s4:ant t7- FURNITURE FADING ALWAYS 20% OFF asAwfij "SPECIAL OCCASIONS REQUIRE SPECIAL DRESSES" 29325 Fourteen Mile Rd. G Farmington Hills G Broadway Plaza 7374483 SOLAR SALES, INC, 537-7900 3M 10-7 P.M. M.-Sat., 10-5 Sun. Authorized Dealer/Applicator Sun Control Products Special to The Jewish News H wishes all our friends & clients a very happy and healthy Passover Quid g mbitiwz, 350-8280 CUSTOM WINDOW COVERINGS Best by Design Showroom open daily - for expert consultation please call ahead for an appointment 29555 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, MI 48034 Wishing You & Yours A Happy Passover David Wachter Family of Award Winning Jewellery Designers. 100 S. Woodward Birmingham, Michigan 48011 (313) 540-4622 Mon.-Sat. 10-5; Thurs. 10-8:30 Ideal Cut Diamond Jeweler 50 FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 1988 Passover Means Big Business In Israel CARL ALPERT -0 and gmbition, (0•re HOLIDAYS I FIGHT THE BIG "F"... eail r e s aid SINCE 1922 Renaissance Center • Tower 200 Suite 275 Detroit, Michigan 48243 (313) 259-6922 Certified Gemologist American Gem Society aifa — In many branches of Israel's economy, Passover is big business. At least four months ago the Chabad bakeries began their baking of the round shmura matzah, prepared under the most rigorous and exacting conditions. Thousands of Lubavitch families in Israel are expected to consume 20-25 pounds of shumar matzah during the holiday, while additional tons have been sent overseas. A heavy demand has been reported from behind the Iron Curtain. An additional 70,000 of these matzahs are distributed with the compliments of the Lubavitcher movement to politicians, army officers and others. Normal matzah production in Israel is an $8 million business, of which some $2 million worth is exported. The local manufacturers claim that they provide about 70 percent of the Canadian consumption, and about 20 percent of the matzahs eaten in the U.S. Last year, a popular American brand ap- peared on supermarket shelves in Israel. Aside from some nostalgic purchases by former Americans, it had lit- tle appeal for the Israelis, especially since it was much more expensive than the local, subsidized product. Passover provides the big- gest boost of the year to many industries, and large grocery chains report that about one- fifth of their total annual sales take place in the weeks immediately preceding the holiday. Sale of pots and pans and household china are up by about 75 percent compared to the rest of the year. There is also a big boost in towel sales, and while housewives are at it, they seem to splurge on purchases of sheets and pillow cases as well, as part of the sprucing up of the home. During Passover, Israelis consume 20 million eggs and seven million bottles of wine. Candy manufacturers report that 40 percent of their an- nual sales take place at this time. The hechsher, or rabbinic endorsement of kashrut, is a big business as well. Unlike in many stores overseas, it is not merely a matter of pasting labels on existing packages. In Israel the manufacturers have their packages and containers pre- printed with the hechsher, and some of the items linger on the shelves for weeks after Passover has gone. There is more to Passover than food, of course, and the holiday season is marked by many singular events. Last year, at Kibbutz Degania, Passover had a flavor of its own. Classes in Yiddish for adults had proven so suc- cessful that children in the third to fifth grades were also taught the mamaloschen. And old folks at the kibbutz seder looked on fondly as their grandchildren address- ed the four questions to them in Yiddish: "Mir vellen fregen die Fier kashes . ." Not all Israelis remain at home during this holiday season. April marks the Israel produces $8 million worth of matzah for local consumption and export. beginning of the Israeli vaca- tion period, and thousands are already on their way. Europe is the main destina- tion, the Far East in second place, and North America in third. Newcomers to Israel are surprised to learn that whereas Western Jews eliminate rice from their Passover diets, it is a staple on the tables of the Sephardim. Kosher L'Pesach is the rule for food in all public institu- tions, including the army and the nation's prisons. Each year it is reported that many Arabs take such a liking to the crisp, unleavened bread, that they continue to ask for it long after the holiday. Readers of the popular tabloid Maariv may find it difficult to keep their paper together during the holiday. The publishers normally use paste at the folds to keep the pages in place, but for fear of chametz they discontinue the paste during this week. And just to keep a sense of historical proportion, has anyone noticed that most of the archeological, historical and biblical evidence seems to indicate that the Exodus from Egypt took place about the year 1270 B.C.E., or 3,258 years ago. Back in 1930, wasn't anyone alert enough to notice that the year marked the 3,200th anniversary of that great event?