The Ritual Burning

Home Brooklyn Life The Ritual Burning

By Yaffi Spodek

The strong smell of smoke permeated the air. In the center of a large gated yard, several men stood around a metal trash can. A short, red-haired fellow wearing a black cap held a poker, periodically stoking the orange flames that leapt up and down from inside the pile of garbage. The soft drizzle that had started a few minutes earlier was slightly hampering his efforts. Finally, his match ignited a pile of old newspapers to rekindle the struggling fire.

A seemingly random assortment of items was being thrown into the fiery mix: wooden spoons, bags of cereal, crackers, feathers, and many loose pieces of bread in varying shapes and sizes, all to be consumed by the temperamental flames. The contained blaze began at 6:15 a.m. and was set to continue until about 11:00 that morning. An Orthodox Jewish synagogue, Talmud Torah of Flatbush, was hosting the communal burning in their yard, visible on Coney Island Avenue, between Avenues I and J in Midwood.

Orthodox Jews burn their last pieces of bread to prepare for the holiday of Passover.
Orthodox Jews burn their last pieces of bread to prepare for the holiday of Passover. (Photo: Yaffi Spodek)

The gloomy weather on Monday did not deter the Jewish community from observing a pre-Passover ritual known as Bi’Ur Chametz, literally, the burning of any leavened products. There is an annual mitzvah, or commandment, to burn the last crumbs in one’s possession before the fifth hour of the day, and the people were determined to fulfill it, rain or shine, before the holiday was to begin that evening at sundown.

Though many choose to do this ritual individually, in the privacy of their own back yards, the synagogue has been offering a communal burning for several years, for purposes of safety and convenience. For many, this was their last opportunity to rid themselves of their chametz before the eight-day holiday began. In addition to burning products containing leaven and grains, some were upholding an ancient custom by also including their palm fronds –– left over from the fall harvest holiday of Sukkot –– in the burning. The wooden spoons and feathers were remnants of the Bedikat Chametz ritual of the night before, when Jews search their houses by candlelight, looking for any last pieces of bread that may have escaped detection in the days and weeks of cleaning beforehand.

After the men deposited their items into the fire, they recited a short declaration in Aramaic, annulling their ownership of any leavened products. Many also left a small monetary donation for their host synagogue. Then they disappeared into the hazy, smoke-filled street, to continue with their holiday preparations.

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