12 April—Military officers are said to be passed over when they don’t get promoted. But before that, according to the Book of Exodus, the angel of death passed over certain houses in ancient Egypt whose doorposts had been marked with lamb’s blood, rather than infecting their lucky Jewish tenants with the plague that was to infect the first-born of the goyim (gentiles). Evidently, for once it paid to be Jewish.

Apropos nothing, Ashkenazi Hebrew for “angel of death” is malach ha-mavis and it was logical and natural for Jewish kids growing up on the streets of New York—and probably elsewhere—to call policemen malachim ha-mavis, angels of death. Even white Jewish kids in good neighborhoods did it.

Back on topic, tomorrow is the first day of Passover, the Jewish holiday that celebrates the cooperation of the philosemitic malach ha-mavis and the subsequent escape of the Jews—formally known as the Exodus of the Israelites (because Jews is a four-letter word)—from oppression (what else is new?) in Egypt about 3,500 years ago. But 40 years on the road? Jesus!

So Passover is observed by frum (pious) Jews restricting their diets for eight days—kind of like an abbreviated Ramadan—and doing other pretty silly culinary things. The big Passover celebration is in the form of two ceremonial meals called seders or sedarim in Hebrew, held the night before Passover and the night of the first day.

Although there are evangelical inconsistencies as to the exact date in 33 (AD, of course), the famous Last Supper was without question a seder. And it’s a safe bet that all the participants ate matzo, since it’s eaten as part of the seder ritual.

That takes us to matzo or matzoh or matzah, the unleavened bread the escaping Egyptian Jews (Israelites) had to bake because they didn’t have time for the yeast to ferment for real bread. You wonder why they couldn’t just have packed some flour, yeast, and baking pans to take along on what they probably thought would be a pretty short trip.

In all events, matzo takes us to Saint Thomas Aquinas, the 13^th century Dominican friar. Yes it does. Because it’s not generally known that the saintly priest really loved matzo. Including derivatives like matzo brei, matzo farfel, and matzo balls. Can’t blame him. In fact, he was so enamored of the flattest of flat breads that he wrote a paean to it, in which he called it Panis Angelicus, Bread of the Angels. Yes he did.

So here is Panis Angelicus, as St. Thomas wrote it (in God’s preferred language, of course):

Panis angelicus
fit panis hominum;
Dat panis cœlicus
exspectans terminum:
O res mirabilis!
Manducat matzum
pauper, servus et humilis.

Te trina Deitas
unaque poscimus:
Sic nos tu visita,
sicut te colimus;
Per tuas semitas
duc nos quo tendimus,
Ad matzem quam inhabitas.
Amen.

And here it is in our preferred language:

Bread of the Angels
becomes bread of men;
Bread of heaven
ends all waiting:
O marvelous thing!
The pauper, the servant, the wuss,
They all eat matzo.

We ask you, Triple-threat guy,
To visit us
as we worship you.
Lead us as you can do,
Us who wish
to eat the matzo in which you live.
Amen.

If that’s not enough, here’s Cesar Franck’s beautiful and popular cover of Panis Angelicus. Too bad you’re unlikely to hear it sung at a seder: