Kosher for Passover?

Appears in

Published 2008

About

It all started simply enough. Following the commandments in Exodus 12:18– 20 (“there shall be no leaven found in your houses … You shall eat nothing leavened”) meant getting rid of all traces of leavening, or hametz, and dining on matzoh during the holiday instead of leavened bread. And there was bread, and there was unleavened bread—the first Passover.

But soon the ancient Hebrews developed more sophisticated tastes. They made bread not just from barley, wheat, and spelt but also from rye and oats. And not just bread alone: cakes, porridge, crackers, and alcoholic beverages, too.