Plenty Of Cleaning To Do As Observant Jews Prepare For Passover
NEW YORK (1010 WINS / WCBS 880) -- Passover begins next Monday evening, but for observant Jews, there is plenty of work to do before then.
Jews marking the eight-day remembrance of the ancient Israelites leaving Egypt after being freed from slavery must sanctify their homes.
So what does that involve? Jews are expected to follow a strict diet that involves ridding the home of any leavened bread, or chametz. Followers of the faith are forbidden from possessing or eating anything made of wheat, oat, barley spelt or rye.
Alice Stockton-Rossini spoke with one Riverdale resident named Andrea about how she was preparing for Passover.
Andrea was hard at work sweeping her home, cleaning the refrigerator and sorting the pantry in addition to scrubbing the sinks and pouring boiling water on them to keep kosher.
"I always start from the top and work my way down," she said. "I'm going to look behind cabinets, take my cushions from my couches and my chairs, air them out and look to see if there are crumbs in there."
After getting to every kitchen cabinet and lining them with plastic, Andrea still had to clean the car, which must be done before shopping for kosher food.
"You don't want to be looking in your cabinet and all of a sudden see a granola bar," she said.
1010 WINS' Alice Stockton-Rossini reports from Riverdale
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While she has been working hard to prepare her home, Andrea did admit to taking some kosher shortcuts.
"Our cook is unbelievable and we love him because I don't want to be doing dishes at 2 in the morning after the Seder is over," she said.
Andrea said that she even has to factor in how to feed her dog when preparing to mark the holiday.
"I have to cook for my dog for Passover because his food has wheat in it --which is a problem. So what he gets to eat -- boiled chicken and potatoes and he loves it."
WCBS 880's Marla Diamond with Beth Schwartz of the Upper West Side
