Jerusalem celebrates the burning of “the greatest bread in the world” for the Passover

The Jewish tradition is intended to ensure that there is no unleavened bread in the house and also symbolizes new beginnings.

Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Leon and Jerusalem Rabbi Shlomo Amar with the burning of bread before Easter in the background

The city of Jerusalem celebrated what could be “the largest burning of unleavened bread in the world” (jametz) to honor the beginning of Passover, a news release on behalf of the city’s municipality said Wednesday.

The burning was of leftover breads and cakes that were left in 100 containers around the city’s residents where they could dump their unwanted food scraps. The leftovers were piled up in a major location in the industrial zone of Atarot.

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The Mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Leon and the Rabbi of Jerusalem, Shlomo Amar were at the site, as well as Rabbi Arye Stern and other city authorities.

Leon said that despite the blockade and quarantine imposed by the coronavirus, “we could not leave behind any Jewish traditions”. He thanked the rabbis and city residents.

The reason the Jews abstain from eating during Passover is to remember the rush the Jews left Egypt. While non-Jewish communities can eat bread freely during this time, most supermarkets will not carry it during this time. That is why, in Israel, the Passover is known as “a feast for bakers.”

What is the Jametz?

Jametz is a Jewish term that refers to foods made from the flour of five types of grains: wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt, and those fermented with yeast.

Jametz literally means “leavened,” any food made from grains and water that fermented and leavened. Bread, cereals, cakes, cookies, pizza, pasta, and beer are the most classic examples of Jametz, but any food containing grain or its derivatives can be, and mostly is, considered Jametz.

In practice, any processed food that does not have strict rabbinical supervision is potentially Jametz.

How do they do it?

The night before Pesach (Passover), the Jews search for the Jametz, around the house and its surroundings by candlelight.

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It is customary to hide pieces of hard bread (preferably wrapped in paper so as not to scatter crumbs) in various places in the house for the seeker of the Jametz to find.

According to Kabbalah there must be 10 pieces.

You take a paper bag, a candle (or flashlight), a wooden spoon and a goose feather. Then, in the evening, the family is gathered and the next blessing is recited:

“Baruch Ata A-do-nai, E-lo-héinu Melej Haolám, asher Kideshánu Bemitzvotav, Vetzivanu al Biúr jametz.”

“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who sanctified us with His precepts and ordered us to eliminate the Jametz.”

One must search with the candle for all the hiding places including the cracks in the floor and the wall.

One should not speak between the blessing and the beginning of the search, even in matters concerning the search.

During the search, do not talk about anything else that is not directly related to the search.

Each older member of the family (from the age of 10/11) scans every corner of the house looking for traces of forgotten jametzes in addition to the 10 previously hidden wrapped pieces.

The family members must be close by to hear the blessing, and each one then goes to check his or her own place.

What is found is lifted with the spoon, helped with the pen, which is used as a broom, and then everything is placed in the bag, tied up and stored until the next morning.

After the search, any Jametz (which one might have missed) is cancelled and says

“Every jametz (cereal or sourdough) and yeast that is in my possession, which I have not seen and have not removed, and of which I know not of its existence, is null and void, like dust from the earth.”

After the search, they make sure to place the Jametz that will be consumed and the one that will be burned the next morning, in a safe place, so that no children or mice have access there and spread crumbs all over the house.

On the morning before Easter, at 5 o’clock in the morning (counting from dawn) one should make a fire and burn the Jametz and cancel it:

“Every Jametz (cereal or sourdough) and yeast that is in my possession, which I have not seen and have not removed, is null and void, like the dust of the earth.”

The ten pieces of bread must be burned, and the following must be said during the burning of the Jametz:

“May your will be Adonai our G-d, and G-d of our fathers, that as I remove the jametz from my house and from my possession, so may you remove all foreign forces, purge the spirit of impurity from the earth, eradicate our evil tendency from within us and not grant a heart of flesh to serve you in truth; Destroy in smoke all the sitra ajara and all the kelipot and all the iniquity, and remove the evil empire from the earth; and all those who afflict the shekinah, remove them with a spirit of destruction and judgment as You destroyed Egypt and its idols in those days, at this time of the year. Amen. Sela”.

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