The history of Passover

Passover is a celebration held in spring, recognizing God’s redemption of the Jews in the time of Moses as they journeyed from slavery to freedom. This year, it starts at sundown on Wednesday, April 8 and will end at sundown on Thursday, April 16. This actually is based on the Jewish calendar and happens in the month of Nisan. In the Old Testament, Passover is one of the most sacred holidays to Jewish people, and continues to be so in modern times.

The evolution comes from Israelites’ departure from ancient Egypt. The story is that, as the Moses was trying to get Pharaoh to set the Jews free, Pharaoh kept agreeing and then changing his mind. Each time, God sent a plague to punish Pharaoh and the Egyptians: 1) water turned to blood, 2) frogs, 3) lice, 4) flies, 5) pestilence of livestock, 6) boils, 7) hail, 8) locusts, and 9) three days of darkness. Finally, God asked them to identify their homes by putting blood on their doorframes and the Angel of Death came through and killed the firstborn of any family – including the firstborn of livestock – that had not marked their homes. The Angel “passed over” the Jews and finally Pharaoh changed his mind.

Thousands of years later, Jewish people take a week to celebrate this holy day. On the first two days of Passover, a ceremonial meal called a Seder is served. The Seder plate is an aspect of the celebration. According to http://time.com/5188494/passover-history-traditions, the dish includes “a roasted shank bone which indicates the Pesach sacrifice…an egg which symbolizes spring and the circle of life, the bitter herbs on the plate also have a representation”. The herbs symbolize the bitterness of slavery. The celebration consists of a detailed tradition of eating unleavened bread (matzah) and bitter herbs, drinking wine or grape juice, and reading from the Haggadah, which is a portion of the Book of Exodus. It is very scripted and very solemn.

A part of the tradition is referred to as “The Four Cups.” For four nights, each adult must have a cup of wine to represent the redemption of the Israelites from slavery under the Egyptians.

While some Jewish temples sometimes invite others to celebrate Passover with them and share a Seder meal, it is unlikely to happen this year locally due to the COVID-19 fears.