Passover

Anyone who is hosting a Passover Seder (the ritual dinner on the first two nights of Passover), would have a Seder plate. It's usually placed in the center of the dinner table. It is a special plate containing symbolic foods eaten and displayed during the Passover Seder.

The foods are arranged on the plate has special significance to the retelling of the story of the exodus from Egypt, which is the focus of the Seder. There are 6 ritual items, five of them are on the Seder Plate:

• Bitter herbs, symbolizing the bitterness of slavery, which the Hebrews endured in Egypt.

• A sweet mixture of chopped nuts, grated apples, cinnamon, and sweet wine called "Charoset", represents the mortar used by the Jewish slaves in building Egypt.

• A vegetable, usually Parsley or Endive , which is dipped into salt water to represent the tears of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt.

• A roasted lamb or shankbone, chicken wing, or chicken neck; symbolizing the Passover sacrifice, which was a lamb that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem. This item is not eaten.

• A hard-boiled egg, symbolizing the mourning of the destruction of the Temple and our inability to offer any kind of sacrifices in honor of the Passover holiday today. (eggs are the first thing served to mourners after a funeral)

• The sixth ritual food is Matzos, which is placed on a separate plate.

There are many decorative and artistic Seder Plates, but any plate large enough to hold all the ritual food items can be used.

Of course it does; hence the name Good Friday Easter Sunday, for Catholics and Protestants, is the first Sunday after the first full moon after March 20 (which is the placeholder date used for the Spring Equinox in these rather ancient calculations.) Good Friday is two days before, potentially on the full moon or slightly before it. Easter ends the season of Lent, which lasts 40 days from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday.

Pesah = Passover Around March / April Hebrews escaped from

Egypt where they were slaves. Lasting about eight days.

Oil lamps were used.

It's because of the ruling by leaders that electricity is "lighting a fire". Any new innovation is judged by the existing laws governing what God said about work.

In Leviticus, the laws of Sabbath (any major holiday as well as "Sunday worship") have strict things about them. Among them are "do no work" and "light no fire". Making electricity is making others do work which the Ten Commandment says not to do, so you can't use electricity for the day. The point is to rest from all work, so even the simple thing like flipping a switch for electricity on Sabbath is doing work.

Since lighting a fire is also work...and forbidden...those who observe the Laws don't use electricity on Passover. How is electricity lighting a fire? Some areas use coal for electricity...lighting a fire. It's kind of complicated.

As Jewish days are from sunset until after twilight the following evening, and Passover is on the 15th of Nisan, so the first day of Passover finishes after twilight on the 15th of Nisan.

Actually the passover starts at sundown on April 8th 2009.

starts April 9, 2009; ends April 15, 2009

It remembers the final act of judgment of God against Pharaoh and Egypt in order to free the Israelites from slavery. After various plagues, because the Pharaoh would not give in, God declared that he would come through Egypt in the night and kill every first born male, whether human or animal. But he told Moses to tell the Israelites that in order to protect their first born, they had to sacrifice a lamb that had no defect and to spread it's blood on their door frames. Then when the angel went through the land that night killing the first born males it would 'pass over' those doors which were daubed in lamb's blood.

Following this catastrophic judgment, the Pharaoh finally gave in and gave the Israelites their freedom.

You can read this story in the second book of the Bible, Exodus, in chapters 11 and 12.

Passover is a Spring holiday that ends after 8 days (or 7 days by some traditions). It has no distinctive ending.

The shank bone, typically displayed on the seder plate during Pesach or Passover, symbolized the sacrificial lamb. The blood from the lamb was supposedly used to paint the door and window frames of Jewish households to identify them to the angel of death when it slew the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, so that it would "pass over" those houses and spare the Jewish children.

so they could perify their spirits and soul

There is a "script" for the Passover Seder, called a Haggadah. Actually, there are many versions of this script, but all include expanded blessings over the meal, and a ceremony involving a ritual meal including matzoh, bitter herbs (usually horseradish in the United States), a burnt lamb bone (which, of course, is not eaten!), haroset (an apple and nut mixture -- there are all sorts of recipes for this), and greens dipped in saltwater. Four glasses of ritual wine are also served. In the traditional service, a prayer is offered for the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem.

The story is much too long to relate here on WikiAnswers. A brief summary doesn't do the job, and the important details would fill a few screens. The best way to get the straight, authentic story, including most of the important details, in an easily readable form, is to take a little bit of time and read it in the Bible. Start at the beginning of the book of Exodus, and you'll have an answer ... complete enough to be satisfying ... in a single evening's read.

There is no set time for how long a sedar meal is. A Sedar has many parts. Before the actual meal, there is the retelling of story of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. Because of traditional prayers and readings, as well as lively discussion, this can take up to 1 hour; and that's before anyone eats. The meal itself has some customary servings. 1st eggs in salt water, gefilte fish, chicken soup, and then the main course. After dinner, there are normally plenty of deserts and then the last part of the Sedar; grace after meals. In this case, the B'rkot (grace after meals) includes, not just prayers and readings, by many joyous songs. It is not unusual for the whole Seder to take 4-5 hours.

Matzoh which is unleavened bread.

On the first night you light 1, then you add 1 each night ultimately lighting 8 on the final evening. Each night, an extra helper-candle is used to light the others and then it also remains lit.

You need a total of 44 candles.

The roasted egg is symbolic of one of the two sacrifices offered during Passover when the Temple stood.

Generally it occurs only during Passover, a Jewish holiday. There is also a seder for the holiday of Tu Bishvat, but this seder is rarely observed.

It is on the 15th of Nissan, the first Hebrew month. The Jewish calender is based on the moon, but extra months are added so that over a period of 19 years, the cycles meet up, in a way. The months are based on the moon, but an extra month is added some years to keep the calender in sync with the seasons.

There are kosher brands of condensed milk, to be used during Passover, it would have to be certified kosher for Passover.

In regard to sweetened condensed milk, most use corn syrup which is kitniyot. There are substitute recipes for this product though.

A passover seder is a religious event and you would normally wear the same type of clothing that would be worn to the synagogue or at a sabbath meal.

Guests who are not familiar with religious customs can wear any nice outfit (maybe with a sport jacket), though tee shirts, jeans, tank tops, tight shorts and outfits with decolletage are not appropriate in religious circles and will result in polite stares until others at the table get used to the fact that you are really a nice person.

The first sacrifice for Paysach (Passover) was the year that the Jews left Egypt.

Passover is about how the Jews were slaves in Egypt but Moses led them out and they were liberated. It is a story of survival and draws Jews together as it is part of the common Jewish memory. The Jews have been persecuted against many times, and this one example of their ability to overcome hate.