JEWS ASSEMBLE AT SEDER TABLES TONIGHT, SUNDAY.

Byline: Josh Kleinbaum Staff Writer

Jewish families throughout the world will gather around Seder tables tonight and Sunday, eating symbolic food such as matzo, maror and haroset for Passover, a celebration of freedom and liberty.

The holiday celebrates the Jews' freedom from slavery in Egypt, a biblical story told in the Book of Exodus. But Rabbi Moshe Rothblum of Adat Ari El, a Conservative synagogue in Valley Village, said the lessons from the ancient story are still applicable today.

``We have always emphasized the importance of freedom, but over the years the notion of freedom has expanded,'' Rothblum said.

``It's not just political freedom. It's religious freedom as well as individual freedom. We need to be free to make those decisions in our own lives to make our lives more meaningful.''

During the first two nights of the eight-day holiday, Jews celebrate with a Passover Seder in the home. During Seder - the Hebrew word for order - Jews tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt and eat symbolic foods.

Matzo is unleavened bread, symbolic of the Jews' rush to leave Egypt before bread had time to rise. Maror, or bitter herbs, represents the bitterness of slavery. Haroset, a mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine, symbolizes the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the pyramids.

``Leavening, in ancient religions, was a sign of decay,'' Rothblum said. ``The idea of unleavened bread is that we want to move away from the elements of decay and embrace a religion that spoke more in terms of joy, enhancements, liberty, freedom, those kinds of things

``It's birth, as opposed to decay.''

Jacoby Levy, owner of Eilat Bakery, has been preparing for Passover for three weeks. During the eight days of Passover, observant Jews do not eat any leavened products, known as chametz. To make kosher for Passover food, Levy fires up the kitchen in his Valley Village store, one of three Eilat locations. He uses that kitchen only on Passover.

``We have no flour, nothing, no sign of chametz, not even matzo meal,'' he said.

Instead of flour, Levy uses almond meal and potato starch to make brownies, macaroons, cakes and other Passover food. Because almond meal costs five times as much as flour, the food is pricey, but it's in high demand.

``They love everything besides the prices,'' Levy said. ``I can't do anything about that, though.''

Levy had to clear all of the chametz from his kitchen, a practice mimicked in Jewish homes the world over.

Marcia Abelson, 81, of Sherman Oaks, said she uses Passover to get spring cleaning done in her kitchen.

``It's like a new beginning,'' Abelson said.

For Abelson and many other Jews, though, the main theme of Passover is not cleaning, food or freedom.

``It's about family and tradition,'' Abelson said. ``It's a time that my family gathers together, to pass on the tradition to the next generation.''

Josh Kleinbaum, [phone]

josh.kleinbaum(at)dailynews.com