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Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday commemorating their exodus from Egypt as cited in the Old Testament. This category is about the conceptual significance of Passover which is central to the understanding of Judaism.
937 Questions
Rice (regardless of type) is classified as 'kitniyot'. This means that Ashkenazi Jews will not eat it during Passover but some Sephardi and Mizrachi groups will.
Why is Passover still relevant today?
to help them remember how the jews were led out of egypt- this will make them remember to honour G-d and be thanakful for what they have.
Answer:Because it is God's command to do so (Exodus ch.12).What do Jewish people celebrate during Passover?
In Pesach (Passover) we relive the Exodus from Egypt and our birth as a nation, both of which were preparations for receiving the Torah from God.
The highlight of Passover is the Seder meal. This meal is of great importance in Judaism. It is a 3325-year old continuoustradition that began on the night of the Exodus from Egypt (see Exodus chapter 12), and is fully detailed in our ancient Oral Traditions (Talmud, chapter Arvei Pesachim).
The Seder meal is one of those occasions, like Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, that Jews all over the world, Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike, observe in common. During the Seder, we keep the essential mitzva and customs of handing Jewish traditions down to the next generation, with the traditional Seder foods and the ceremony of reading the Passover Haggadah which retells the events of the Exodus.
During the Seder meal, other traditional foods are eaten in addition to the matzah: bitter herbs, parsley, wine and haroset (see below). Salt water, a roasted egg, and a bit of roasted meat are also on the table.
During all the days of Passover, matzah (unleavened bread) is eaten; while leavened foods such as bread, cake, cookies, cereal and pasta are forbidden. Certain prayers are added in the synagogue services, and the Torah is read each day.
Here is the symbolism of the items on the Seder plate:
The bitter herbs (maror) symbolize the harsh slavery which the Israelites suffered in Egypt. Horseradish and/or romaine lettuce are traditionally used for maror.
Charoset - A sweet mixture representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt. In Ashkenazi Jewish homes, charoset is traditionally made from chopped nuts, grated apples, cinnamon, and sweet red wine.
Karpas - A vegetable other than bitter herbs, traditionally parsley, which is dipped into salt water at the beginning of the Seder. The dipping of a simple herb into salt water (which represents tears) recalls the pain felt by the Israelite slaves in Egypt.
Beitzah - A hard-boiled egg, symbolizing the korban chagigah (festival sacrifice) that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night. Although both the Pesach sacrifice and the chagigah were meat-offerings, the chagigah is commemorated by an egg, a symbol of mourning.
Z'roa - A roasted lamb or goat shank-bone, chicken wing, or chicken neck; symbolizing the korban Pesach (Pesach sacrifice), which was a lamb that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night.
See also:
What does bitter herbs represent in Passover?
The bitter herbs (maror) symbolize the harsh slavery which the Israelites suffered in Egypt.
See also the Related Link.
The link between Jewish Passover and Jesus Christ?
The Passover remembers the time when the Jews were being feed from slavery in Egypt. As a final miracle to convince Pharaoh to let them go, God sent the angel of death to strike down the first-born in all Egypt's families. To indicate that the angel should "pass over" the house of a Jewish family, the family was to slaughter a lamb and sprinkle the lintels of their doorway with its blood.
Jesus was proclaimed by John as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world". One of the connections to Passover is that Jesus was killed for us so that our sins are forgiven and we will live forever with God. In this sense Jesus acts as the Passover sacrificial lamb for us.
In addition, there was a more practical connection in that Jesus came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover and the Last Supper with his disciples was the Passover meal.
What is the Passover Seder plate and what does it symbolize?
The seder plate itself isn't a symbol, it holds the symbolic items for the seder though.
What does the food on a Seder plate symbolize?
These are the main items on a Seder plate:
Maror (מרור), or other bitter herbs, symbolizes the bitterness of the Hebrews' enslavement in Egypt.
Charoset (חרוסת), a sweet mixture of apples and nuts that is usually mixed with red wine and cinnamon. Charoset represents the mortar which was used by the Hebrews to build storehouses and cities during enslavement. The Maror is dipped in the Charoset to counter the Maror's sharpness. It is also symbolic of how the bitterness of slavery actually manifested, i.e. building of massive Egyptian structures.
Karpas (כרפס), a vegetable such as parsley, which is dipped in salt water or vinegar to represent the tears shed by the Hebrews during slavery (an alternative explanation is that Karpas symbolizes Joseph's tunic which was dipped in blood by his brothers to convince their father that he had been killed by wild beasts, as in the Torah/Old Testament story). Used as an appetizer to induce the children to ask questions. Dipping is a sign of freedom, yet dipping in salt water reminds us of the bitterness of the slavery. Contradictions that cause one to ask, "why is this night different than other nights?"
Z'roa (זרוע), a roasted lamb's shankbone, It symbolizes the Korban Pesach (קרבן פסח) (Passover sacrifice) that took place in the Temple in Jerusalem while it still stood. The Jewish people were required to have a sacrifice on the 14th day of Nissan and eaten the night of the 15th when the temple stood. It is symbolic of the offering of the lamb they killed and it's blood that they put on the doorposts so the angel of death passed over their houses.
Beitzah (ביצה), a roasted egg, symbolizes the Korban Chagigah (קרבן חגיגה) Temple sacrifice (an alternative is that the ovoid shape of the egg represents the cyclical nature of life and the Universe). It represents the new life in which they would have in the promised land (Israel) and the reinvention of the Jewish identity.
Matzoh, (מצה) symbolic of the unleavened bread, that the Israelites consumed when they left Egypt in a hurry and did not have sufficient time to let it rise, eaten while crossing the desert.
The Seder Plate is linked to Pesach (פסח), or Passover in English, which concerns the story of Moses.
Do you eat the first day of Passover?
Yes. Synagogue services are held every day of the year; and special prayers and Torah-readings are added during Hanukkah.
Is Passover the most celebrated Jewish holiday?
Yes, though some Christian groups have a holiday with the same name.
Why did passover include 4 cups of wine?
There is an obligation to drink four cups of wine during the Seder. The Mishnah says (Pes. 10:1) that even the poor are obliged to drink the four cups. Each cup is imbibed at a specific point in the Seder. The first is for Kiddush (קידוש), the second is for 'Maggid' (מגיד), the third is for Birkat Hamazon (ברכת המזון) and the fourth is for Hallel (הלל).
The Four Cups represent the four expressions of deliverance promised by God Exodus 6:6-7: "I will bring out," "I will deliver," "I will redeem," and "I will take."
Should Easter follow Passover?
Technically yes, as Easter celebrates Christ's Resurrection and Passover was either the day of the crucifixion or the day before it.
However the dates of these holy days are currently determined by different calenders: Easter by the Gregorian solarcalender, Passover by the traditional Jewish lunarcalendar. As these calendars use different systems, dates in each shift with respect to the other, so in some years Easter comes before Passover.
One of the many reasons Pope Gregory ordered the development of a new calendar was to avoid having to always consult the Jewish Rabbis for the date of Passover in order to compute the date of Easter (Jewish/Christian relations were very bitter by this time).
What connection did Jesus the Lamb of God have with the Passover sacrifice?
In Jewish custom for the Passover, a lamb was sacrificed for the Passover. Another Jewish tradition relevant to the Passion story occurs at Yom Kippur, when one lamb or goat was killed for our sins and one, the 'scapegoat', had the sins of the people symbolically transferred to him, after which he was chased away. In both cases, the lamb that was killed had to be perfect, with no broken bones.
Bishop Spong has noted that Mark described the scene that was the perfect parallel for the scapegoat being selected. Although there is no evidence that there was a custom of releasing a prisoner at the time of the Passover, Pontius offerred the mob the choice of Jesus, the Son of the Father, or Barabbas, whose name means "son of the father". By choosing the wrong "son of the father", Barabbas, to escape, the Jews had condemned Jesus as the symbolic sacrifice.
John's Gospel made further use of symbolism in describing Jesus as the lamb of God. In this account, when the Roman soldiers wanted to speed up the deaths of the three on the crosses, they broke the legs of the other two in the normal way, but only speared Jesus, ensuring that he had no broken bones and thus fulfilling the requirement for the Pascal lamb. John twice says, "Behold the Lamb of God" in reference to Jesus.
What is the meaning of eggs at Passover?
The roasted egg symbolizes the Hagigah-offering which was offered up in the Temple. Another reason for an egg is that it symbolizes mourning for the destruction of the Temple. Round foods represent mourning (Rashi commentary, Genesis 25:30). See also:
What kind of candles should you light for passover and how many?
There is no tradition of lighting candles at a seder. The only time candles would be lit is if the first seder falls on Shabbat (Friday night).
How long did each of the ten plagues of Egypt last?
The Bible does not give the exact length of time that it took for the Ten Plagues of Egypt. However, it is estimated that the plagues were distributed over several weeks.
Answer:
Tradition states that the Ten Plagues, altogether, lasted a total of one whole year (Mishna, Eduyoth ch.2).
Is the Jewish Passover when the moon is full?
It begins right around the time of a full moon; not always on the exact same day.
According to the instructions in the Torah, the Passover festival lasts for seven days.
Each family brings the Paschal lamb sacrifice to the Temple, and eats it there, on the
first day, and refrains from eating any leavened products for the rest of the 7 days.
Judging by the use of the past tense in the question, it may surprise you to learn that
right now, today, in 2013, the Passover is still observed throughout the Jewish world,
with two primary modifications: First, the Paschal lamb sacrifice is not offered, because,
just now, there is sadly no Temple in which to offer it. Second, for very technical reasons,
the festival is observed for eight (8) days by Jews outside of Israel.
Answer:
Both. The Torah calls it both one day (Leviticus 23:5) and one week (Leviticus 23:6). The one day refers to the offering up of the Passover sacrifice, while the full week is the complete festival. Note that the Passover sacrifice was offered up on the day before the full festival (unlike what the above answer implies). The day before Passover, while not a complete day of rest, was observed (Talmud, Pesachim 2b) as a minor festival (comparable to Purim, Tisha B'Av and Hol HaMoed, which have a partial cessation from work). The offering was brought on the afternoon of that day and was eaten that night, the first night of the full Passover festival itself.
How might pharaoh's daughter know that Moses was a Hebrew baby?
1) He was circumcised2) There would have been no other reason for him to be in the bullrushes
3) Israelites were lighter-skinned (Rashi commentary on Genesis ch.12), and Moses had two Israelite parents
What is the difference between the feast of Passover and feast of unleavened bread?
Nowadays they are identical and coterminous. But in Biblical days, Chag haPesach/the Passover festival, was the first afternoon/evening of the holiday, terminating with the eating of the pascal lamb sacrifice along with matza/unleavened bread and marror/bitter herbs, and the recitation of certain Psalms and other passages from the Bible and rabbinic texts. Chag haMatzot/The Festival of Unleavened Bread then lasted for the next 7 days, after which leavened products could once again be eaten.
Is lamb eaten during Passover?
Sure. Provided the lamb involved is slaughtered, drained, inspected, butchered, soaked, salted, cooked and served according to the usual kosher standards and practices. Just like beef, bison or venison.
In the bible what desert did the hebrews cross on the way to the promised land?
In the Bible there are a number of different wilderness areas described. The wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula, still bears this name today. The Negev region, somewhat to the North of this covers quite a broad area of land through which the Israelites would have had to journey, much closer to Israel.
In the Biblical Exodus account the term wilderness if often used generically as 'they went into the wilderness' in a number of other places specific wilderness areas are named.
These include the following:
The Wilderness of Shur - Exodus 15:22. This is directly East of the Nile Delta. They passed to the Western edge of this on the way out of Egypt.
The Wilderness of Sin - Exodus16:1 and 17:1. This is towards the South-east on theSinai Peninsula.
The Wilderness of Sinai - Exodus Exodus 19:1, Leviticus 7:38. This refers to the area near the South East tip of the Peninsula where Mount Sinai is believe to be (the exact location is a matter of 'discussion').
The Wilderness of Paran - Numbers 10:12, 12:16, 13:3. This area was to the North-West of Sinai, up towards present-day Israel.
The Wilderness of Zin - Numbers 13:21. This area is further to the Noth-West, just below the Dead Sea and Beersheba.
The reference to these areas as wilderness certainly indicates their largely uninhabited nature at this time, as well as their general unsuitability for permanent settlement except for isolated oases. It is of course unknown what the rainfall was at that time, and if it has decreased significantly since due to a changing climate which has been evidenced in other places.
Why were the Israelites commanded to celebrate Passover each year?
To remember the Exodus from Egypt, and the great miracles, the plagues included along with the spliitng of the sea.
Passover starts on the first full moon after spring equinox?
Passover starts on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of 'Nisan'. Prior to the establishment of the calculated calendar, which started during the Babylonian period although it wasn't finalised until much later, the beginning of Passover was determined by the first full moon after the spring equinox. However, Jewish holidays are determined by a mathematically calculated calendar that was fixed in the 4th century.
Below is an answer provided by a Christian contributor and does not reflect modern Judaism nor the observance of Passover.
The Jewish month is Nisan. It is the first month of the Jewish holiday cycle.
Passover is the first day of the seven days of unleavened bread.
Passover cannot be held until AFTER the moon is full.
The moon must be full before sundown in Jerusalem, and that evening the Passover is observed.
The Passover lamb is slain around 3pm the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan. It is then roasted. At sundown the Passover begins. This is the 15th day of Nisan. The 15th then begins the first day of unleavened bread and is also the day of Passover.
There are many who believe the lamb was slain on the 13th of Nisan and then eaten after sundown which would be the 14th. This is not true. The lamb must be slain on the 14th or it is not the Passover lamb specified in the Laws of Moses (Torah).
The rule to set Passover has been: the evening AFTER the first full moon that occurs after the spring equinox. The month is Nisan. The day is the 15th which begins at sundown ending the 14th.
Happy Passover
Why is lamb not eaten during Jewish Passover?
Lamb forms a part of the Passover seder meal which includes a roasted lamb shank bone called z'roa - chicken wings are also sometimes used, and vegetarians often use a beetroot instead. It serves as a reminder of the sacrifices that were offered in ancient times in the Second Temple in Jerusalem, when a lamb would be slaughtered, roasted and then eaten as part of the holiday. In modern times a tradition has arisen among Ashkenazi Jews that the bone should be neither eaten nor handled during the meal so that it remains as a reminder (Passover is, like most holidays, all about remembering events in the past). Many Sephardi Jewish families have adopted the same tradition.
