Seder night is tomorrow! Tonight we do bedikat chametz (checking the whole house for leavened foods) when it gets dark. In the meantime, I’ve been doing little else other than preparing for the holiday with all the cleaning and shopping to be done. Fortunately, I have a strong teenage son to help with the heavy work while my husband is at his new job.
Can you believe that this is what my kitchen looks like now? Everything has been put away or cleaned. Last night, after Shabbat finished at 7:32 p.m., I scrubbed the counter, cupboards, drawers, and taps, so this is the only photo I had time to take. Tonight, after bedikat chametz, my husband will kasher the counter and sinks with boiling water.
The kashering stand outside my house was in full swing today, so I sent my son down with the stove grates and kiddush cups. The service is provided by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. There’s no set payment but there is a voluntary donation. People have been lining up since 9 a.m., with their pots, pans, cutlery, and other metal things that need to be dipped in boiling water or heated with a blow torch.
A father and daughter are toiveling (dipping in the mikveh) new dishes.
Student volunteers from local yeshivas immerse the pots in boiling water. Afterwards the pot is dipped into cold water on the left. It’s not pleasant work, working in the heat and noise from the propane torches. I heard the torches in my flat starting at an early hour and I will hear them until this evening.
