Jewish Holy Days
Jews have been celebrating Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) since about 1300 B.C. It is one of the most important festivals in the Jewish calendar. It is celebrated in the spring of each year, following the rules laid down by God in the Book of Exodus, and it commemorates the liberation of the Children of Israel, who were led out of Egypt by Moses (BBC, 2010). Like the celebration of Easter on the Christian calendar, the dates for Pesach vary from year to year. Depending upon where one lives, the celebration lasts seven or eight days. The highlight of Pesach takes place on the first two nights, when family and friends celebrate together with ritual meals, called seders.
The History of Pesach
The Children of Israel had been slaves in Egypt for more than two hundred years. God promised to deliver them from bondage, but this happened only after Pharaoh had refused to free them and God sent ten plagues to Egypt to demonstrate his power (BBC, 2010). The plagues were not only intended to force the Egyptians into compliance but they served also "to teach the Egyptians the Israelites about the sovereign character of the God of Israel" (Arnold & Beyer, p. 106). The plagues only affected the Egyptians; they did not affect the Israelites.
On the night that the Israelites were released, God established Pesach as "a permanent memorial [so] future generations must never...
106).
Modern Observation of Pesach
Guthman (1995) wrote that, although Pesach is an ancient festival, "the passage of millennia has not dimmed its vitality." It remains an important celebration to today's Jews, he believes, because of its hopeful message, which is "one of freedom, of man's irrepressible yearning for liberty… and the nature of real freedom" (Guthman, p. 122).
Before Pesach celebrations can begin, one's house must be cleaned "from top to bottom" (BBC, 2010). Some historians believe that the rite of "spring cleaning" comes from the Jews' ritual cleansing for Pesach. When the Jews fled from slavery in ancient Egypt, they did not have time to let their bread rise and were commanded by God to take only unleavened bread, or matzo. Today, it is tradition for Jews to thoroughly clean their homes before Pesach, to remove all traces of leavened bread (Hitchcock, 2010). Getting rid of the bread is also symbolic for purging the 'puffiness' (arrogance and pride) from the souls of the Jews (BBC, 2010).
In Israel, Pesach lasts seven days. The first and last days are observed as full days of rest (yom tov) and the middle days as intermediate holidays (hol ha-moed). Outside of Israel, Pesach lasts for eight days; the first two days and the last two days are observed as yom tov (BBC,…
