“Descent into Matzah Canyon,” by Avital Pinnick. via flickr. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, then you’ve probably heard me say that I’m Jewish girl from Montreal a time or two. Well, it just so happens that this Friday is the first night of Passover. For those who might not be familiar with this holiday, think the movie The Ten Commandments, but for real. It’s an annual holiday where Jews gather to remember the liberation of the Jewish peoples from enslavement in Ancient Egypt.* The celebrations take place over seven days and seven nights. On the first two nights, family members will gather to have special meals called seders, where the story is recounted. The holiday is intended to be one of remembrance and celebration. At least, that was the case in Montreal until April 1996. So join me today as we travel back in time to see what happened when the Jewish community of Montreal went head to head with the Quebec government in an event that has come to be called “Matzohgate.”
(Do you know where the quote from the titles comes from? Read to the end of the blog post to find out!)