Israel's ultra-Orthodox skip Passover cleaning, go on vacation

Many people in Israel consider Passover to be the most exhausting Jewish holiday of all. Apart from all the religious restrictions on eating "hametz" — leavened foods — many are still traumatized by childhood memories of the thorough Passover cleaning sessions that preceded the holiday. To prepare the home for Passover, all remains of hametz must be eliminated, no matter where they might be found. This obviously includes the kitchen, but also covers crumbs in mattresses, toys and every last book.

Over the past few years, some have been solving the cleaning problem in a very simple (but decidedly more expensive) way. What started with the general public and spread to the religious nationalist community is now reaching the ultra-Orthodox sector as well. Entire families, including all their children, leave home right before Passover and move into a hotel. They will stay there for all of the weeklong holiday, until the very end of Passover. People who choose to go to a hotel for Passover not only avoid the exhausting cleaning process. They also enjoy full room and board and get a real chance to rest. Most kosher hotels for Passover are in Israel, but they can be found in hotels overseas as well, especially in Europe. These hotels are rented out in their entirety for the seven days of the holiday and made completely kosher for Passover under rabbinical supervision.