Chabad Greater Hilton Head plans to distribute hundreds of packages of handmade Shmurah Matzah and Passover handbooks this year to help Lowcountry Jews participate in the upcoming Passover holiday. The Matzahs can be requested at jewishhiltonhead.org/matzah.
The distribution is part of a global effort of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
Passover, celebrated this year from Friday evening, April 15, until after nightfall on Saturday, April 23, commemorates the exodus of the Jews from Egypt in 1313 BCE. Directed by God to leave Egypt hastily, the people of Israel could not wait for their dough to rise, and thus ate unleavened crackers called “matzah.”
Round, kneaded and shaped by hand, present day “Shmurah” (“watched”) matzahs are similar to those eaten by the Jews when leaving Egypt over 3000 years ago. From the moment the wheat is harvested, the ingredients are carefully watched to ensure that they do not become leavened, which would be prohibited on Passover.
In addition, Chabad Greater Hilton Head will host a Community Passover Seder with Rabbi Mendel. All residents and visitors, regardless of Jewish affiliation or background, are invited to participate in community seders to be held on Friday night, April 15, and again on Saturday night, April 16.
The Seders take participants through the wondrous liberation of Jewish ancestors from Egyptian bondage, while sharing the relevance and beauty of the age-old festival in our modern lives. Included in the Seder will be a Passover dinner, and a meaningful experience.
Reservations can be made online at jewishhiltonhead.org/seder.
