Cleaning, getting ready for the seder and baking matza. Arutz-7 shows you Israel as the nation prepares to celebrate the Exodus. A fruit stand in the market makes it clear they are ready for Pesach with a sign: "No Chametz (Leavened Bread) Allowed Inside!" Posters in Jerusalem's Mea She'arim neighborhood advertise 4-minute matzas (the process may take 18 minutes) and the location of vats of boiling water in which pots can be made kosher for Pesach. A 'Hagalat Keilim' station in Mea She'arim where pots can be made kosher for Pesach. A Breslov chassid hops out of a van at Sabbath Square in Mea She'arim, dancing and singing about serving G-d with joy (until the light changes). Pesach cookies, made from potato starch, coconut or other grain alternatives are an acquired taste. Wheat growing at the Biblical nature preserve Neot Kedumim (Photo: Michelle Brocco) Winter wheat grows at Kibbutz Kineret, near the Sea of Galilee. (Photo: Michelle Brocco) An ancient grain mill that would be used up until Ottoman times in Israel to grind the wheat for Matza at Neot Kedumim (Photo: Michelle Brocco) The mill still operates (Photo: Michelle Brocco) The Yerushalayim Matza factory is located in the northern Jerusalem Atarot Industrial Zone, which was just in the news due to leaked plans of the Olmert government to relinquish the area. 170 Jewish businesses remain in Atarot. (Photo: Michelle Brocco) The well-water used is stored in tanks after being transported from nearby wells and combined with water raised to a specific temperature. (Photo: Michelle Brocco) The dough is flattened and passed along a conveyor belt to be automatically reddled (have holes poked in it) and cut. (Photo: Michelle Brocco) The matzas are passed through the oven automatically, for a precise amount of time, emerging fully cooked. (Photo: Michelle Brocco) Boxes of Matza Yerushalayim matza wait at the loadng dock in the Atarot Industrial Zone. Fields of barley and wheat near the Biblical Tel Gezer site. (Photo: Michelle Brocco) Israel National Radio's Yishai Fleisher kneeds the flour and water into dough for matza at Beit El's community matza bakery as his wife and daughter cheer him on. A first-time matza baker masters the art of rolling the unleavened bread as thin as possible without tearing or sticking. Rabbi Chaim Richman cleans the reddler (the tool that makes the holes in the matza) between sessions. The poles used to insert the matzas in the oven are covered with fresh baking paper between each baking session. Arutz-7 English Director Baruch Gordon and web chief Tzvi Barish man the oven. The matzas go from the oven to a table to be sorted. A representative of 'Tnu LaChayot Lichyot' (Let the Animals Live), escorted by police, delivers a court order forcing the Temple Institute to appear in court on the day of its Korban Pesach conference to defend the plan to demonstrate how the Paschal sacrifice is brought. The court ruled the educational program is permitted. An expert demonstrates how to search for characteristics in a sheep that would disqualify it from serving as the Pesach sacrifice that is to be brought and consumed by each Jewish family. This sheep was not eligible due to its ear tag - its meat was donated to the poor to eat on the holiday. The first time the temple vessels prepared by the Temple Institute were used for their intended purpose of catching the blood of the sheep. Email subscribers, click here to view the photo essay Click here for links to Pesach resources and educational web sites (Photos: Ezra HaLevi, except where otherwise noted) Michelle Brocco can be contacted at michbrocco@yahoo.com and her photos will soon be available at http://www.mishmishcards.com
