Passover is a special holiday. It is a cheerful and at the same time a solemn occasion. This is a memorial monument installed by Torah in the honor of the Exodus from Egypt - one of the most important events in the European Jewish history.

"We were slaves in Egypt. And we were led out by God" - the verse says. For more than three thousand years Jews everywhere in the world as if have been doing the journey from slavery to freedom again and again, making every step of this travel a part of their lives.

All members of Hesed Astana communities are proud that each of us is connected to our common past and future. People talking about this great holiday have gone through all hardships in their lives and they feel in common with those who went out of Egypt as if they had gone through this long and hard way themselves.

This is how most respected members of our community speak about it. Lyubov Leybovna Monastyrskaya, "I am proud to be part of one of the most ancient peoples in the world that has existed for more than four thousand years." Lidiya Solomonovna Mirkina, "During Passover we get back to our roots, get back to our spiritual roots." Evgeniya Dmitriyevna Vitnina, "Let’s imagine our past, we live through this unique event that made the beginning of our national identity - the historic Exodus from Egypt."

How and where it is best to imagine yourself to participate in the Exodus? Of course, at Seder! Our friendly family of Jewish community members gathered at a feast table. The blessing is recited, candles are lit. Everything is beautiful and ceremonial. Hesed Director Elena Levina welcomes everybody and reads out congratulations on the occasion received from Mitsva Association.

There is a big keara in front of the Seder presenter Mikhail Kreichman. There is everything necessary for Seder including traditional three matzos separated by napkins, kosher wine, maror, karpas, haroset, zroa, beitsa, hazeret. Everything is held according to the set rules: reading Passover Aggadah, four glasses of wine, a story about the Exodus, the main Passover symbol - matzo. Then we proceed to eating the holiday meal giving credit to our favorite chef, Natalya Golovina.

Passover is associated with a lot of preparations and financial costs. Our Hesed sponsors helped us to comply with kashrut laws. Our volunteers actively participated in solving numerous logistical issues.

This holiday is loved by people of all ages. For our children Passover is a beautiful holiday having a deep spiritual meaning. For children the story about the Exodus from Egypt seems more like a miracle… But everybody wants to believe in miracles! This magic happened to our ancestors. And today we are witnessing the miracle - the new generation is returning to its right place in the world.

Our children, David Levin, Erlan Bayetov, Ilyas Levin, Zhenya Baryshnikov, and others, wanted to know the Passover history, the meaning of this word, peculiarities and traditions of this holiday. All children’s questions were answered by the Seder presenter, connoisseur of yiddishkait, Mikhail Kreichman.

After Seder we watched the theme animation movie "The Prince of Egypt". The Passover Seder was held in compliance with all 14 staged of the holiday.

Lyudmila Tsymbalyuk