These first graders have no time to waste. They have matzo to make!
Jewish people around the world are celebrating Passover this week. Do you remember reading about Passover in the Bible? The holiday marks the time God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Do you recall the type of food God told them to eat? Unleavened bread!
Yeast is a leaven. It makes bread rise. But it also takes time to work. The Israelites didn’t have time to wait for dough to rise. They had to outrun Pharaoh’s army!
During Passover celebrations, most breads, pastas, cakes, and cookies are off-limits for practicing Jews. But matzo (also called matzah) is allowed.
Students from Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School of the Nation’s Capital (that’s Washington, D.C.) take a field trip. They go to JCrafts Center for Jewish Life and Tradition in Rockville, Maryland, to learn about Passover.
The students prep and cook cracker-like matzo. They mix the flour with water. Then an 18-minute clock starts ticking down. The dough must be done before the time runs out.
The kids wear paper hats and blue school T-shirts. Rabbi Levi Raskin leads them through all the steps. The demonstration includes a mini flour mill to grind wheat kernels, an example of a water well, and a piping hot oven. Their dough takes about two minutes to cook. In a real matzo factory, though, the oven is 2,000 degrees. It cooks the matzo in seconds.
Charlotte Gleicher is seven years old. She guides a rolling pin over the dough. Her teacher helps. Charlotte pricks small holes into the dough. The flattened disc then goes into the oven.
The result?
Heritage, history, and deliciousness.
To make your own matzo, combine ¾ cup of white flour with ¼ cup of water. Watch the clock. Your 18 minutes of matzo-making time starts now.
Form a small “matzo ball” with about two tablespoons of dough. Roll the dough out on a floured surface. Use a fork to prick small holes all over it like Charlotte does. With a grownup’s help, cook the matzo in a 475-degree oven until it turns brown. This should take just a couple minutes per side. Carefully turn it over when the top looks ready.
Read the Passover story in Exodus 12. Did you know Passover is also part of your story if you know Jesus? In Exodus, lamb’s blood marked the doors of God’s people. Today, Jesus’ blood covers you. God forgives your sins.
Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! — John 1:29
