This past Sunday, I woke up early and decided to start my day with a nutritious bowl of bran flakes. No sooner had I reached for the cereal box, however, when I remembered the Passover seder just the night before and the fact that for the next eight days, bran flakes, and any other products made with yeast or grain, were off-limits.
During the eight days of the Jewish holiday of Passover, participants abstain from eating leavened food and partake in the ritual of eating matzah, which symbolizes the unleavened bread the Jews ate during their hasty exodus from Egypt. Like any ritual, keeping kosher for Passover can be done to varying degrees. The more observant Jews will empty their entire house of leavened products before the holiday, even getting rid of dog food. In fact, if a very observant owner does not wish to keep the pet on a kosher diet for Passover, then the dog must temporarily leave the house along with the bread products. (And leavening can sneak up on you in all sorts off ways: Viagra, for example, was recently declared not kosher for Passover, due to leavening in the pill's coating.)
I have kept Passover for many years and rather enjoy the eight day dietary challenge. When I was younger, my peanut butter and jelly on matzah sandwiches made me a lunch time novelty for the Passover week. My friends were always in awe of the odd looking food and often a large portion of my PB&J was handed out as free samples. This kept up even in high school (there's something about other people's traditions when you yourself don't follow them, I suppose). Yes, Passover was fun when I was living at home, with access to a kitchen stocked with Passover friendly food and a father who cooked things like matzah lasagna, matzah farn fel and cheese, matzah meal pancakes, matzah stuffing, matzah brei (think scrambled eggs and matzah) and of course, matzah ball soup.
Last year as a freshman, I assumed that a Passover in college would be no problem. Doing Passover DDS style, however, turned out to be not so easy. Sure Homeplate served matzah ball soup a couple of times, and the Hop sold pieces of rather stale matzah wrapped in cellophane, but that was about it. The night I found Passover brownies being offered in Collis was a very happy night, but not enough to sustain me. After several days of having salad for both lunch and dinner, I decided I was getting a little too hungry even if I was saving an incredible amount of DBA. So I broke down and had some bread. (A small Bible lesson here: Exodus 12:15 says "Seven days you can eat unleavened breadfor whosoever eats leavened bread from the first to the seventh day shall be cut off from Israel." Some commentators explain that while the phrase "cut off" might refer to exile, it is also very likely that it was meant in reference to premature death. Fortunately, this interpretation did not prove true in my case).
I'm an older and wiser sophomore this year. I went to the Co-op before Passover started and stocked up on boxes of matzah (although I did pass on the box of kosher for Passover breakfast cereal, which was going for a pricey $4.99). And I've amassed a nice collection of packets of jelly and butter from the bins at the Hop so I have something to put on all that matzah. And I certainly have been able to maintain a varied menu--yesterday's lunch was cream cheese and matzah. The day before was matzah and cream cheese. My only complaint thus far is the crumbs. You try to break a sheet of matzah in half, and voila, your dorm room floor is covered with a nice layer of matzah confetti. In fact, I can spot the matzah crumbs in my laptop as I type right now -- the result of eating breakfast as I check my morning blitz.
But it's day four now and I'm doing fine. I think I'm going to make it (although I am looking forward to my bran flakes this Sunday).
