"The more one talks about the Exodus from Egypt, the more praiseworthy he is" - state the wise men in Haggadah. Rabbi Mordechai Kogen with spouse came to the Shymkent community to talk about the Exodus from Egypt.

During the holiday Jews are prohibited to eat hamez - any kind of food made of wheat, rye, barley, oats, and any other food and drinks made with the use of fermentation. We have thoroughly prepared for Passover - cleaned away hamez. According to holiday tradition, we can eat only our Jewish matzo, unflavored bread baked in compliance with strict rules. Before the Passover we received matzo as a gift and distributed it among all members of the community.

On March 29 and 30, more than 100 representatives of the Jewish Community of Shymkent gathered for Passover Seder in Nur Cafe. Many members of our community and Hesed employees actively participated in the organization of the event under the guidance of Director Bella Atran.

At the beginning of the holiday, women lit candles, while men went to pray. On that night we were recollecting the hard times for the Jewish people when our ancestors were slaves in Egypt. Rabbi Mordehai hid afikoman and children were eagerly looking for the wonderful peace of matzo. We sang many Jewish songs and talked about the holiday history and traditions. Rabbi talked about the Exodus from Egypt, men read out Haggadah, held 14 stages of Passover, asked Passover questions, "How this night is different from other nights?" During Seder everybody drank four glasses of red wine, ate matzo, and kosher meal. It was interesting for us to learn that the most important Passover attribute, matzo, is cooked within ten minutes.

We will remember these two Seders for a long time. We are grateful to the women who had been cooking Passover meal for two days. We thank Rabbis who came to our city to hold Passover Seder. And we thank Association Mitsva for Israeli matzo.

Bella Atran