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Passover Passover begins on the fifteenth day of the month of Nisan, the full moon of that month, the first month of the Hebrew calendar's festival year according to the Hebrew Bible. In the story of Exodus, the Bible tells that God inflicted ten plagues upon the Egyptians before Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves, with the tenth plague being the killing of firstborn sons. However, the Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb, and upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord passed over these homes, hence the term "passover." When Pharoah freed the Israelites, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. In commemoration, for the duration of Passover, no leavened bread is eaten. Matzoh (unleavened bread) is the primary symbol of the holiday. It is traditional for Jewish families to gather on the first night of Passover (first two nights in Orthodox and Conservative communities outside the land of Israel) for a special dinner called a seder (סדר—derived from the Hebrew word for "order", referring to the very specific order of the ritual). The table is set with the finest china and silverware to reflect the importance of this meal. During this meal, the story of the Exodus from Egypt is retold using a special text called the Haggadah. next ►► |
