Passover is a time for Jews to celebrate freedom, as they recognize the Israelites' exodus from slavery in Egypt.

The first day of Passover is when the Seder meal is served and the story of liberation is told by reading the Jewish Passover book called the Haggadah. This year’s celebration started at sundown on Saturday and continues through April 20.

“The word ‘Seder’ in Hebrew stands for order,” explained Ido Rottem, an Israeli who’s been living in Toledo for over a decade. “In the Jewish culture, we put a lot of focus on organizing the table for the holiday. There’s a main plate in the center that has different symbolized food.”

The items on the Seder plate each represent aspects of the story of Exodus — including Charoset, a sweet fruit mixture symbolizing the mortar the Jews used to build Egyptian structures, a roasted lamb shank bone (Zeroa) for the lamb the Jews sacrificed, Maror (a bitter herb, like horseradish) to taste the bitterness of slavery, and more.

Matzah, or unleavened bread, is another food eaten during Passover, which Rottem said is the food the Israelites ate while they were hurrying to leave Egypt; it almost looks like a very large cracker.

“It was very short notice for the people of Israel,” he said of the exodus. “Originally, they would prepare bread for longer trips, but all of a sudden they didn’t have time. They did not have time to wait for the bread to leaven.”

It’s very common during Passover to make various uses of the matzah, Rottem said, noting that the bread doesn’t have much flavor and is fairly dry.

“When I was a kid, my mom used to make potato-stuffed roll matzah,” he continued. “You take the old boring matzah, you soak it in water for a few seconds and you let it rest for a little bit.”

Mashed potatoes are then added to the middle of the soaked matzah, and then they are gently rolled, dipped in flour, and deep-fried.

Matzo Brei is another simple dish that Rottem said “you cannot mess up,” which is just scrambled eggs cooked with crushed matzah crackers.

“Matzah is your canvas for Passover dishes,” he said. “You can take it anywhere from desserts all the way to the deep-fried or egg stuff. … You can make chicken schnitzel [and] instead of bread crumbs, it’s with matzah crumbs.”

Rottem learned to cook from his parents, and has shared family recipes locally.

Passover practices

Rottem shared that Jews of different ethnic backgrounds approach Passover traditions a bit differently from one another. Ashkenazi Jews are ethnically from central and eastern Europe, while Sephardic Jews descend from Spanish Jews.

Legumes (Kitnyot) like corn, beans, and rice are not eaten by Ashkenazi families during the festival, while Sephardic families do eat legumes during this time.

“In Israel, it’s very easy to [restrict] because grocery stores, businesses, and restaurants aren’t opening their section of non-kosher stuff,” said Rottem, who is half-Sephardic. “But in the United States, everything is available, so you should be very careful with whatever you buy, just to make sure that it’s kosher for Passover.”

Fagie Benstein, a longtime member of Toledo’s Jewish community, explained that Ashkenazi Jews are descendants of Yiddish speaking Jews, primarily from central and eastern Europe, while Sephardim originated in the Iberian peninsula and the Arabic lands.

“While there are differences in culture, languages, genetics, and nuances of ritual observances, the commonalities between the two groups are much stronger than what divides them,” she said. “A Sephardic Jew from Morocco and an Ashkenazi Jew from Moscow would immediately find common ground in prayer service that is 95 percent identical.”

Although Benstein is an Ashkenazi Jew, she said she finds herself gravitating more toward Sephardic food customs because they’re much more interesting and flavorful, like Sephardic Charoset for example.

The Sephardic version has spices like cloves, cinnamon, and ginger, and blends dried fruits like apricots, figs, and dates with red wine. The Ashkenazi rendition Benstein shared simply contains apples, raisins, nuts, cinnamon, and wine.

A friend of hers in Uganda also makes a version with bananas, she said.

Present times

As current events continue to unfold with the conflict between Israel and Palestine, Rottem said one Passover custom that’s evolved is how the Exodus story is read during the Seder dinner.

“After the Israelites exited Egypt, everything was good,” he said. “But then you look at those days, and you’re asking, ‘Is everything good? Or are we still in a way under a very harsh rulership?’ … A lot of people find their own versions of the story of Passover and change it and tweak it.”

After 10 years living in the United States, Rottem is going back to Israel to celebrate Passover with family and friends he hasn’t seen in what he said feels like ages.

“It’s very exciting for me,” he said. “It’s a lot about the bonding, not as much about politics.”

When Benstein, who is 84 years old, reflects on Passover from over the years, she recognizes the yearly celebrations as a time to share special moments with her loved ones.

“It’s a gathering of memories,” she said. “There is no Hebrew word for history. It doesn’t exist. We use the word ‘memory’ instead. History happens to someone else. ... But memories, I own them. When I say at my Seder, ‘I was a slave in Egypt,’ it’s a collective memory. That's me.”

Benstein also acknowledged how Passover feels different now because of the war, noting that “there’s a different tone.”

“Because I have children and grandchildren in Israel, I have a lump in my throat," she said. “During this Passover, my body will be here, but my heart and soul will be seven hours ahead.”

Matzah-Breaded Chicken Schnitzel

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 egg

6 matzo crackers, crushed/pulsed into bread crumbs

1 ½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets (around 4 ounces each)

Kosher oil for frying (like sunflower or avocado oil)

1 tablespoon minced parsley, for garnish

1 lemon, sliced into wedges, for serving

Directions:

Crack the egg into a shallow disk and whisk until smooth.

Crush the matzo crackers until they resemble breadcrumbs by pulsing them in a food processor or crushing them in a plastic bag with a rolling pin.

Add the crushed matzo into a second bowl, and add salt and pepper to the breadcrumbs.

Heat your oil of choice in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat until the oil reaches around 375 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer.

Dip the cutlets into the egg, then into the matzo mixture, making sure to coat both sides of the chicken. Gently press the matzo into the chicken to make sure it adheres.

Place two cutlets in the skillet at a time, cooking until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.

Repeat with the remaining cutlets. Top the chicken with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

Source: Maddie Coppel, inspired by Ido Rottem

Sephardic-Style Charoset

Yield: 16 to 20 servings, about 4 ½ cups

Time: 30 minutes 

1 to 1 ½ cups dry red wine (make sure its kosher)

1 pound raisins (about 3 cups)

8 ounces (1 packed cup) pitted Medjool dates (about 12 dates), chopped

4 ounces dried apricots (⅔ cup), chopped

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Kosher salt, to taste

8 ounces roasted, unsalted almonds or walnuts (1 ½ cups)

1 teaspoon orange blossom water (optional)

Directions:

In a large saucepan, bring wine to a simmer over medium heat, then stir in fruit, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Cook uncovered until fruit is well hydrated and wine has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add salt to taste and set aside.

In a food processor, roughly chop almonds in short pulses, about 6 one-second pulses. There should be no whole almonds remaining; a mix of large chunks and small crumbs is preferable.

Remove almonds from the food processor and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Add fruit mixture to food processor and pulse until fruit just begins to come together into a paste, 3 to 5 one-second pulses. Do not overprocess — some chunks of fruit should be intact.

Transfer fruit to a mixing bowl and combine well with almonds. Stir in orange blossom water and additional salt if needed. The flavor of the charoset will improve over time. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Source: Adapted from Serious Eats, inspired by Fagie Benstein

First Published April 13, 2025, 2:00 p.m.