Passover
The Seder night plate.
The feast of Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) commemorates the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. This spring festival lasts seven or eight days, depending on where you live, but for everyone, the main event is a ritual family meal called the Seder. Most Jews, even those who do not take part in other Jewish traditions, join in as it is seen as a celebration of family and community ties – and of survival in the face of persecution.
Passover celebrates the deliverance of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses. The Old Testament book of Exodus describes how God told the Israelites to kill a lamb and paint its blood on their doors, so that the ‘Angel of Death’ would ‘pass over’ their houses protecting them, as he wreaked the 10th plague on Pharaoh’s people: the slaying of the first-born.
Now lamb is part of the Seder ritual. So is unleavened bread, or matzo. This commemorates the Jews leaving Egypt so fast that they did not have time to let their bread rise. Before the celebrations can begin, the house must be cleaned from top to bottom to remove any traces of chametz (leaven). The day before Passover, there is a ritual search for chametz and children usually join in with great enthusiasm.
During the meal, the participants read the story of the Exodus, drink four cups of wine and eat bitter herbs symbolising the suffering of the slaves. They also eat eggs, symbolising new life – just as they do in the spring festivals of many other religions.
These traditions have supported the Jewish people under the very worst conditions – when they had to follow Jewish rituals in secret after the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century and even in the ghettoes of Europe during World War II, as they were being deported to death camps by the Nazis. For many people today, as they tell the story of the escape from slavery, the Seder represents hope for liberation from persecution, not just for Jews but for everyone.
Peace and freedom everywhere!
