For example, read one Civil War veteran's description of how he and his fellow Jews in the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Regiment observed Passover in 1862:
One group built a log hut for the service, and another was sent off to forage for more supplies. They came back with cider instead of wine, a lamb, chickens and eggs, but none of the traditional horseradish or parsley. "In lieu we found a weed, whose bitterness, I apprehend, exceeded anything our forefathers 'enjoyed.' " They were unable to make charoses, the sweet mixture representing the mortar used by the Israelites to build the pyramids in Egypt. "So we got a brick which, rather hard to digest, reminded us, by looking at it, for what purpose it was intended."
Everything went well until it came time to eat the herb. "The herb was very bitter and very fiery like Cayenne pepper," he wrote. The celebrants gulped down the cider, which was apparently hard and had its effect. "One thought he was Moses, another Aaron, and one had the audacity to call himself Pharaoh. The consequence was a skirmish, with nobody hurt." Moses, Aaron and Pharaoh were carried back to camp to sleep it off.
You can see some of the turn-of-the-century advertisements Horowitz has compiled via this link.
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