ulously clean; all _chometz_ (leaven) has been banished from the
house; even the children have carefully emptied their pockets of stray
crumbs. The round and tempting _matzoth_ (Passover bread) have been
baked--the guest is at the door!

In the dining-room of Hirsch Bensef sat a goodly circle of friends at
the _seder_ (services conducted on the eve of Passover). The lamps shone
brightly, and the lights in the silver candelabra threw their sheen upon
the sumptuously set table, with its white embroidered cloth and its
artistic dishes and goblets. At the head of the table stood a sofa
covered with rich hangings and soft pillows, a veritable throne, upon
which sat the king of the family, clad in snow-white attire. In the
midst of richly-robed guests, surrounded by an almost oriental luxury,
the master of the house had donned his shroud. It is a custom akin to
that of the ancient Egyptians, who brought the mummies of their
ancestors to the festive board, that in the excess of carnal enjoyment
they might not forget the grim reaper, Death. Upon the table stood a
plate of _mitzvoth_ (a thicker kind of _matzoth_ prepared specially for
the _seder_), covered with a napkin, and upon this were placed a number
of tiny silver dishes containing an egg, horseradish, the bone of a
lamb, lettuce and a mixture of raisins and spices--all symbolical of
ancient rites. Before each guest there stood a silver wine cup, to be
refilled three times in the course of the evening. In the centre of the
table stood the goblet of wine for _Elijahu Hanovi_ (the Prophet
Elijah), the hero of a thousand legends, and the fondly expected
forerunner of the redemption of Israel and the coming of the Messiah. By
each plate was a copy of _Hagada_, the order of service for the evening.
It is a book of facts and fancies, containing a recital of Israel's
trials in Egypt; of its deliverance from the house of bondage; of its
wanderings in the desert, and the sayings of Israel's wise men--a
mixture of Bible stories, myths and prayers.

Contentment, peace and joy were plainly written upon the faces of the
participants. The terrors of persecution were forgotten in the
recollection of the miraculous deliverance of the Jews from their
Egyptian task-masters. Reb Hirsch Bensef having pronounced a short
blessing over the wine, pointed solemnly to the plate of unleavened
bread before him.

"See," he said, "this is the bread your fathers ate in _Mizraim_. He
that hungers let