(12 Apr 2014) Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel have been preparing for the spring festival of Passover by burning leavened foods and washing kitchen pots and utensils.
During Passover, leavened breads and most grains are prohibited.
The tradition is intended to recall the flight of the Jews from Egypt after they were freed from slavery in Pharaonic Egypt.
As the story goes, they had no time to let their bread rise before baking it.
Matza, unleavened cracker-like bread, is traditionally eaten during the Jewish Passover celebrations instead of bread.
It is also considered the bread of the poor, meant to remind Jews of their ancestors' hardships.
In Jerusalem, the Ultra orthodox jews gather fresh water from a local well, from which they make later the Matzas.
At a factory in Kfar Habad, a Hasidic village near Tel Aviv, all hands have been on deck to make the Matza that will be eaten during the celebrations.
Rabbi Menachem Glukovsky, of the Hassidic Kfar Habad, explained the deep meaning of the Matza for the Jewish people.
"It's called the food of faith, just like our forefathers, when they left Egypt into the desert with a lot of faith, they trusted God, they went with these Matzas and we relive it every year when we celebrate the holiday of Passover, and we sit at our Passover table eating the Matza," he added.
In Jerusalem and all around Israel, people also had their kitchen utensils and religious objects cleaned in boiling water, as part of the Passover tradition.
On Sunday evening , men of all ages will start bonfires of leavened foods and pray shortly before the start of the holiday, which will begin on Monday night with a special festive meal known as the seder.
Passover marks the Hebrews' exodus from slavery in Egypt as recounted in the Bible.
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