Pesach ( פּסח ) / Passover

Pesach is an 8-day (7-day holiday inside Israel) Biblical holiday that commemorates the Exodus from Egypt. During the holiday, special foods are eaten and other foods, such as breads, are forbidden:

“This day shall be to you one of remembrance: You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD throughout the ages; you shall celebrate it as an institution for all time. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the very first day you shall remove leaven from your houses … You shall celebrate a sacred occasion on the first day, and a sacred occasion on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them; only what every person is to eat, that alone may be prepared for you. You shall observe the [Feast of] Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your ranks out of the land of Egypt … (Exodus 12:14 ~ 17).

Pesach begins on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan. It’s date fluctuates on the Gregorian calendar. It is one of three Biblical holidays (the others being Shavu’ot and Sukkot).

The word “Pesach” means “to pass over,” hence it name in English. The word refers to the miracle of G~d “passing over” the houses of the Israelites when he performing the 10th Plagues on Egypt, that of the killing of the Egyptian firstborns.

Moses had been called by G~d to free the Israelites from Pharaoh’s control and to be allowed to worship their own G~d. Pharaoh would not release the Israelites. In order to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go free, G~d imposed upon Egypt 10 signs of His strength and power. These 10 signs are the 10 plagues, which are a divine demonstration of G~d power. The 10 plagues are, in order of occurrence:

1. Turning Water into Blood: “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron: Take your rod and hold your arm over the waters of Egypt ~ its rivers, its canals, its ponds, all its bodies of water ~ that they may turn to blood; there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone.’” (Exodus 7:10).

2. Frogs: “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron: Hold out your arm with the rod over the rivers, the canals, the ponds, and bring up the frogs on the land of Egypt.’” (Exodus 8:1).

3. Lice: “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron: Hold out your rod and strike the dust of the earth, and it shall turn to lice throughout the land of Egypt.’” (Exodus 8:12).

4. Swarming Insects: “For if you do not let My people go, I will let loose swarms of insects against you and your courtiers and your people and your houses; the houses of the Egyptians, and the very ground they stand on, shall be filled with swarms of insects.” (Exodus 8:17).

5. Livestock Diseased: “then the hand of the LORD will strike your livestock in the fields ~ the horses, the asses, the camels, the cattle, and the sheep ~ with a very severe pestilence.” (Exodus 9:3).

6. Boils: “It shall become a fine dust all over the land of Egypt, and cause an inflammation breaking out in boils on man and beast throughout the land of Egypt.”

7. Thunder and Hail and Fire: “This time tomorrow I will rain down a very heavy hail, such as has not been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.” (Exodus 9:18).

8. Locusts: “For if you refuse to let My people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts on your territory.” (Exodus 10:4).

9. Darkness: “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Hold out your arm toward the sky that there may be darkness upon the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 10:21).

10. Killing of the Firstborn: “Moses said, ‘Thus says the LORD: Toward midnight I will go forth among the Egyptians, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; and all the firstborn of the cattle.” (Exodus 11:4 ~ 5).

During the holiday of Pesach, leavened foods are not eaten. This is because the Israelites were ordered to leave Egypt with such short notice that they did not have time to let their bread rise. Before Pesach begins, Jewish households remove all the leavened foods, known in Hebrew as “chametz”, from their homes. This involves a very elaborate cleaning process to ensure that there is no leavened food or crumbs in the home.

Chametz includes any foods made from grains, such as wheat, rye, barley and oats. Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews have different traditions with respect to other types of chametz. Ashkenazic Jews (Jews from Germany and Eastern Europe) also avoid rice, corn, and beans; Sephardic Jews (Jews from Spanish territories) do not traditionally avoid these food items during Pesach.

Preparing one’s house for Passover, as noted, is a very involved process that takes several weeks. Everything, especially in the kitchen, is scrubbed down to ensure that any trace or crumb of chamets is removed.

During the week of Pesach, unleavened bread, or matzah, is eaten. Matzah is made only from flour and water. While it can be eaten at any time of year, it is the only form of “bread” that is eaten during Pesach.

The day before Pesach is known as the Fast of the Firstborn. It is a minor fast day for all firstborn males. It commemorates the fact that the firstborn Israelite males were not killed during the 10th Plague on Egypt.