The Story of Passover: It’s
History and Origins
Overview
Passover is a Jewish holiday that is
celebrated in remembrance of the Jew’s exodus from Egypt. The holiday is
celebrated over an eight-day period (seven days in Israel). On the
evening of the first two days (only the first night in Israel), there
are special meals called Seders in which the story of the departure of
the Jews from the Egyptian Pharaoh is recited.
The Meaning of Passover
The name of the holiday is really Pesach,
as it is pronounced in Hebrew. The English definition of Pesach is to
“pass over” or to “pass through.” The holiday probably became known in
English as Passover because it sounds (a little) like Pesach and
provides insight into the story of Passover, where the Angel of Death
“passed over” the homes of the Jews.
When is Passover Celebrated? (When does Passover Begin?)
Passover begins on the 15th day
of Nissan, which is a month on the Jewish calendar. The Jewish calendar
is a lunar calendar and does not come out the same time on the Gregorian
calendar each year. However, it is usually celebrated some time around
April.
The dates for Passover over the next few
years is as follows:
Jewish Calendar American/Gregorian
Calendar
5765 April 23,
2005
5766 April 12,
2006
5767 April 2,
2007
5768 April 19, 2008
Also note, the holiday begins at Sunset for
the Gregorian calendar. So, the holiday in 2007 would begin at sunset
on April 2nd.
Fast of the Firstborn
The day before Passover is a minor Jewish
holiday in which the first born males of each holiday are required to
fast to remember the slaying of the first born Egyptian males, which was
the final plague brought upon the Egyptians before letting the Jews
leave.
Chametz, Matzah and What to Eat on Passover
Because of the haste in which the Jews left
Egypt, they did not have much time to do thinks like bake bread. Since
they were in a hurry, they did not let bread rise all the way. This
unleavened bread is called Matzah. To remember their plight, Jews do
not eat food that rises during the eight days of the holiday. This food
is called Chametz (Choometz). When you see a label that says “Kosher
for Passover,” it means that none of the ingredients in the product
include Chametz.
Basically, Chametz includes anything made
from grains (such as barley, oats, rye, spelt and wheat) that are
allowed to cook (rise) for 18 minutes or more. Jews of Eastern European
decent also add corn, legumes, peanuts and rice to the list of foods not
to eat during this holiday since they are common in making bread.
Jews are not allowed to eat Chametz during
the holiday –in fact, they are not even allowed to own it. Jewish
observers will either clean their homes of all Chametz or sell them to
non-Jews. To sell the Chametz, the food usually goes into some type of
storage (or a closet/container in ones own house that is closed for the
holiday) and is “sold” to the non-Jew, where it is sold back at the end
of the holiday. This restriction even applies to cooking ware, plates,
utensils, etc, that have touched Chametz during the year. Many Jews
have separate sets of cookware, utensils and dishes that are only used
for these eight days. There is also a major cleaning of the entire
house to make sure there is not even a crumb of Chametz left – it is
also a great way to make sure that spring cleaning gets done. On the
morning of Passover, any leftover Chametz is then burned.
Matzah then becomes the food of choice for
Passover. Everything that previously needed some type of Chametz is
substituted with ingredients that include Matzah – which is unleavened
bread. Over the past decade, the commercial retailers of Passover foods
have become very adventurous and using only Kosher for Passover
ingredients, now sell Bagels, Pizzas and Pastas.
The First Order of Business: The Seder
Thee are special meals called Seders on the
first two nights of Passover (only the first night if celebrated within
Israel). These meals comprise a recital of the story of the Passover,
prayers, games and a festive meal. The translation of Seder in English
is “order.” This is because the Seder has an order and is layed-out in a
prayer book called a Haggadah. [I have links to online text of the
Haggadah above]
The order of the Seder is as follows:
1) First Glass of
Wine (Kaddesh)
2)
Washing of the Hands
3)
Eating of the Karpas
(vegetable, usually parsley) and dipping it in salt water (symbolizing
the tears of the Jewish slaves in Egypt)
4)
Breaking of the Matzah into three
pieces and removing the middle piece called the Afikomen.
5)
Telling of the Passover Story (and
the Four Questions)
a.
This is the story of how a Jew named
Moses was raised as the son of the Pharaoh’s daughter (they did not know
he was Jewish). He later discovered his true identity and with the
power of G-d tried to free the Jews (who were slaves in Egypt). He did
so by causing ten plagues to be brought upon the Egyptian people. After
the last plague, the slaying of the firstborn males by the Angel of
Death (who spared those that put the blood of a sacrificial lamb on
their doors). Moses then led the Jews out of Egypt with the Egyptian
Army close behind (who were swallowed up by the water). He first led
them to where they could receive the 10 commandments, then spent the
next fourty years traveling the desert until they reached the promised
land of milk and honey . . . Israel.
b.
Other stories relating to the Jew’s
flight are also infused during the Seder, including the Four Questions,
where the youngest person at the table asks the questions about what is
Passover and why do Jews celebrate it the way they do.
6)
Washing of the hands
7)
Blessing over the Matzah
8)
Eating the Bitter Herbs – the Marror
(to remember the bitterness the Jews faced in Egypt).
9)
Eating the Korch – the Passover
Sandwich (the Marror is combined with Charoset (a pasty substance made
usually from apples, wine and nuts to symbolize the mortar used by the
slaves to build) and placed on the Matzah to form a type of sandwich.
10)
The Festive Meal – usually a really
big meal with lots of food and dishes. Some of the traditional dishes
include matza ball soup, gefilete fish, chicken, brisket, matza farfel
and of course, matzah followed by desert.
11)
Hiding of the Afikomen – the
traditions may differ, but in many families, the afikomen (the piece of
matzah broken apart in step 4) is hidden by the head of the household
and the children then try to find the matzah. If the do, they will
receive a prize. This is done to keep the young children awake during
the seder.
12)
The after meal grace
13)
Praises to the Lord
14)
The closing of the Seder. |
