By Phyllis Glazer

For AP Weekly Features

TEL AVIV, Israel — “Why is this night different from any other night?” Jews all over the world will recite this tonight, while gathered among family and friends to celebrate the Passover Seder.

This is one of the most important and beloved events on the Jewish calendar. Other Jewish holidays are primarily celebrated with enough food to feed the entire neighborhood, but the Seder includes food and more — a reading of the Haggadah, a traditional collection of narrative sources interspersed with ritual, legend, prayers, blessings and songs of thanksgiving collected throughout the ages.

“Remember you were slaves unto Pharaoh in Egypt,” the Haggadah reminds us, as it recalls the journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land and inspires discussion of individual freedom and social justice today.

The original Passover in Egypt entailed hurriedly consuming a sacrificial lamb and unleavened bread (matzo). Generations later it included a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. The Seder as we know it was created by the rabbis of the Talmud living in exile in Babylonia after the destruction of the Second Temple in A.D. 70.

But there’s a lot more to the holiday than just the Seder. For the observant, preparations for this Festival of Freedom may start at least a month before. Since the Bible says that during the holiday no hametz (leaven) should be found in the home, some families’ innocent zeal in “spring cleaning” might start with dusting off the books — and end up with renovating the entire house.

Then there’s thought to be given to getting that other set of dishes, flatware, cookware and utensils reserved especially for the holiday, out of storage, cleaning and switching it with its secular counterparts, but only after carefully cleaning out and relining the cabinets.

“Smell is the strongest memory I have of Passover,” a 55-year-old friend who grew up in Newton, Mass., recalled recently.

“I remember the fresh, clean smell of my parents’ house when everything was scrupulously cleaned to remove the hametz before the holiday. But, most of all, I remember the smell of plain foods, like just-washed fresh vegetables, just plain potatoes and eggs. That’s what our diet consisted of. But it was a good smell, and my kids don’t experience it today.”

Sadly, that’s right. If they’re not eating bottled gefilte fish, canned chicken soup and frozen matzo balls, youngsters today can enjoy Passover “pasta” and Cheerio-clone Passover breakfast cereals.

But growing up with Passovers that rely on prepared foods and “virtual” products can never provide the joyous memories of intergenerational teaching in the kitchen, and the sights, scents and flavors that make Passover much more than matzo.

Here are some suggestions for Passover meals that begin at home in the kitchen, including some special but not difficult-to-make dishes for all to share.

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