Sarajevo Jews mark the beginning of Passover

Passover is one of the most important Jewish pilgrimage holidays. It starts tonight and is celebrated for eight days in the Diaspora, and seven days in Israel.

It is a family holiday and it is interesting that generally after the evening prayer the Jews go to their homes for a Seder feast that is prepared in advance, but considering the fact that the Jewish community in Sarajevo is small, a dinner is traditionally held in the Ashkenazic synagogue where members of all generations gather.

The evening prayer is led by Jewish theologian and Sarajevo hazan Igor Kozemjakin.

The Jewish community in Sarajevo has some 450 members, and there are as many members in the other eight Jewish municipalities across BiH.

Before the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) a Nazi puppet state in Croatia, some 12,000 Jews lived in Sarajevo, and before the war in BiH around 1,500.

For the next seven days, there will be no flour in Jewish homes, and nothing leavened is eaten. It is interesting that Passover is a holiday for all Jews including those who are secular and do not adhere to the religion, because it is a holiday of freedom, and every person should feel free.

During the Seder dinner in the Ashkenazi Synagogue, parts of the Haggadah will be read, prayed and sung. One of the stories about Passover and the life of Sarajevo Jews is the throwing of flour out of the house during the holiday. The Jews sold all the flour from the house to their Muslim neighbours for one dinar, and after Passover, those neighbours would sell the same flour to the Jews at the same price. It is just one of a series of interesting stories about the life of different denominations in the capital.

This April is special because four major religious holidays will be celebrated in Sarajevo and throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina: Eid al-Fitr, Catholic and Orthodox Easter, and Passover, which begins tonight.