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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 are the four questions of Passover in Hebrew?
1 - Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzah, but on this night we eat only matzah?
Answer: We eat only matzah because our ancestors could not wait for their breads to rise when they were fleeing slavery in Egypt, and so they took the breads out of their ovens while they were still flat, which was matzah.
2 - Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?
Answer: We eat only Moror, a bitter herb, to remind us of the bitterness of slavery that our ancestors endured while in Egypt.
3 - Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?
Answer: We dip twice - 1- green vegetables in salt water, and - 2- Moror in Charoses, a sweet mixture of nuts and wine. The first dip, green vegetables in salt water, symbolizes the replacing of tears with gratefulness, and the second dip, Moror in Charoses, symbolizes sweetening the burden of bitterness and suffering to lessen its pain.
4 - Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?
Answer: We recline at the seder table because in ancient times, a person who reclined at a meal symbolized a free person, free from slavery, and so we recline in our chairs at the Passover seder table to remind ourselves of the glory of freedom.
How many Hebrews did Pharaoh keep in slavery?
The mature men were about 600,000 (Exodus 12:37), plus the 22,000 Levites (Numbers 3:39). To this must be added the converts (Exodus 12:38), and the women and children. Based on the ratio of firstborn to younger children (Numbers ch.3), it can be seen that the children were numerous. Estimates for the total number are usually given at two million or more.See also:
What Christian hoilday is celebrated around the same time as Passover?
In 2010, Easter Sunday was the 6th day of Passover. Those often seem to occur close to
one another. Wonder why that is.
What was the last plague that induced Pharaoh to free the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt?
We don't know for sure when any of the plagues took place. The last plague was the death of the first born.
Makat bechorot = the slaying of the first born.
The last plague that happened before the Exodus from Egypt was the death of the firstborn males.
The death of the first born
The last plague was when God smote the Egyptian firstborn.
How has passover changed over time?
Yes, the way we celebrate has evolved over time with the introduction of new traditions and foods. There have also been aspects that are not done such as sacrificial offerings of thanks to HaShem, this is because the Temple no longer stands. This is also why most Ashkenazi Jews don't eat lamb at all during Pesach.
How do you make a day a national holiday?
Get the government to pass a law making it so.
Further information: You can contact your Senator or Congressman and propose the idea to him or her. If they think it has merit they may consider it. They can tell you how to get started with it and help you get it done.
Is flax seed kosher for Passover?
It depends on the type of flour. Potato flour, alternately called potato starch is fine for Passover. Flour made from the 5 prohibited grains (wheat, oat, spelt, barley, and rye) is not allowed.
What month and day is passover for the Jewish people?
Passover starts on the 15th of Nisan which falls either in March or April.
In Israel, Shavuot is 1 day. In the diaspora, it is 2 days.
What are the Passover greetings?
There are certain special greetings Jews use on holidays but it would be strange for a non-Jew to use them because they are not part of the religion. Colloqually a non-Jewish person greets a Jewish person by just saying hello. Unless that Jew is from a different country, in which case say hello in their language.
Quite a lot goes on by a seder meal. The story of the exodus from Egypt is told over. special foods are eaten such as; Matzo, and marror(bitter herbs). Four cups of wine are drunk in celebration. Most importantly we thank God and praise him, and pray for our long awaited salvation.
Compare the Passover to the Paschal Mystery of Jesus?
Before the nation of Israel left Egypt they were instructed to take a lamb and sacrifice it and paint the blood of the lamb on the doorpost and lintel of the house. Then when the LORD came to destroy all the first born of Egypt he would passover the houses that had blood on the door posts.
Exo 12:12 'For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
Exo 12:13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Jesus was the lamb of God
Joh 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
His death is like the death of the passover lamb. God will forgive the sins of those who accept that Jesus died for them. Easter is the time we remember the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus - the lamb of God
Why do Jews eat the Seder meal?
It's not the meal that's so important. It's the telling of the Passover story, along with its symbolic foods (and then dinner) that is critical. The story of the liberation from Egyptian slavery is the central event in Judaism, and Jews are commanded to retell and relive the story every year, as though they themselves had been freed from slavery.
Why does the youngest child ask the 4 questions on Passover?
It doesn't. The four "questions" introduce the "Magid" or recital of the Haggadah.
The Magid stage of the seder is preceded by the Sanctification, then the first washing
of the hands, then the eating of the parsely dipped in salty water, and then the breaking
of the middle cake of matzah. These steps are all conducted before the four "questions".
How do you say happy passover in english?
"Happy Pesach!"
Some people will say 'happy Pesach'. However, most people will use the Hebrew 'Chag sameach' (happy holiday) or 'Chag Pesach sameach'.
Why do the Jews have three glasses of wine to celebrate the passover?
Four glasses of wine are drunk during the seder. The red wine at the seder symbolises HaShem's four statements of redemption in the Torah:
1. "I took you out"
2. "I rescued you"
3. "I liberated you"
4. "I took you to Me for a people"
The wine represents redemption while the colour of the red wine reminds us of the blood of the children killed for the Pharaoh.
Why did Pharaoh allow the ancient Hebrews to leave Egypt?
Pharaoh was stubborn and refused to believe in God: (Exodus 5)
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.'" 2 Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go." Then, God hardened his heart in order to show His power (Exodus 10):
1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him: 2 And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.
Why did the hailstorm come in the 10 plagues of Egypt?
The Egyptians at the time treated Moses people very badly, using them to work for them whipping them continuously. God's way to make Pharaoh release the captive Jews was to send 10 plagues; 1. water into blood, 2. frogs, 3. gnats, 4. flies, 5. farm animals get sick and die, 6. boils, 7. hail, 8. locusts, 9. darkness, 10. death of every first born Egyptian son. Finally Pharaoh let the Jews go!
What do Jews do on the Passover?
The mother cleans the house first, then she lights a candle then she cooks a meal it contains parsley and salt water to dip it in, once for the Drowning of the Egyptians twice for the tears that were shed, an egg, Charoseth, A lamb Bone, unleavened bread. All that goes on one big plate; then on a smaller plate, they put a Matzo cracker and the father takes a 1/4th piece of it and puts it in a special bag and hides it for the children to find. Later to the side of the same plate they put horseradish for the bitterness of slavery and (not on that plate) there are four cups wich are filled with red wine the first one stands for santification; the second,plagues; the third,redemption; and the last, praise. The last thing they need is a basin of water which is a an open, shallow, usually round container used especially for holding liquids. Which is used for washing there hands in.
Answer:
Pesach (Passover) is important to us since in it 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 continuous tradition 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. Either horseradish or romaine lettuce is 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 vegetable into salt water (which represents tears) recalls the pain felt by the Jewish 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.
Passover is celebrated primarily in the home. The first night in Israel and the first two nights outside of Israel involve the Seder. This is a religious service where the story of the Exodus is recounted around the dinner table. The people involved are family and friends.
