Passover: Encyclopedia - Passover

Passover

Passover, also known as Pesach or Pesah (פסח pesaḥ), is a Jewish holiday, beginning on the evening of the 14th day of Nisan, that commemorates The Exodus and freedom of the Israelites from Ancient Egypt.

The three main applicable mitzvah associated with the holiday are: eating matzoh, or unleavened bread; the prohibition of eating any foods containing leavening during the holiday¹; and the retelling of the Exodus (Mitzrayim). In ancient times (until today among the Samaritans) there was a fourth: the offering of a lamb in the evening on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Nisan (also known as Aviv) and the eating that night of the Passover sacrifice. The commandment of retelling the Exodus is fulfilled through a communal ritual called the seder, celebrated on the first two evenings of the holiday (in Israel, only on the first evening). Other customs associated with Passover include eating bitter herbs and other foods specified for the seder meal. While many reasons are given for eating matzoh, the book of Exodus explains that it recalls the bread the Israelites ate at the time of the Exodus: in their rush to leave Egypt, they did not have time for the bread to rise.

Passover - Origins of the feast

The term Passover comes from the Hebrew Bible, first mentioned in the Book of Exodus. It came into the English language through William Tyndale's translation of the Bible, and later appeared in the King James Version as well. The final plague of the Plagues of Egypt, the killing of all the firstborn like the other plagues, did not affect Israelites. The Torah goes on to state, that upon seeing the blood, God would pass over the homes of the Israelites. The original verb in the Hebrew Torah is posach. The noun form, pesach, also appears in that same chapter, in reference to that lamb (sometimes referred to as the paschal lamb), which was sacrificed earlier that day and then eaten on that night: "and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's passover." (Exodus 12:11)

Although the term itself is not mentioned until the Book of Exodus, there are indications that at least parts of the feast were observed in times earlier than the writing of the Book of Exodus. For example, Genesis 19:3 makes reference to "unleavened bread" without any reason given. The scholar Maimonides leaves a short commentary on the end of the verse ("It was Passover" "פסח היה"), indicating that it wasn't necessarily a standard practice to prepare and eat unleavened bread, but that Lot was in a rush to serve the angels, and therefore did not have time to prepare proper, leavened bread.

Critical scholarship indicates that the word now translated passover derives from a root generally meaning skipping, and thus is likely to originally have simply meant the skipping motion of a young lamb. Consequently, critical scholarship supports the idea that the original meaning of the festival becoming lost over time, and what was once a secondary interpretation of passover as meaning sparing eventually causing an association of the festival with the plagues of Egypt. This change in interpretation would have had to happen before the Elohist wrote down its version of the tale of the plagues, which makes the connection with sparing, thus, according to the documentary hypothesis, this occurred at some time prior to 800BC. Thus, the passover festival was originally the spring lamb festival, explaining the sacrifice of a lamb, and the use of its blood.

According to the ancient Holiness Code, which in the documentary hypothesis is believed to pre-date much of the remainder of the priestly source portion of the torah, the festival of unleavened bread and the passover are distinguished as separate festivals (Leviticus 23). It is only in the Holiness Code and the priestly source that a community sacrifice is mentioned for the day, JE does not mention such a thing. Critical scholarship points to the festival of unleavened bread as the festival of the firstborn of the agricultural crops (i.e. wheat and barley), whereas the passover, interpreted as the feast of the spring lamb, is pointed to as being a festival of the firstborn of livestock farming.

Thus, to critical scholarship, rather than being connected to remembrance of an ancient plague, the modern passover festival is the combination of two similar ancient festivals celebrating successful yields in farming, one of agriculture, and the other of livestock.

Passover - Observances

Passover is a Jewish holiday central to Judaism. Before the holiday begins, observant Jews will remove and discard all food with leavening (called chametz) from their households. Although many do a thorough job, so that not even a crumb remains, the law only requires the elimination of olive-sized quantities of leavening from one's possession. There is a custom to conduct a formal search for overlooked leavening, on the evening prior to the start of the holiday. This tradition is called bedikat chametz ("search [for] leavened"). Throughout the holiday, they will eat no leavened food, replacing breads, pastas, and cakes with matzoh and other specially prepared foods. The holiday is also preceded by the fast of the firstborn.

Passover is a family holiday and a happy one. The first and seventh days are observed as full holidays, as are the second and eighth days for Diaspora Jews.

It is traditional for a Jewish family to gather on the first two nights (only one night in Israel) for a special dinner called a seder (derived from the Hebrew word for "order", due to the very specific order of the ceremony) where the story of the Israelite exodus from Egypt is retold by the reading of the story in the seder prayer book, the Haggadah.

At the seder three matzohs are used. During the seder, the middle matzoh is broken in two. The smaller piece is returned to the set of matzohs while the larger piece is designated as the afikomen, or the "dessert" matzoh. Two distinct customs have arisen among some Jews regarding the afikomen, both of which involve the afikomen being hidden as a means of keeping the children interested in the proceedings. In one custom, a child "steals" it and the parent has to find it. If the parent can't find it, the child is given a reward for the return of the afikomen. In the other custom, an adult hides the afikomen and the children look for it at the end of the meal. If the children find it, they receive a reward or ransom, as the seder cannot end until the afikomen is found.

During the seder, a platter called the "Seder Plate" (ke'ara), covered with symbols of Passover, is placed at the center of the table in view of all. There is a roasted shank bone of a paschal lamb called a Z'roa which represents the offerings at the Temple in Jerusalem on Passover. It has a roasted egg called a Beitzah which represents the second offerings given at the temple in Jerusalem on Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot. There is a green, leafy vegetable (usually celery (Sephardic tradition) or parsley/lettuce (Ashkenazi tradition)) called Karpas which reminds the participants that Passover corresponds with Spring and the harvest, which, in ancient times was a cause for celebration itself. There is a dish of chopped fruits, nuts, and wine called Charoset which represents the mortar used by the Jews in bondage. There is a dish of maror or "bitter [herbs]" which represent the bitterness of slavery.

Another tradition during the seder ceremony is recalling the Four Sons: the Wise son (chacham), the Wicked son (rasha), the Simple son (tam), and the son who does not know enough to inquire (eino yodei'a lish'ol). According to some, these sons represent the different types of Jews, as follows:

1. The Wise son is the learned Jew;
2. The Wicked son is the Jew that mocks his religion;
3. The Simple son is the Jew that is unlearned;
4. The fourth son is the Jew so unfamiliar with his heritage and traditions that he cannot relate to the subject without personal attention.

Since Seder means "order", it is not unexpected that there is an order to the night's proceedings. The night goes as follows:

• Kadesh קדש (Saying of Kiddush blessing and the first cup of wine)
• Ur'chatz ורחץ (The washing of the hands)
• Karpas כרפס (Dipping of the Karpas in salt water)
• Yachatz יחץ (Breaking the middle matzoh which becomes the Afikomen)
• Maggid מגיד (Telling of the Passover story, including reciting the Four Questions)
• Rachtzah רחץ (Second washing of the hands)
• Motzi/Matzah מוציא / מצה (Saying of the matzah blessing)
• Maror מרור (Eating of charoset and maror)
• Korech כורך (Eating of Matzah, charoset, and maror)
• Shulchan Orech שולחן עורך (Dinner is served; lit., "prepared table")
• Tzafun צפון (Eating of the Afikomen)
• Barech ברך (After dinner blessing and wine; in Ashkenazi families: welcoming of Elijah the Prophet)
• Hallel הלל (Song singing, wine)
• Nirtzah נירצה (Conclusion)

Passover - Historical significance in Christianity

According to the New Testament, Jesus' Last Supper was a meal for either the passover or the eve of the passover (depending on which gospel is supported). Thus Easter is celebrated at the same time as Passover.

Passover - Recent Gregorian dates

See also

• Kitniyot
• Quartodecimanism
• Fast of the firstborn

• Note 1: The restriction in Torah is explicitly against consumption of any leavening (Exodus 13:3), but oral law and tradition - except among Karaite Jews - have extended the prohibition to all forms of chametz (or chometz, in Ashkenazic spelling. Chametz is any of the five grains (wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye) most commonly used to make bread. (They do not need to have contact with water for more than 18 minutes to be classified as chametz.) Ashkenazic oral law also forbids ownership and consumption of kitniyot - that is, rice, maize, and legumes (specifically soybeans, dried whole or split peas, lentils, lima beans, etc.) because they can also be used to make bread or confused with things that are used to make bread. (Most rabbinic legal authorities do not consider as 'kitniyot' foods such as green peas, green beans, and peanuts, which cannot be made into bread or confused with foods which can. Sephardic Jews generally observe the prohibition against chametz but do not recognise the Ashkenazic prohibition against kitniyot. Karaite Jews do not recognise either prohibition but strictly apply the rule in Torah, which prohibits the use of "leavening" (of any time, including baking soda and baking powder - which are generally permitted by Ashkenazic and some Sephardic authorities). The Conservative Rabbinical Assembly of Israel has [1] ruled that it is permitted (and perhaps even obligatory) to disregard the prohibition against kitniyot.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Passover", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki