Bread Products Baked from the Moment Passover Ends

Jerusalem, 30 April, 2024 (TPS) -- Some people just can’t wait to have some bread once the Passover holiday has ended. Hundreds of people lined up Monday night outside of the Abouelafia bakery in Jaffa to buy fresh pita bread and other bread products after a week of eating matzos.

Outside of Israel the holiday lasts for eight days and will end at sundown on Tuesday.

During the week-long holiday, any bread that has been leavened may not be eaten.

Any dough made for matzah must be baked fully within 18 minutes from the moment water is added to the flour. Anything that took more than 18 minutes is not kosher for Passover and is called “hametz,” from the Hebrew word that means “to miss” as in the maximum time allowed for baking was missed.

Passover commemorates the Jewish exodus from Egyptian slavery. The Bible notes that the redemption came so quickly that the bread which the Jewish people baked for their journey did not have time to rise. Anything made from grains in any form other than matzah may not be eaten or even be in one’s possession during the week-long holiday.

Tel Aviv, Apr 29, 2024.
Photo by Gideon Markowicz/TPS