Why is this school vacation different from all other school vacations? Because this one is actually the biggest educational opportunity of all, more important than anything the kids could learn in school. And that’s because at the Passover Seder we retell for our children and ourselves the story of the inception of the Jewish people, the nation-making experience of the Exodus from Egypt.

Misconceptions are part of any learning process, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of to be caught with one. Misconceptions are noticeably common, though, on Pesach, since so many of the “teachers”— the heads of families presiding over the festive meal—are themselves not particularly knowledgeable about Jewish tradition.

So, to help our readers avoid at least a few of the common misconceptions about Passover, E-geress offers the following short list of topics, which might contain a surprise or two even for the Torah scholar:

1) Some people think that the State of Israel sells the chometz of all its citizens before Passover. Actually, the state sells only chometz which is official government property; all privately-owned chametz must be disposed of halachically through a qualified rabbi.

The Israeli rabbinate does take extensive measures, however, to protect the general public from chometz, products made with leaven, during the festival. In addition to the many rabbis who perform the service of selling chometz for residents in their communities (those who wish to), they also grant kosher-for-Passover certificates for businesses which comply with the halacha. This year, a chametz barcode on non-Passover products will identify the product as such in the store’s computer. When a customer takes something from the normally covered not-for-Passover section to checkout, the computer will disallow the sale.

2) In the Kiddush, before the meal, we say that God “has chosen us from all people…and sanctified us with His commandments.” References to the “chosen people” sometimes draws charges of racism or chauvinism.

However, Judaism is neither. The Jews are not a race. There is no racial qualification for being Jewish, and in fact it is easy to find Jews of just about any color. Our chosenness is the product of historical development. Abraham was the first to recognize and proclaim the existence of one God (monotheism) Who created and rules the world. His descendants, after leaving Egypt, chose to accept his path, as embodied in the Ten Commandments and the Torah revealed at Sinai. The Midrash says that other nations refused, and thereby missed their chance. However, any individual can join the Jewish people by a voluntary process of conversion, which entails a sincere acceptance of the commandments. As for chauvinism, we always try to keep in mind that along with our special relationship to God come special responsibilities. The fulfillment of the Torah’s commandments are anything but easy. Take cleaning for Pesach, for instance. Or correcting so misconceptions…

3) Many people like to compete with others for how late the Seder goes.

“What time did you finish?”

“Oh, about one o’clock.”

“Really, I don’t think we got to the afikomen until at least two.”

There are at least two things wrong with this approach. First, Judaism is not a competitive sport. Performance is a matter for God to judge; not the team next door. Secondly, eating the afikomen, the last of the matzah, in the early morning hours is nothing to brag about, since halacha requires that the time for its consumption is preferably before midnight. Thirdly, if getting to sleep very late will mean being late for the morning services, or falling asleep during them, it’s better to finish the Seder at a more reasonable hour.

4) The Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, has been credited for inventing the sandwich. He was the fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792), a prominent Englishman who served as First Lord of the Admiralty, and sponsored the explorer Captain Cook, who named the Sandwich Islands in his honor.

According to legend, the word sandwich originated one night in 1762 when the earl was too busy gambling to stop for a meal, even though he was hungry for some food. He ordered a waiter to bring him roast-beef between two slices of bread, which enabled him to continue his gambling while eating his snack Hence, the sandwich.

Even if the story is true, it does not give him the eponymous first. That distinction belongs to the Jewish sage Hillel. It is Hillel’s practice that we re-enact during the Seder, when we place bitter herbs between pieces of matzah. He did so to fulfill the verse in the Torah which mandates the eating of the meat of the Paschal lamb, bitter herbs and matah all together. Since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, we do not eat sacrificial meat, so we make do with matzah and bitter herbs.

5) It is commonly thought that the Jews became free only upon leaving Egypt. Actually, the Jewish people became free before the Exodus.They celebrated the first Passover meal with the Paschal lamb while still in Egypt, in open defiance of their hosts’ national custom, which worshipped the lamb as part of its pantheon of idols. As Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka has written, this teaches that “Israel’s freedom is a fundamental reality over which no other people or nations have any ultimate power.” The relevance to the contemporary milieu, in which all the world seeks to dictate policy to Israel, needs no explanation.

6) During the Seder, we customarily dip a finger in the cup of wine before us as we recite the plagues of Egypt. Some do it with a pinky. However, it is more correct to use the forefinger, or pointer finger, known in Hebrew as etzba, which corresponds to the declaration in the Torah that the plagues were Etzba Elokim, the finger of God (Exodus 8).

Sources: Siddur Ya’avetz on going to sleep after the Seder; Rabbi Bulka, More of What You Thought You Knew About Judaism, P. 15; on racism, Haggadah Arzei HaLevanon, P. 99); on Hillel sandwich, see Talmud Pesachim 116a; on Earl of Sandwich, Wikipedia.

By Rabbi Yisrael Rutman

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