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Passover is the Jewish holiday commemorating the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. The story of the exodus is found in the second book of the Bible, the Book of Exodus.

The name of the festival (Heb. Pesah, "passing over") is derived from the instructions given to Moses by God, "And the blood (when placed on the door post) shall be for you for a sign on the houses where you are, and I shall see the blood and I shall pass over you, and there shall not be among you a plague to destroy." (Ex: 12:13) God gives these instructions to Moses right before the tenth plague, the death of the first born. The Hebrews marked their door posts with the blood of a lamb on the night that the plague took place.

The celebration of the holiday begins after sundown on the 14th day of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish calendar, around the time of the vernal equinox. Passover is observed in Israel for 7 days as proscribed in the Hebrew Testament; it is celebrated for 8 days outside of Israel. Consequently, Jews in Israel observe only 1 Seder and Jews in the Diaspora celebrate the Passover Seder on the first two nights.

Passover is also called "The Holiday of Matzah" because of the rule not to eat any leavened bread for the whole holiday. Jews refrain from eating any leavened product, and are obligated to use separate dishes and utensils during the holiday. Matzah is known both as the bread of affliction and the bread of freedom. It is known as the bread of affliction because it was the bread that the slaves ate in Egypt, and it is known as the bread of freedom because there is a tradition that the Hebrews fled Egypt so fast that they did not wait for the bread to rise. This dichotomy plays is central to the story of Passover and gives a symbolic richness to the simple unleavened bread found on every Jews plate during the holiday of Passover.

Jewish Festivals

The Hebrew year includes three major holidays that are referred to as the three pilgrimage holidays, and two other major holidays referred to as the High Holidays. During each of the three pilgrimage holidays, Jews from all over Israel and the surrounding countries would bring their agricultural produce to be given as a sacrifice in Jerusalem. Each of the pilgrimage holidays are connected to each of the agricultural seasons in Israel. Passover, the spring festival, marks the beginning of the barley harvest. Fifty days later is the Holiday of Shavuot (the feast of weeks), which celebrates the harvest of the first fruits. The holiday of Sukkot (Tabernacles) celebrates the autumn harvest and is the final of the three pilgrimage holidays. The Three Pilgrimage Holidays also have a historical foundation. Passover commemorates the Exodus, Shavuot commemorates the Revelation at Mt. Sinai, and Sukkot commemorates the 40 years that the Hebrews wandered in the desert.

The High Holidays consist of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). Yom Kippur is the day where everyones name is either sealed by God, in the book of life or the book of death. It is a time of forgiveness, prayer, and repentance. Because of the solemn overtone of the occasion, Yom Kippur is also a day of fasting.

An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2006 World Almanac Education Group. A WRC Media Company. All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted by written agreement, uses of the work inconsistent with U.S. and applicable foreign copyright and related laws are prohibited.