Passover, fpor 2023, April 5 eve-April 13 sundown

The History of 7 Passover Traditions

BY SARAH GRAY

 

UPDATED: APRIL 13, 2022 3:55 PM EDT | ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: MARCH 15, 2018 1:54 PM EDT

Why is Passover celebrated?

Passover commemorates the Biblical story of Exodus (God freed the Israelites from Egyptian slavery). Passover is prescribed in the book of Exodus. The holiday is often celebrated for eight days (seven in Israel for non-traditional Jews).

Passover incorporates themes of springtime, a Jewish homeland, family, remembrance of Jewish history, social justice, and freedom, all discussed during the Passover seder.

Whether or not the Exodus happened remains unclear, and it continues to be a mystery that still confounds biblical scholars and archeologists alike.

Elon Gilad, who writes about history and language, told the Israeli newspaper. Haaretz that Passover traditions, although arguable historically, came about by merging two ancient festivals celebrating spring, one of nomadic origin and one from villages.

When is Passover?

Passover takes place in early spring during the Hebrew calendar month of Nissan, as prescribed in the book of Exodus. Exodus 12:18 commands that Passover be celebrated, “from the fourteenth day of the month of Nissan at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.” (The Gregorian date varies from year to year because the Hebrew calendar has only 354 days a year, correctable every three years)

Because the Hebrew calendar does not match up with the Gregorian calendar, the date of Passover (along with other Jewish holidays) changes every year.

Passover dates for 2022 are April 15 through April 23.

What is a Haggadah?

A Haggadah is a book read during the seder that tells the story of Passover. The Hebrew word “Haggadah” means “telling,”

In contemporary Passover celebrations, relevant political or social justice themes have been incorporated into the seder

Passover story

Egypt’s Pharaoh, fearful that there will be too many Jews living in Egypt,  institutes slavery and demands that male Jewish babies be killed.

Baby Moses is saved by his mother, who floats him in a basket down the Nile river, where he is found and adopted by the Pharaoh’s daughter. After killing a slave master, Moses flees into the desert and encounters a burning bush of God revealing himself to Moses. God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh and lead the Jews out of slavery.

Moses goes to the Pharaoh and asks that he let the Jews go free from Egypt. Each time the Pharaoh says “no,” God sends a plague down on Egypt (darkness, lice, boils, cattle disease, etc.). The tenth and final plague is the most drastic: the killing of the firstborn (humans and animals) by the angel of death. To protect their firstborn children, the Israelites marked their doors with lamb’s blood so the angel of death would pass over them - thus the name Passover.

The Israelites were ultimately freed from slavery and wandered the desert for 40 years before making it to the promised land.

The Seder

The Hebrew word “seder” translates to “order. The Passover seder is a home ritual blending religious rituals, food, song, and storytelling. Families hold a seder on the first and sometimes second night of Passover.

It is fundamentally a religious service set around a dinner table, where the order in which participants eat, pray, drink wine, sing, discuss current social justice issues, and tell stories is prescribed by a central book called the Haggadah.

Key Symbols Of The Seder

The seder plate contains symbols for Passover: A roasted shank bone represents the Pesach sacrifice, an egg represents spring and the circle of life, bitter herbs represent the bitterness of slavery, charoset (an applesauce-like mixture with wine, nuts, apples, etc.) represents the mortar used by the Jews in Egypt, karpas (or greens, often parsley) represent spring.

On the table are three pieces of matzah (a cracker-like unleavened bread) representing the bread the Israelites took with them when they fled Egypt, and salt water to represent the tears of the slaves.

Another custom is to drink four glasses of wine.

There may also be one or two extra kiddish cups at your table: One is a cup of wine for the prophet Elijah whose spirit visits on Passover. In some families, a cup of water is set out for Moses’s sister Miriam.

On the chairs, you may see pillows. This is because on Passover you are supposed to recline at the table as a symbol of being free.

Don’t worry if you can’t keep this all straight. Because Passover is a retelling of a story to new generations, and due to the seder’s prescribed order, the Haggadah does a pretty good job explaining many key elements and symbols as you read along. There is even a specific section of the seder called the four questions, where the youngest person at the table asks about the different Passover symbols and the elders explain.

What are traditional Passover foods?

The meal’s menu will differ depending on family tradition. Traditional dishes include matzo ball soup, gefilte fish, beef brisket, chicken, and potatoes. Traditional Sephardic (Mediterranean and Spanish) Passover foods reflect a Mediterranean spin on the Passover dinner.

Jews Do Not leavened bread during Passover

leavened foods made of grain known as “chametz.” Chametz is prohibited during Passover, so you won’t find any pasta, cookies, bread, or cereal at the seder. (There are exceptions in different traditions, such as the Sephardim, descendent of Spain). More traditional Jews will completely clean out any foods containing chametz from their home.)

This has to do with the story of Passover: After the killing of the firstborn, the Pharaoh agreed to let the Israelites go. But in their haste to leave Egypt, the Israelites hurried such that their bread could not rise and so they brought unleavened bread. In Exodus 12:14, “You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”

If you want to bring something for the host, pick up an item from the kosher for Passover section of your supermarket, or stick to a bottle of kosher wine or flowers.

Time Magazine. https://time.com/5188494/passover-history-traditions/


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