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View this post on Instagram ?At 6:30 p.m, Abraham and Gertrude Kramer will begin the celebration of Passover. They will celebrate it in much the same way as they have for the nearly 57 years of their marriage, in the way it was observed in their childhood homes, as it has been celebrated by Jewish people all over the world for thousands of years. The ancient festival of freedom is celebrated each year at the time of the first full moon of spring to commemorate the freeing of the early Jews from slavery in Egypt. Theme highlight of the entire festival is the Sedar, a family banquet held on the first and second nights. It is "the family reunion of the year," Gertrude Kramer says, "where the father is king and the mother is queen." Sedar tables are ornamented with the finest linens and silver the family has. Recipes for the Sedar foods are often prepared according to the part of the world from which the cook came, Mrs. Kramer says. She makes the foods the same way as her mother, who came from Russia. A native of Portland, Mrs. Kramer says her parents were some of the first Jewish people to come to that city. Her father hauled the bricks for the first synagogue there with his horse and wagon. Abraham Kramer's family also came from Russia when he was only 13 years old. He vividly remembers their happiness at the sight of the Statue of Liberty because in Czarist Russia "we had some terrible times" where on many days there was nothing to eat, and hooligans often killed Jews for sport on Passover night. The Kramers came to Bath during World War II. For most of his 38 years in town, he has been president of Beth Israel Congregation. He had been a wholesale food salesman, but with gas rationing and shortages of tires traveling was difficult so they bought Steve's Meat Market on Center Street and operated the butcher shop as well as 21 apartments in the same block. Passover foods take "loads of time" to make, Mrs. Kramer says. They must be cooked slowly and with no condiments except for ginger, cinnamon or whole nutmeg and all foods must be natural. She is sure she is the only one who spends all the time it takes to make the dishes from scratch. #passover #jewishmaine #1978 A post shared by Documenting Maine Jewry (@mainejewishhistory) on Apr 17, 2019 at 8:15am PDT
?At 6:30 p.m, Abraham and Gertrude Kramer will begin the celebration of Passover. They will celebrate it in much the same way as they have for the nearly 57 years of their marriage, in the way it was observed in their childhood homes, as it has been celebrated by Jewish people all over the world for thousands of years. The ancient festival of freedom is celebrated each year at the time of the first full moon of spring to commemorate the freeing of the early Jews from slavery in Egypt. Theme highlight of the entire festival is the Sedar, a family banquet held on the first and second nights. It is "the family reunion of the year," Gertrude Kramer says, "where the father is king and the mother is queen." Sedar tables are ornamented with the finest linens and silver the family has. Recipes for the Sedar foods are often prepared according to the part of the world from which the cook came, Mrs. Kramer says. She makes the foods the same way as her mother, who came from Russia. A native of Portland, Mrs. Kramer says her parents were some of the first Jewish people to come to that city. Her father hauled the bricks for the first synagogue there with his horse and wagon. Abraham Kramer's family also came from Russia when he was only 13 years old. He vividly remembers their happiness at the sight of the Statue of Liberty because in Czarist Russia "we had some terrible times" where on many days there was nothing to eat, and hooligans often killed Jews for sport on Passover night. The Kramers came to Bath during World War II. For most of his 38 years in town, he has been president of Beth Israel Congregation. He had been a wholesale food salesman, but with gas rationing and shortages of tires traveling was difficult so they bought Steve's Meat Market on Center Street and operated the butcher shop as well as 21 apartments in the same block. Passover foods take "loads of time" to make, Mrs. Kramer says. They must be cooked slowly and with no condiments except for ginger, cinnamon or whole nutmeg and all foods must be natural. She is sure she is the only one who spends all the time it takes to make the dishes from scratch. #passover #jewishmaine #1978
A post shared by Documenting Maine Jewry (@mainejewishhistory) on Apr 17, 2019 at 8:15am PDT