Pesach - Passover

“This day shall become a memorial for you… you shall observe it… for your generations as an eternal decree…”

Exodus 12:14-17 (NIV)

Pesach, Passover, the first of the three Jewish Pilgrim’s festivals, is always celebrated on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan. This day marks the beginning of the Biblical New Year. 

The date also determined the length of a king’s reign.

Passover commemorates the Exodus from Egypt when God delivered the Israelites from bondage. Today, observant Jews spend the weeks before Passover in a flurry of thorough housecleaning to remove all morsels of chametz from every part of the home. This ‘spring-cleaning’ ritual has been copied by many non-Jews as well.

Chametz (leavening) is made from one of five types of grains which combined with water are left to stand for more than eighteen minutes. During Passover, it is forbidden to eat, keep or own olive-sized or larger quantities of chametz. Most orthodox Jews go even further - even the cracks of kitchen counters are thoroughly scrubbed to remove any traces of flour and yeast, however small. Any item or implement that has handled chametz is generally put away and not used during Passover.

On the morning of the 14th of Nisan, all leavened products that were still in the house are burned. In order to ensure a safe burning of the chametz, municipalities place special incinerators on the street corners.

That same morning, firstborn sons are commanded to observe the Fast of the Firstborn which commemorates the salvation of the Hebrew firstborns. According to Exodus 12:29, God struck all Egyptian firstborns while the Israelites were not affected.    

Pesach is also called Chag haMatsot, referring to the flat, unleavened “bread”. The Israelites had to leave in such a hurry that there was no time for the bread to rise. God told the Israelites to eat unleavened bread for seven days.

During the 40 years in the desert there was only manna. Upon entering the Promised Land, the Jewish people were able to bake matzot from the local wheat and barley in order to celebrate a true Pesach.

Korban Pesach is the lamb that was killed at the Tabernacle and Temple, roasted and eaten during the holiday.

The Prophet Samuel revived the national religious festival and under King Solomon the Feast took new splendor with the building of the First Temple. After his death, idolatry and paganism caused the Pesach celebrations to decline. Godly kings like Hezekiah and Josiah reinstated the Festival. After the destruction of the First Temple the Korban Pesach could no longer be sacrificed and was replaced by prayers, eating matza and bitter herbs. When the Second Temple was built, the Korban Pesach again was reinstated, until the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D.

In Israel, the Pesach holiday is observed for seven days; in the Diaspora, for eight days. The first and last days are major holidays, on which working is prohibited (like a Shabbat). During Chol Hamoed (intermediate days), people are allowed to work.

The Samaritans living on Mount Gerazim, near Shechem (Nablus) and the Ethiopian Falashas are the only group of people still performing Paschal sacrifices during Pesach.

 

From the book Remember Observe Rejoice © Petra van der Zande