Pesach, Passover, the first of the three Jewish Pilgrim’s festivals, is always celebrated on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan. This day marks the beginning of the Biblical New Year. The date also determined the length of a king’s reign. Passover commemorates the Exodus from Egypt when God delivered the Israelites from bondage.
Today, observant Jews spend the weeks before Passover in a flurry of thorough housecleaning to remove all morsels of chametz* from every part of the home. This ‘spring-cleaning’ ritual has been copied by many non-Jews as well.
Chametz (leavening) is made from one of five types of grains which combined with water are left to stand for more than eighteen minutes. During Passover, it is forbidden to eat, keep or own olive-sized or larger quantities of chametz.
Some people create a special chametz cupboard where they store their items until after the holiday. Supermarket shelves containing products that are not kosher lePesach (kosher for Passover) are covered with plastic sheets.
Most observant families have special sets of serving dishes, glassware and silverware (and in some cases, even separate dishwashers and sinks) which have never come into contact with chametz. These are only used during Passover. Certain utensils, like flatware and metal pots and pans can be made ‘kosher for Passover’ use through a process known as “kashering.” In religious neighborhoods the kashering service is offered for a small amount of money.
The search for remaining leaven takes place on the evening
before Passover. After a special blessing, one or more members of the household
go from room to room to check that no crumbs remain in any corner.
On the morning of the 14th of Nisan, all leavened products that were still in the house are burned. In order to ensure a safe burning of the chametz, municipalities place special incinerators on the street corners.
During the 40 years in the desert there was only manna. Upon
entering the Promised Land, the Jewish people were able to bake matzot from the
local wheat and barley in order to celebrate a true Pesach.
The Prophet Samuel revived the national religious festival and under King Solomon the Feast took new splendor with the building of the First Temple. After his death, idolatry and paganism caused the Pesach celebrations to decline. Godly kings like Hezekiah and Josiah reinstated the Festival. After the destruction of the First Temple the Korban Pesach could no longer be sacrificed and was replaced by prayers, eating matza and bitter herbs. When the Second Temple was built, the Korban Pesach again was reinstated, until the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D.
Worldwide, more than 80% of the Jewish people attend a Seder on the eve of the holiday. Seder means order and refers to the commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt by eating special types of food, reading the Biblical story and singing specific songs. Some of today’s practices were already followed before the destruction of the second Temple in the homes of Jews who couldn’t go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The Pesach Haggadah contains the text and order of the Seder meal, which can take many hours to complete.
Early on the Monday and Thursday morning of the intermediary days, the priestly blessing takes place at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City. Cohanim (whose names indicate they are of the priestly line of Aaron) give the Aharonic blessing from Numbers 6:24-26, while covered with their talllits (prayer shawls). The priestly blessing or priestly benediction, birkat cohanim, is also known as nesiat kapayim (raising of the hands), or dukhanen (from the Yiddish word dukhan - platform - because the blessing used to be given from a raised rostrum).
In Israel, the Pesach holiday is observed for seven days; in the Diaspora, for eight days. The first and last days are major holidays, on which working is prohibited (like a Shabbat). During Chol Hamo'ed (intermediate days), people are allowed to work.
The Samaritans living on Mount Gerazim, near Shechem (Nablus) and the Ethiopian Falashas are the only group of people still performing Paschal sacrifices during Pesach.
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Excerpt from the book: Remember, Observe, Rejoice © Petra van der Zande.
