a lot of foods I would hazard a guess that it is either something you grow up with or develop a taste for (and I find that last one hard to "swallow")

[rebecca123]

As a Jewish person, I feel slightly disloyal to admit it, but I hate gefilte fish, always have and always will. It is vile. I understand my foremothers' desire to preserve fish and to make it more voluminous in order to feed many (I'm reminded of a certain Jesus parable...my God, could he have fed all those followers gefilte fish?! And they still loved him?!)--but I would only ever eat it to fend off certain death by starvation.

[pollyannacowgirl]

I'm a Gentile who LOVES gefilte fish. Never had it until I was 18, dating a Jewish guy. In fact, I love ALL Jewish soul food. mmmmmmmmm!

[liminal67]

Matzah ball soup....I need some...

http://pitchbendpost.blogspot.com/

[Deborah Jiang Stein - Huffpost Blogger]

Thought your readers would like the Haggadah in tweet idea!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-jiang-stein/passover-in-140-character_b_185435.html

[BubbieSue]

Okay, it's late, but I'll weigh in on the gefilte fish. I was too busy cooking before. According to Mrs. Simon Kander's early 20th century cookbook, "The Way to a Man's Heart," (Don't go there right now, anybody--that was then.) gefilte has to be spelled in German with a u with an umlaut (two dots above) instead of i. It literally means "filled" fish. Well, you have to fill it with something to prepare it ahead of time and make it last while you're making kneidlach, borscht, brisket, turkey, etc., so grinding whatever fish you can get with salt, pepper, onion and matzo meal plus eggs do the job.

I buy frozen loaves of fish, cook them in a large pot with lots of sliced carrots and onion until dead, wrap up the whole mess and let it refrigerate a day or two to mix flavors, and serve it sliced with prepared horseradish. I even get compliments from non-Jews. Try it, you'll like it.

[DC]

Sounds great!

[Khirad]

Actually doesn't sound gross at all (don't read ingredients for haggis). Thought I'd write out the umlauts too: gefüllte. I thought it was supremely ironic that not all Manischewitz is kosher!

[TchoupitoulasCanal]

So...when are you inviting us all over for dinner?

[madbonger618]

The 7th thing you didn't know about Passover. The Grateful Dead's spring tour would usually include dates on Seder Night and usually in NYC. Forcing Jewish Deadheads(which was a big percentage) to decide between their favorite band vs. their favorite holiday. Since they would do between 6-9 shows at Madison Square Garden I would skip those shows and of course the shows you skip are always the best of the run.

The Dead did do a couple of backstage Seders and I got to go to one. The bitter herb was tasty that night.

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

Hey, if you're going to have a Seder, NYC is the place for it... The Dead certainly knew where to be on the best food in the year.

[Michael Marinsky]

Gefilte fish is basically white fish and pike. Manishewitz I belive is actually made by the Monarch Wine Company. IIRC, they only make for other labels. All of their products are kosher, because of the continual rabbinical supervision.

The best April Fool's joke I heard years ago on NPR. On the 6 o'clock news, in the middle of other news stories, the announcer said "Due to over fishing in the Hudson, the gefilte fish is in danger of extinction." My mother fell for it hook, line and sinker.

[Nataloff]

By tradition and design, gefilte fish is made from mild, nondescript whitefish such as cod, bass, or the cast of "One Tree Hill." The fish itself doesn't have to be raised Jewish, but during the Passover season it must have been caught while swimming from right to left. It is finely ground and mixed with chopped onion and celery. Fresh-killed matzo meal is added along with salt and pepper, and the mixture is bound with brutally beaten eggs. This beating serves to remind Jews of their bondage under Yul Brynner. The fish paste is then formed into ovals, not too big, but not too small, and poached in fish stock until all the flavor has been removed. It is then served cold, so in case there's any flavor left, you shouldn't taste it. Red horseradish is offered as a garnish. Gefilte fish is served as a first course during the traditional Passover seder commemorating Cecil B. DeMille's freeing of Charlton Heston and 10,000 extras from slavery. It took ten plagues to do it including flanken, pickled herring, kishka, Maneshevitz wine, and my Aunt Sophie's brisket. The ceremony often begins by blowing the shofar -- but let's not go there.

[isisthecat]

LOL. Brilliant!

[mainemomma]

Your post made me laugh so hard my water came out of my nose!

[David B]

LOL!!! ROFL!!!

[pjburke]

"The ceremony often begins by blowing the shofar -- but let's not go there. "

I'm sure this will comfort the teabagger 'strangers' ... thinking that they'll at least have something to do while waiting for the Matzoh balls.