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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
What does Maror represent on a seder plate?
Maror, or bitter herbs, on the seder plate represents the bitterness and harshness of slavery that the Israelites endured in Egypt. Traditionally, it is made from horseradish or romaine lettuce, symbolizing the pain and suffering of the Jewish people. During the Passover seder, eating maror serves as a poignant reminder of their struggles and the importance of freedom.
What year did the second Passover occur?
Officially it was the year after they left Egypt, but it wasn't celebrated.
What four ways do Jews celebrate Passover?
Conducting the Pesach (Passover) Seder meal
Refraining from work on the days of Passover when work is forbidden by the Torah
Praying, and reading the Torah-portions for each day
Avoiding leavened foods (bread, etc.) during Passover, as commanded in the Torah (Exodus ch.12)
Is it a sin for a Catholic to have a Seder?
No. Jesus had a Seder at the last Supper
Roman Catholic AnswerThat depends. There are over six hundred commandments in the Torah. They are divided into three categories by St. Thomas Aquinas: Moral, Legislative, and Foreshadowing of Christ (not the category names he used!).The moral laws are universal and thus are good for all time, in other words, we are bound by the morals laws, like the "Ten Commandments".
The Legislative laws may or may not be valid depending on the civil laws of the nation you live in.
The laws which foreshadowed Christ ARE a sin, if you are observing them because you believe that Christ will come, in other words, if you don't believe that he already came in the person of Jesus two thousand years ago. Thus we are no longer to obey the rituals such as the dietary laws and the ceremonies which were fulfilled in Christ. The Seder has its fulfillment in the Last Supper and the Mass. To fully observe a Seder would be to acknowledge that you do not believe that Jesus fulfilled this at the Last Supper and established the Eucharist, thus it would be a sin.
For a full treatment, please see St. Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologiae.
What is the correct wish for Passover - Is it Blessed Passover?
In Hebrew it is: Chag Pesach sameach
In English it is: Happy Passover
How do you know when Passover is about to come?
Passover always begins on the same date on the Hebrew calendar: the 14th of Nissan.
What are three important things Jews do at the passover festival?
Thing 1: Eliminate all leaven from their households (bread, even crumbs, and any grains that may have been, even remotely, exposed to even small amounts of water).
Thing 2: Host or attend a Passover seder, that is, a meal on the first (and sometimes second) evening of Passover that has a special liturgy around it. (A second night for Jews outside Israel except that Reform Jews only celebrate one night.)
Thing 3: Instead of bread, throughout the weeklong festival, eat only unleavened bread, that is, Matzah.
What do they wear during passover?
Most people wear Bigdei Shabbos, Shabbos clothing. That is usually a white button down shirt and black pants for the men, and nice (appropriate) clothes for the women. During the seder, some married men wear a Kittel, a white garment that resembles burial shrouds.
You don't! You dip it before the blessing so that there is no interruption between the blessing and eating, but you make the blessing and then eat.
How many seder plates are in a passover dinner?
There is only one ceremonial plate; other than that, everyone present at the seder has a plate for the normal purpose of holding their food. Depending upon how many people are at the seder, this can be lots of plates.
Who wouldn't let the hebrews go free?
The Bible or Torah doesn't say, but I think it was Thutmoses iii
because his cause of death is unknown and he ruled as Pharoah around the same time the Exodus took place. [1,310]
What day do the Jewish people make their offerings?
In Judaism, offerings cannot be made without the Temple. As the Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E., Jews have not made offerings in 1,930 years. As specified in the Torah, prayer replaced sacrifice with the destruction of the Temple.
What does the charoset represent at a Passover meal?
It looks like what the Jews used to make bricks in Egypt, so it represents the bricks that the Jews were forced to make.
What plague finally convinced Ramses to let the Hebrews go?
According the Old Testament, Pharaoh finally allowed the Hebrews to leave Egypt after the Tenth Plague: Death of all Firstborn Egyptians.
Why does matzah have those holes?
Matzah has holes to prevent it from puffing up as Jews are not supposed to eat any leavened or puffed bread. There is no symbolism behind the holes.
The reason air pockets are a problem is because it is possible that a piece of dough inside the air pocket might not cook within 18 minutes, and will be considered leavened (Chametz) which is forbidden for Jews to eat or own on Passover. (Some groups assume that regardless of perforation, there may be pockets of not fully cooked dough in matzah; this is why there is the issue of gebrokt/non-gebrokt.)
Do Jews nowadays kill lamb for the passover feast?
Killing and/or eating lamb during passover is actually not done by Ashkenazi Jewish custom. Many Sephardim do eat lamb during Passover with some Ashkenazi Jews starting to eat lamb too.
Due to the religious laws surrounding kosher slaughter, not anyone can slaughter an animal for consumption. Specially trained people called a Shochet are the only ones allowed to do kosher slaughter.
Are lamb chops kosher for Passover?
Lamb can be kosher for Passover. However, Ashkenazi Jews traditionally do not eat lamb during Passover.
What was the custom in Judea at the time of the Passover concerning prisoners?
A: The Christian gospels say that it was the custom to release one prisoner at the time of the Passover, but scholars can find no evidence that this was ever a practice in Judea. The Christian story tells of Pontius Pilate offering to release one prisoner, and the Jews chose to release Barabas and sacrifice Jesus. This story is probably based on the Jewish tradition of releasing one sheep at Yom Kippur and sacrificing another sheep.
What did the lamb bitter herbs and unloved bread mean on Passover night?
Matzah (unleavened bread):
Matzah represents two things:
- The poor food eaten by our ancestors as Egyptian slaves, the alternate name for matzah is 'bread of affliction'.
- When the moment of liberation came, it was so sudden, they didn't have time to let their bread rise before baking it.
Maror (bitter herbs):
Maror symbolises the bitterness of slavery.
Lamb:
The final plague HaShem sent to the Egyptians was the death of firstborn sons. To mark their homes, the Israelites were commanded to slaughter a lamb and paint the blood on the door posts of their home. There was a second reason for slaughtering lambs and using their blood. The Egyptians worshiped lambs as one of their gods. By slaughtering the lambs, the Israelites showed their rejection of the Egyptian false gods. In addition to using the lambs' blood to mark their doors, the Israelites were required to roast the meat and eat all of it. While the Temple stood, families would slaughter a lamb as an offering of thanks to HaShem, again, they were required to roast and eat all of the meat. Today, Ashkenazi Jews do not traditionally eat lamb for Pesach (Passover) while Sephardi Jews often do.
What is the main theme of the Passover Seder?
The theme of the Seder meal is freedom from slavery, based on the verse in Exodus "And you shall tell it to your son on that day, saying, 'Because of this God did for me when He took me out of Egypt'" (Exodus 13:8). It is a time of celebrating God's deliverance of the Jews from bondage to Pharaoh in Egypt.
