Passover, or Pesach, is a Jewish celebration that takes place on the 15th day of the first month of the Jewish Calendar, Nisan and lasts for up to 8 days. This year, Passover runs from the evening of the 8th of April to the evening of the 13th. Passover celebrates the events that are told in the book of Exodus in the bible.
The Passover Story
The Bible says that Moses saw that the Israelites were being persecuted in Egypt and so he went to Pharoah and asked him to set them free. Pharoah refused, and Moses warned him that God would send plagues to punish him. As Pharoah still refused, God sent a series of plagues ending with the firstborn son’s death. God told Moses that if the Jewish people marked their doors with lambs’ blood, the angel of death would know to ‘pass over’ their homes, which is where the holiday got its name. After this, Pharoah let the Jewish people go.
Celebrating Passover
Jewish families celebrate Passover with a meal with friends and families where they read from the Haggadah which tells the Exodus story in both Hebrew and English. Everyone has a cushion to sit on, reminding them that they are now free, and the celebration includes singing and eating.
A central part of the celebration is Seder Plates https://cazenovejudaica.com/uk/seder-plate, which contain special items that have significance to the story of Exodus. These are:
– Two types of Bitter herbs to represent the bitter experience of slavery
– A lamb bone to symbolise the lambs that were sacrificed to mark the doorways
– Celery stalks or parsley, that represent the spring harvest, dipped in salt water for the tears of the slaves that grew them
– Charoset, which is a brown paste made from fruit and nuts. This represents the mortar used between the bricks of the pyramids
– A hardboiled egg to remember the destruction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem
In addition to the content of seder plates, Jewish people eat Matzah – bread that hasn’t risen as they did when they had to leave Egypt quickly, and four glasses of wine which symbolise the four promises the God made that Egypt would be free.
Combined, these things enable the Jewish people to remember their past and apply the lessons they have learned to their lives now through reading, songs, games – and food!