Passover, One of the Three Pilgrim Festivals, Celebrates the Exodus, the freedom from slavery of the Children of Israel from ancient Egypt that followed the Ten Plagues.
Hebrew Pesaḥ, or Pesach.  The Holiday thus marks the first and most momentous event in Jewish history.
Passover begins with the 15th and ends with the 21st (or, outside of Israel and among Reform Jews, the 22nd) day of the month of Nisan (March or April). On these seven (or eight) days, all leaven, whether
in bread or other mixture, is prohibited, and only unleavened bread, called matzo, may be eaten. The matzo symbolizes both the Hebrews’ suffering while in bondage and the haste with which they left Egypt in the course of the Exodus.
Why is Passover celebrated?
Passover commemorates the Biblical story of Exodus — where God
freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The celebration of Passover is prescribed in the book of Exodus in the Old Testament (in Judaism, the first five books of Moses are called the Torah). The holiday is often celebrated for eight days (seven in Israel), and incorporates themes of springtime, a Jewish homeland, family, remembrance of Jewish history, social justice and freedom — including recognizing those who are still being oppressed today. All of these aspects are discussed, if
not symbolically represented, during the Passover seder.
The holiday is often celebrated for eight days (seven in Israel), and incorporates themes of springtime, a Jewish homeland, family, remembrance of Jewish history, social justice and freedom — including recognizing those who are still being oppressed today. All of these aspects are discussed, if not symbolically represented, during the Passover seder.
In Israel, Passover is the
seven-day holiday of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, with the first and last days observed as legal holidays and as holy days involving abstention from work, special prayer services, and holiday meals; the intervening days are known as Chol HaMoed ("festival days"). Diaspora Jews historically observed the festival for eight days, and most still do. Reform and Reconstructionist Jews and Israeli Jews, wherever they are, usually
observe the holiday over seven days. The reason for this extra day is due to enactment of the Sages. It is thought by many scholars that Jews outside of Israel could not be certain if their local calendars fully conformed to practice of the Temple at Jerusalem, so they added an extra day. But as this practice only attaches to certain (major) holy days, others posit the extra day may have been added to accommodate people who had to travel long distances to participate in communal worship and
ritual practices; or the practice may have evolved as a compromise between conflicting interpretations of Jewish Law regarding the calendar; or it may have evolved as a safety measure in areas where Jews were commonly in danger, so that their enemies would not be certain on which day to attack.
The Story of Pessach
At the end of the biblical book of Genesis, Joseph brings his family to Egypt.
Over the following centuries, the descendants of Joseph's family (the Hebrews) become so numerous that when a new king comes to power he fears what might happen if the Hebrews decide
to rise against the Egyptians. He decides that the best way to avoid this situation is to enslave them (Exodus 1). According to tradition,these enslaved Hebrews are the ancestors of modern day Jews.
Despite Pharaoh's attempt to subdue the Hebrews they continue to have many children. As their numbers grow, pharaoh comes up with another plan: he will send soldiers to kill all newborn male babies who were born to Hebrew mothers. This is where the story of
Moses begins.
Moses
In order to save Moses from the grisly fate Pharaoh has decreed, his mother and sister put him in a basket and set it afloat on the river. Their hope is that the basket will float to safety and whomever finds the baby will adopt him as their own. His sister, Miriam, follows along as the basket floats away. Eventually it is discovered by none other than pharaoh's daughter. She saves Moses
and raises him as her own, so that a Hebrew child is raised as a prince of Egypt.
When Moses grows up he kills an Egyptian guard when he sees him beating a Hebrew slave. Then Moses flees for his life, heading into the desert. In the desert he joins the family of Jethro, a Midian priest, by marrying Jethro's daughter and having children with her. He becomes a shepherd for Jethro's flock and one day, while out tending the sheep, Moses meets God in the
wilderness. The voice of God calls out to him from a burning bush and Moses answers: "Hineini!" ("Here I am!" in Hebrew.)
God tells Moses that he has been chosen to free the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. Moses is not sure he can carry out this command. But God reassures Moses that he will have help in the form of God's aide and his brother, Aaron.
The Ten Plagues
Soon afterward, Moses returns to Egypt and demands that pharaoh release the Hebrews from bondage. Pharaoh refuses and as a result God sends ten plagues upon Egypt:
1. Blood - The waters of Egypt are turned to blood. All the fish die and water becomes unusable.
2. Frogs - Hordes of frogs swarm the land of Egypt.
3. Gnats or Lice - Masses of gnats
or lice invade Egyptian homes and plague the Egyptian people.
4. Wild Animals - Wild animals invade Egyptian homes and lands, causing destruction and wrecking havoc.
5. Pestilence - Egyptian livestock is struck down with disease.
6. Boils - The Egyptian people are plagued by painful boils that cover their bodies.
7. Hail -
Severe weather destroys Egyptian crops and beats down upon them.
8. Locusts - Locusts swarm Egypt and eat any remaining crops and food.
9. Darkness - Darkness covers the land of Egypt for three days.
10. Death of the Firstborn - The firstborn of every Egyptian family is killed. Even the firstborn of Egyptian animals die.
The
tenth plague is where the Jewish holiday of Passover derives its name, because while the Angel of Death visited Egypt it "passed over" Hebrew homes, which had been marked with lambs blood on the doorposts.
The Exodus
After the tenth plague pharaoh relents and releases the Hebrews. The quickly bake their bread, not even pausing for the dough to rise, which is why Jews eat matzah (unleavened bread) during
Passover.
Soon after they leave their homes pharaoh changes his mind and sends soldiers after the Hebrews, but when the former slaves reach the Sea of Reeds the waters part so that they can escape. When the soldiers try to follow them, the waters crash down upon them. According to Jewish legend, when the angels began rejoicing as the Hebrews escaped and the soldiers drowned God reprimanded them, saying: "My creatures are drowning, and you're singing
songs!" This midrash (rabbinic story) teaches us that we should not rejoice in the sufferings of our enemies. (Telushkin, Joseph. "Jewish Literacy." pgs 35-36).
Once they have crossed the water, the Hebrews begin the next part of their journey as they search for the Promised Land. The story of Passover recounts how the Hebrews gained their freedom and became the ancestors of the Jewish people.
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What is a Seder?
The Hebrew word “seder” translates to “order,” and 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.
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What are some key symbols of the Passover
seder?
On Passover seder tables, you may see a partitioned plate containing small amounts of specific food.
This is the seder plate, and each food is symbolic for an aspect of Passover: A roasted shank bone represents the Pescah sacrifice, an egg represents spring and the circle of life, bitter herbs represent the bitterness of slavery, haroset (an applesauce-like mixture with wine, nuts,
apples, etc.) represents the mortar used by the Jews in Egypt, karpas (or greens, often parsley) to represent spring.
Also placed on the table are three pieces of matzah — a cracker-like unleavened bread — that represent the bread the Israelites took with them when they fled Egypt, and salt water to represent the tears of the slaves. At your seat, you may see a specific wine glass (or kiddish cup). The Torah commands that (at least) four symbolic
cups of wine be consumed during the Passover seder.
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. This new feminist tradition symbolizes Miriam’s Well, which provided water for the Israelites in the desert; it also symbolizes the importance of women during the
Exodus.
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.
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Passover Foods
What are traditional Passover foods?
In addition to eating the foods represented on the seder plate (with the exception of lamb, which is not eaten) a Passover meal — that breaks up the two halves of the seder — is served.
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.
Why don’t Jews eat leavened bread during Passover?
Not featured during the meal are 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. (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 first born, the Pharaoh agreed to let the Israelites go. But in their haste to leave Egypt, the Israelites could not let their bread rise and so they brought unleavened bread. This specific dietary requirement is spelled out in Exodus 12:14, “You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”
To commemorate this, Jews do not eat leavened bread for eight days. While all Jews are required to abstain from chametz, Ashkenazi Jews are also prohibited from eating rice, corn or legumes – known as “kitniyot.” while Sephardic Jews eat kitniyot during Passover.
Any bread-like substance (cakes, dumplings, etc.) found at the seder will be made by combining matzoh meal, some sort of fat, and eggs to remain kosher for Passover.
The
History And Symbolism Of Matzo Balls.
Matzo ball soup with dill. Matzo represents the unleavened bread the Jews ate while fleeing Egypt.
Nothing says Passover like a good bowl of matzo ball soup. That's according to Joan Nathan, chef and grande-dame of Jewish cooking, who spoke to Steve Inskeep of NPR's Morning Edition about the importance of the tradition.
The Jewish holiday of Passover celebrates the Biblical story of the Exodus, or the freeing of Hebrew slaves from Egypt.
"It's really the defining story of Judaism. Everybody in some way can identify with it – Jewish or not," says Nathan,
The Passover meal,
known as a Seder, is all about remembering Jewish history. Much of the food is deeply symbolic. Matzo represents the unleavened bread the Jews ate while fleeing Egypt, for example, and horseradish is a symbol for the bitterness of slavery.
Before the machine-made matzo became widely consumed in the 19th century, Jewish people would visit their local bakery for Matzo bread, and make matzo balls with the leftover crumbs.
But the dumplings were not always called matzo balls. They were called knoedel, Nathan says, and the Germans, Austrians and Alsatians used them in soups. When Jews moved to Poland, they referred to them as knoedela, and in the 1930s, the U.S. Manischewitz company started packaging the product and called them "Alsatian feathery balls." Nathan says it was probably U.S. comedians and vaudeville performers that finally dubbed them "matzo
balls."
Recipe: Joan Nathan's Matzo Ball Soup
2 tablespoons rendered chicken fat
4 large eggs
1/4 cup chicken broth or water
3 teaspoons
salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger or 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 cup matzo meal
Put the chicken fat, eggs, broth or water, 2 teaspoons salt, freshly ground pepper, the ginger and the nutmeg in a medium mixing bowl. Stir well with a wooden spoon, then add the matzo
meal and stir just until mixed. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight.
Bring a large pot of water with the remaining teaspoon of salt to a boil. Set a small bowl of cold water next to your work space. Dip your hands in the water, then form matzo balls about the size of small walnuts. Drop the matzo balls into the boiling water, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until al dente.
Serve with chicken soup.
Yield: About 10 matzo balls
Note: There are two ways that one can render the fat. The first way is to take the fat off the chicken and melt it down in a frying pan with onions. The second and easiest method is to make chicken soup (using the skin), then cool and refrigerate the soup overnight, and spoon off the fat that accumulates on top.
Reproduced from Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France copyright 2015 by Joan Nathan.
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