They celebrate the seven-day festival by enjoying the first and last days as legal holidays and many take the week off to travel around the country. During Passover, Jews refrain from eating leavened food made with yeast such as bread and stores stop selling bread and bread products for the entire week. Some Ethiopian Jews destroy their dishes and cookware and make new ones to signify their hope for redemption.
They pour water on the floor, lift their coats and walk across giving thanks with a raised glass as they go. A group of Israeli women light candles during a Passover ceremony in Kathmandu, Toggle navigation Menu. So we were commanded to gather our families together every year at this time and tell the story of what it was like to be a slave and what it felt like to go free.
The Passover story is told and even reenacted at the seder, the traditional Passover dinner. With its central theme of redemption, Passover is a time not only for Jews to connect with their own history, but also to be mindful of the suffering of others and those who are oppressed today.
At the seder, many Jews draw attention to present-day issues of justice in and out of the Jewish community with the hope that all people will find freedom. There are several different ways to greet someone on Passover. Seder plate: The seder plate contains six foods: a green vegetable usually parsley , haroset a mixture of fruit and nuts , two types of bitter herbs, a shankbone and egg.
Each item symbolizes a part of the Passover story. It contains the order of the service and the story of the Exodus from Egypt. Matzah: Matzah unleavened bread symbolizes the food the Israelites brought with them on the Exodus: the Israelites were in such a hurry when leaving Egypt that they did not have time to leaven their bread.
Afikoman: This is a piece of matzah that is eaten at the end of the Passover meal. It is also commonly a game for children: the Afikoman is hidden during the seder, and the kids compete for prizes to find it.
Wine: Each participant drinks four cups of wine during the seder. This category of foods considered chametz by some Jews and allowed on Passover by others is known as kitniyot. However, not all Jews who partake in the holiday abide by these restrictions. For example, some choose to avoid bread and pasta, but eat other foods that are widely considered chametz such as cereal and cake. Therefore, leading up to Passover, traditionally observant Jews thoroughly clean their kitchens and even their entire homes, and remove all traces of chametz.
Because kashering is such an involved process, many opt to use a separate set of cookware, dishware and utensils designated for the holiday. In , preparations for Passover are complicated by the fact that the holiday begins on the evening of March 27, a Saturday night. Since Jewish law prohibits working on Friday evenings and Saturdays due to Shabbat, all preparations for Passover including ensuring that chametz has been removed from the home must be done by Friday evening, before Shabbat.
However, just enough chametz i. The Passover story is recorded in the book of Exodus and took place more than 3, years ago. Deciding that the Jewish people were too numerous, pharaoh issued a genocidal decree: every Jewish newborn male would be thrown into the Nile River to drown.
However, after three months, Jocheved can no longer hide her infant quietly. She chooses to risk everything by sending her child down the river in a basket, hoping that he will miraculously reach a safe destination.
One day, an adult Moses sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave; Moses decides to defend the slave from this cruel treatment and kills the Egyptian. While in Midian, Moses meets his wife Zipporah, and the two have a son named Gershom. Meanwhile, the Jewish people are still toiling under the backbreaking labor of pharaoh. Maror : Bitter Herbs A blessing is recited over a bitter vegetable usually raw horseradish; sometimes romaine lettuce , and it is eaten. This gesture symbolizes the bitterness of slavery.
Its color and consistency reminds us of the bricks and mortar used by the Israelite slaves. Note that there are two bitter herbs on the seder plate: one labeled maror and one labeled chazeret. The one labeled maror should be used for maror and the one labeled chazeret should be used in the Koreich , below. Koreich : The Sandwich Rabbi Hillel was of the opinion that the maror should be eaten together with matzah and the paschal offering in a sandwich.
In his honor, we eat some maror on a piece of matzah , with some charoset. Because we no longer sacrifice animals, so there is no paschal offering to eat. Shulchan Oreich : Dinner A festive meal is eaten. There is no particular requirement regarding what to eat at this meal except, of course, that chametz cannot be eaten.
Among Ashkenazi Jews, gefilte fish and matzah ball soup are often eaten at the beginning of the meal. Roast chicken or turkey are common as traditional main courses, as is beef brisket. Jews with far-ranging palates can put their own unique, contemporary stamp on this meal. Different families have different traditions relating to the afikoman.
Some have the children hide it, while the parents have to either find it or ransom it back. Others have the parents hide it, with a small prize given to the finder.
The idea is to keep the children awake and attentive throughout the pre-meal proceedings, in anticipation of this part of the seder. A series of blessings recited after meals, including blessings that express gratitude for sustenance, the land, Jerusalem, and the positive relationship between God and the Jewish people. This is similar to the grace that would be recited on any Shabbat, but with the special insertion for Passover.
At the end, a blessing is said over the third cup of wine and it is drunk. The fourth cup is poured, including a cup set aside for the prophet Elijah, who is supposed to herald the Messiah, and is supposed to come on Pesach to do so. The door is then opened to invite Elijah into our homes. Hallel : Praises The standard group of psalms that make up a full Hallel is recited at this point. A blessing is recited over the last cup of wine and it is drunk.
Nirtzah : Closing A simple statement that the seder has been completed, with a wish that next year, we may celebrate Pesach in Jerusalem i.
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