How To Celebrate Easter 2011

Passover is a universal holiday. You know it's almost here when every supermarket adds the section filled with matzah and gefilte fish at the front of the store. So many of my friends regardless of their religion are all going to seders and they all have matzah in their homes. The holiday starts Monday the 18th at sunset and goes through April 26th. Recently, I sat down with Prime Grill owner Joey Allaham to discuss the complex process of making his restaurant kosher for Passover. Prime Grill, which is located in Midtown on 49th between Park and Madison Avenues, is one of the few kosher restaurants open during Passover and for the seders. People are familiar with preparing their home kitchen, but getting a restaurant ready is a whole different process that involves lots of blow torching and rabbinical supervision.

Jordana Zizmor: Do you make your restaurants kosher for Passover every year?

Joey Allaham: Yes we have made Prime Grill kosher for Passover every year since it opened. We would make the other restaurant kosher for Passover based on how the holiday falls out during the 8 days. If we have more that 3 working days then I would kasher the other restaurants. This year we only have one full day on Thursday that we can do lunch and dinner.
JZ: Is Prime Grill booked up for the Seders?
JA: The first night is always booked. The second night is not as busy. During Passover every non-kosher restaurant advertises a Seder. It's become more a name of a meal than something that's just focused on Judaism.
JZ: How do you make the restaurant kosher for Passover?
JA: It's a nightmare. It's like opening a completely new restaurant in 48 hours. We have a steaming company come in and they steam and clean every single piece of equipment and corner of the restaurant. Then we torch and really burn everything so there is no chance of any leftover bread or anything. We blowtorch every surface and the inside of all the ovens. There is not even a crumb in the whole restaurant. The third step involves cleaning the whole restaurant with hoses and hot water. When we finish that, all the Passover equipment comes in. We have machines and china that we only use for Passover and are in storage for the rest of the year. The Rabbi has to open the sealed boxes of the equipment himself. The OU has a full staff the does the koshering.
JZ: Do you have to be certified Kosher for Passover?
JA: I don't know if we get a certificate but the OU has to supervise the whole process. The OU is the strictest supervision and they know exactly what to do.
JZ: How much does the whole process cost?
JA: Everything from soup to nuts is probably about $25,000.
JZ: Do you drastically change the menu?
JA: Changing the food and the menu is the easy part. Everything you eat on Passover is very fresh and prepared right before we serve it. We are a busy restaurant and everything is always fresh but even more so on Passover because it's takes 48 hours for the restaurant to be open and then we have to cook right away. People are running everywhere and it's a mess. I literally run away and get out of town. It's a hassle. It's takes a lot of work and the first couple of years were much harder and took much more time. This year we are already used to it.
JZ: What do you learn every year that you wish you had known before?
JA: Every year I look at the cost of running it and I say next year I'm not going to do it. Then next year comes and it's a must do. We have to do it out of loyalty to our customers. Not many places are open for Passover and our customers and people in the area need to eat.
JZ: Does your clientele change during Passover?
JA: Yes we get a lot of non-religious Jews who usually don't observe kashrut in general meaning they eat out. On Passover they have to have a kosher meal.
JZ: Why do you think that is?
JA: It's a conscious thing. People know when they come to us that we are 100% kosher for Passover. It's not just going to a regular restaurant that advertises Seder meals and matzah.
JZ: What would people be surprised to know about Prime Grill during Passover?
JA: We get extremely busy but we try to accommodate everyone. The menu is different as well because we can't serve sushi with rice. There is such a great energy and holiness in the restaurant during Passover.
Z: Do you sell more steaks because you can't sell sushi?
JA: Definitely, but we do sell sashimi. I have been trying to use quinoa instead of rice but the OU won't let me. We could only use it if it was checked piece by piece so we passed on it. That would take so long you would get your sushi order by next Passover.
JZ: Any favorite items on the menu?
JA: I like the original stuff like chicken soup with matzah balls that we don't serve during the year.
JZ: Prime Grill is kosher year round. Is Passover that much different?
JA: You can't even compare. It's like Prime Grill goes on vacation those days. It's a completely different restaurant. It's a very difficult process. Even all the hotels and programs that people go on most are not certified by the OU. There are so many rules to handle.
JZ: Do you have any advice for someone who wants to open a kosher restaurant?
JA: You have to make your business with the understanding that you are only open 5 days a week. Friday and Saturday don't count. It's a thin line and everything has to be closely monitored. I never cut any corners and I only buy the best. If it's not good enough for me it's not good enough for my customers.

Beginning of Holy Week

Bulgarian Christian Orthodox mark on April 18 Holy Monday the Monday from the most important for Christians week - Holy Week.

Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter. It includes the religious holidays of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) and Good Friday, and lasts from Palm Sunday (or in the Eastern Orthodox, Lazarus Saturday) until Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is the first day of the new season of The Great Fifty Days.

Holy Week commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical Gospels.

The days between Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday are known as Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday and Holy Wednesday. The Gospels of these days recount events not all of which occurred on the corresponding days between Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and his Last Supper.

During Holy Week, services for each day are held on the preceding evening. Thus, the service of Great Monday is sung on Palm Sunday evening, and so on.

In the Orthodox Church, Great Lent ends on the Friday before Palm Sunday, but the faithful continue fasting until Easter. Fasting during Great and Holy Week is, actually, very strict. Dairy products and meat products are forbidden. On most days, no alcoholic beverages are permitted and no oil is used in the cooking. Friday and Saturday are observed as strict fast days, meaning that nothing should be eaten on those days. However, fasting is always adjusted to the needs of the individual, and those who are very young, ill or elderly are not expected to fast as strictly.

On Holy Monday, the Gospels tell the story of Jesus and his disciples traveling to Jerusalem for Passover, where he expels the money changers from the Temple, accusing them of turning the Temple to a den of thieves through their commercial activities

In the Orthodox Church, Holy and Great Wednesday is the commemoration of the sinful woman who anointed Jesus before his Crucifixion and Burial; a second theme is the agreement to betray Jesus made by Judas Iscariot.

Maundy Thursday is connected with the Last Supper. The Last Supper is the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. At that meal Jesus, on the night he was betrayed or "delivered up", gave his disciples bread, saying it was his body, which was broken for them, and gave them wine, saying it was the new covenant in his blood, and told them to do it in his memory.

For children in Bulgaria, Maundy Thursday is the most anticipated day of Holy Week, The tradition was to get up very early and the kids went watching which hen will be the first one to lay an egg. This was also the first egg to be colored, always in red. It is rubbed on children's cheeks for good health. In the Orthodox Church, those who cannot dye their eggs Thursday are allowed to do it on Saturday.

Good or Holy Friday is the Day of the Crucifixion, dedicated to the passions of the Christ. Work and chores are not allowed on this day – the only thing one can do is to draw on the already colored eggs. Food is also banned; the faithful can only drink water.

On Holy Saturday, people visit the graves of their departed family and friend and share colored eggs and bread. This is the day to bake the traditional Easter bread known as kozunak. The Easter vigil starts at midnight before Easter Sunday, which is the great feast day and culmination of not only Holy Week but the whole year. On this day, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated. It is considered the most important day in the Church year, as it is the day on which Jesus rose from the dead. Easter Sunday is the main reason why Christians keep Sunday as the primary day of religious observance.

Palm Sunday 2011

Palm Sunday is a Christian feast that marks the beginning of Holy Week and commemorates Jesus' triumphant return to the city of Jerusalem. In 2011, Palm Sunday will be celebrated on April 17.

Although the return to Jerusalem is recounted in all four canonical gospels, the traditions of Palm Sunday are largely based on the description from the Gospel of John.

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

By waving him with palm branches and using them to cover his path as he rode into the city on a donkey, the crowd indicated that he was revered and respected on the level of royalty.

To celebrate the occasion, many Christian churches, both Catholic and Protestant as well as the Eastern churches, distribute palm leaves to congregation members who then carry them in a procession either inside or outside of the church. Often the palm fronds are knotted or woven into small crosses that can be kept by individuals in their homes as a reminder of the lessons of Holy Week. In areas of the world where palm leaves are not readily available, other native plants may be substituted and Palm Sunday may be alternatively referred to as Yew Sunday, Willow Sunday, or whatever else is used in that locality.

The liturgy for Palm Sunday services usually follows the palm processions with a reading of the Passion story, a meaningful reminder that many of the same crowd that welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem would participate in the mob that cheered for his death less than a week later.

For Christians, Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the final week of Lent and the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter. It is also connected to the following year's liturgical calendar as the palm leaves are often returned to the church to be burned in the next year's Ash Wednesday rituals.

Easter 2011

It hasn’t even snowed yet, well except for that little hail storm Long Island got pelted with a few weeks ago, and many people are wondering: When is Easter 2011?

Also known as the unofficial beginning of spring.

Easter Sunday will fall on April 24, 2011. Yes, folks, that is a long time away, but not too long.

Five months. That’s not too bad right?