Passover
Passover is one of the best known Jewish holidays, as much for its
connection to Jewish redemption and Moses.
Passover
begins on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan.
It is the first of the three major festivals with both historical and
agricultural significance (the other two are Shavu’ot
and Sukkot).
Agriculturally, it represents the beginning of the harvest season in Israel.
The primary observances of Passover
are related to the Exodus from Egypt
after 400 years of slavery as told in the biblical Book of
Exodus from chapters 1 to 15.
The story of the Passover.
Moses
went to see Pharaoh many times. Each time Pharaoh refused to release the
Israelites. Moses warned Pharaoh that God would send terrible plagues on Egypt
if Pharaoh did not let them go. The ten plagues were: blood, frogs, gnats,
flies, blight of the livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness and the death of
the first born.
The final
plague was the death of the first born. God told Moses that the Israelites
should mark their doorposts with lamb's blood so that God could 'pass over'
their houses and spare them from this plague. This is why the festival is
called Passover.
Eventually
Pharaoh gave in and told Moses and the Israelites to go at once. They left in
such a rush that their bread did not have time to rise. This is why, during
Passover, Jewish people eat unleavened bread called Matzah. It looks a
bit like crisp bread.
Passover
lasts for seven days (eight days outside of Israel).
The first and last days of the holiday (first two and last two outside of
Israel) are days on which no work
is permitted. Work is permitted on the intermediate
days, referred to as Chol Ha-Mo’ed.
The
name “Passover” is derived from the Hebrew word Pesach which is based on
the root “pass over” and refers to the fact that G-d
“passed over” the houses of the Jews when he was slaying the firstborn of Egypt
during the last of the ten plagues.
Many
of the Passover
observances still held were instituted in chapters 12 to 15 of the Exodus story
in the Torah. Probably the most significant observance involves the removal of chametz
(leavened bread) from homes and property. Chametz
includes anything made from the five major grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats and
spelt) that has not been completely cooked within 18 minutes after coming into
contact with water (Ashkenazic
Jews also consider rice, corn, peanuts, and legumes as chametz). The
removal of chametz commemorates the fact that the Jews left Egypt in a
hurry and did not have time to let their bread rise. It is also a symbolic way
of removing the “puffiness” (arrogance, pride) from our souls.
The
grain product we eat during Passover
in place of chametz is called matzah. Matzah
is unleavened bread made simply from flour and water and cooked very quickly.
This is traditionally viewed as the bread that the Jews made for their flight
from Egypt. Matzah
is also referred to as Lechem Oni ("Bread of
Affliction").
The
process of cleaning the home of all chametz in preparation
for Passover is an enormous task.
Traditionally,
the day before Passover
is also a fast day
for firstborn males, commemorating that the firstborn Jewish males in Egypt
were not killed during the final plague. Many men do not fast on this day
because they attend a celebration of the completion of the Talmud
which allows the fast to be broken.
While
Passover
is unusual for the obligation to remove all chametz, there is still a
great deal of foods unique
to the holiday.
Click
on the following link to find information and recipes for meals and food on
Passover.
On
the first night of Passover
(first two nights
outside of Israel),
Jews are commanded to have a special family meal filled with ritual to remind
us of the significance of the holiday. This meal is called the Seder,
which is a Hebrew root word meaning “order.” It is the same root from which we
derive the word “siddur” (prayer book).
The Seder,
however, is no ordinary holiday meal - there is a specific set of tasks that
must be completed and information that must be covered in a specific order. To
correctly follow the process, the text of the Passover
seder is written in a book called the Haggadah.
The
content of the seder is summed up in fourteen parts:
1.
Kaddesh: Sanctification
The
word is derived from the Hebrew root Qof-Dalet-Shin, meaning holy. This is a
blessing over wine in honor of the holiday. The wine is drunk, and a second cup
is poured.
2.
Urechatz: Washing
A
washing of the hands without a blessing, in preparation for eating the Karpas.
3.
Karpas: Vegetable
A
vegetable (usually parsley) is dipped in salt water and eaten. The vegetable
symbolizes the lowly origins of the Jewish people; the salt water symbolizes
the tears shed as a result of our slavery. Parsley is a good vegetable to use
for this purpose, because when you shake off the salt water, it looks like
tears.
4.
Yachatz: Breaking
One
of the three matzahs on the table is broken. Part is returned to the pile, the
other part is set aside for the afikomen (see below).
5.
Maggid: The Story
A
retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt and the first Passover.
This begins with the youngest person asking The Four Questions, a set of
questions about the proceedings designed to encourage participation in the
seder. The Four Questions are also known as Mah Nishtanah (Why is it
different?), which are the first words of the Four Questions. The maggid
is designed to satisfy the needs of four different types of people: the wise
son, who wants to know the technical details; the wicked son, who excludes
himself (and learns the penalty for doing so); the simple son, who needs to
know the basics; and the son who is unable to ask, the one who doesn’t even
know enough to know what he needs to know. At the end of the maggid, a
blessing is recited over the second cup of wine and it is drunk.
6.
Rachtzah: Washing
A
second washing of the hands, this time with a blessing, in preparation for
eating the matzah.
7.
Motzi Matzah: Blessings over Grain Products and Matzah
The ha-motzi
blessing, a generic blessing for bread or grain products used as a meal, is
recited over the matzah. A blessing specific to matzah is recited, and a bit of
matzah is eaten.
8.
Maror: Bitter Herbs
A
blessing is recited over a bitter vegetable (usually raw horseradish; sometimes
romaine lettuce), and it is eaten. This symbolizes the bitterness of slavery.
The maror is eaten with charoses, a mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine,
which symbolizes the mortar used by the Jews in building during their slavery.
9.
Korech: The Sandwich
Rabbi
Hillel was of the opinion that the maror should be eaten together with
matzah and the paschal offering in a sandwich. In his honor, we eat some maror
on a piece of matzah, with some charoses (we don’t do animal sacrifice anymore,
so there is no paschal offering).
10.
Shulchan Orech: Dinner
A
festive meal is eaten. There is no particular requirement regarding what to eat
at this meal (except, of course, that chametz cannot be eaten). Among
Ashkenazic Jews, gefilte fish and matzah ball soup are traditionally eaten at
the beginning of the meal.
11.
Tzafun: The Afikomen
The
piece of matzah set aside earlier is eaten as “dessert,” the last food of the
meal. Different families have different traditions relating to the afikomen.
Some have the children hide it, while the parents have to either find it or
ransom it back. Others have the parents hide it. The idea is to keep the
children awake and attentive throughout the pre-meal proceedings, waiting for
this part.
12.
Barech: Grace after Meals
The
third cup of wine is poured, and grace after meals is recited. This is similar
to the grace that would be said on any Sabbath.
At the end, a blessing is said over the third cup and it is drunk. The fourth
cup is poured, including a cup set aside for the prophet
Elijah,
who is supposed to herald the Messiah,
and is supposed to come on Passover
to do this. The door is opened for a while at this point (supposedly for Elijah,
but historically because Jews were accused of nonsense like putting the blood
of Christian babies in matzah, and we wanted to show our Christian neighbors
that we weren’t doing anything unseemly).
13.
Hallel: Praises
Several
psalms are recited. A blessing is recited over the last cup of wine and it is
drunk.
14.
Nirtzah: Closing
A
simple statement that the seder has been completed, with a wish that next year,
we may celebrate Passover
in Jerusalem
(i.e., that the Messiah
will come within the next year). This is followed by various hymns and stories.
Mar 22, 2013 -
Uploaded by SchustermanFoun
Created by Alon Chitayat (animishmish.com) and Dori adar
Director of design & animation:
Family Haggadah
PASSOVER HAGGADAH. ©Rabbi
Amy Scheinerman, all .... ancestor Jacob took his family and
settled in Egypt, where there was plenty of food. The children of ...
scheinerman.net/judaism/pesach/haggadah.pdf
judaism.about.com/.../haggadahs/Online_Passover_Haggadahs_Downloa...
The Foundation for Family Education
offers a variety of online Haggadot written by Rabbi Barry Dov
Lerner: Very Brief Haggadah, Family Haggadah for
Almost ...
[PDF]
www.interfaithfamily.com/.../Your_Own_Personal_Family_Haggadah--F...
Mar 11, 2009 - You can make your
own haggadah that fits your family--in this
article, I'll tell .... in the past 8 years of being on-line at
www.jewishfreeware.org.
jewishmiddlesex.org/downloadhagaddah.aspx
hagaddah online, hagaddah
download. ... Complete Hebrew and English Haggadahs, About.com;
Egalitarian Haggadah for beginners or families with
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