in an oven. There were also baked goods, all made of wheat flour and baked in an oven, which were not burned on the altar. These were the twelve unleavened and specially shaped showbreads, eaten by the priests after they had been displayed; two loaves of leavened bread prepared for the festival of Shavuot and eaten by the priests; thanksgiving breads, which included leavened bread, unleavened bread, unleavened wafers and scalded loaves, with one of each kind given to the priests and the remainder eaten by the owner and guests; and the unleavened loaves and wafers accompanying the Nazirite’s sacrificial ram, one of each kind given to the priests and the remainder eaten by the Nazirite and guests. Whole extended families or clans also participated in a sacrifice that was offered on occasions such as the New Moon, and it is referred to as both the "sacrifice of days" and a kinship sacrifice. In the early Israelite period, before the centralization of sacrificial offerings as an exclusive part of the Temple services, these sacrifices were offered at various locations. David is described as leaving Saul’s table to participate with his family in Bethlehem () and Elkanah goes to Shiloh to participate with his household in the annual sacrifice (). Perhaps the oldest and most important feast celebrated by the Jews is the Passover. The original feast, with its origins in the story of the Exodus, consisted of a sacrificial lamb, bitter herbs and unleavened bread eaten by each family at home. Under the Israelite monarchy, and with the establishment of the Temple in Jerusalem, the sacrifice and celebration of Passover became centralized as one of the three pilgrimage festivals. Families who were able to travel to Jerusalem ate the Passover meal together in Jerusalem. Those who could not make the pilgrimage celebrated the holiday by holding a special meal and observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Forbidden foods In addition to requiring that certain foods be eaten for sacred purposes, the Israelite diet was shaped by religious practices which prohibited the consumption of certain foods, both in terms of the animals permissible for eating, and the manner of their preparation. The cuisine of the Israelites thus differed from that of their neighbors in significant ways. For example, ancient Mesopotamian recipes describe foods cooked with animal blood and milk added to meat stews; this would have been avoided by the ancient