Through its unique cuisine, storytelling and customs, such as the Passover seder, the holiday commemorates the Israelites’ exodus from enslavement in ancient Egypt.
WASHINGTON — Through its cuisine, storytelling and customs, Passover commemorates the Israelites’ enslavement and exodus from ancient Egypt as chronicled in Exodus, the second book of the Bible.
The holiday’s name — Passover or Pesach in Hebrew — refers to a story in Exodus where God spared Israelite families who marked their doors with lamb’s blood from a plague that killed off firstborn sons in Egypt. In the story, God “passes over” the Israelite homes.
Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about the holiday.
When is Passover?
This year, Passover starts on Wednesday, April 1 and ends on Thursday, April 9. In Israel, the holiday ends on April 8.
Each year, the holiday falls on different dates due to Jewish tradition abiding by a lunar calendar. The holiday is almost always entirely in April, although some years the holiday can start as early as the end of March.
Why matzah?
The staple of the holiday is matzah, an unleavened bread that characterizes the holiday’s dietary restrictions.
Referred to as the “bread of affliction” in the Bible, the principle behind eating matzah is to symbolize the frantic pace of the Israelites during the biblical story of the exodus from Egypt. There is a rule among most matzah-makers to not let the bread’s dough rise for more than 18 minutes to symbolize the Israelites’ rush to the exodus.
What Jewish people eat during Passover depends on custom, family tradition and observance level. Typically, foods that contain five major species of grains, including wheat, barley and oats, are forbidden during the holiday. Many Ashkenazi Jews, with ancestry from Eastern Europe, have extended these restrictions and will also refrain from eating foods made from corn, rice or legumes.
It is customary for Jewish households to burn leftover bread, sell forbidden food items and scan the house for breadcrumbs with a spoon and feather before the start of the holiday.
What is a seder?
Passover features one or two seders that take place at the beginning of the holiday. This year, the first seder will take place on Wednesday night, April 1. The number of seders typically depends on geography and sect. In Israel and among most Reform Jews, there is only one seder.
During the seder, Jews read from the Hagaddah, an ancient text that retells the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, as well as related commentary from rabbis and songs. It is customary for families to take turns reading different sections of the Hagaddah. Often, Jews will read the text in its original Hebrew and Aramaic.
In addition to matzah, the Passover seder features other foods that symbolize the Israelites enslavement in Egypt, including a side dish of salt water, made to resemble the Israelites tears, bitter herbs to commemorate the bitterness of enslavement and a brownish fruit mixture meant to symbolize the construction mud and bricks used to build Egyptian structures.
The holiday is typically observed for eight days in most of the world and for seven days in Israel. Jewish
How to greet people during Passover
Like many other Jewish holidays, the right thing to say depends on community and context. An easy way to wish someone a happy Passover is just to say “happy passover.” Although many Jews exclusively refer to the holiday by its Hebrew name of Pesach (peh-sach) or its Yiddish pronunciation (pay-sach).
A common greeting among Jews celebrating the holiday is “Chag Sameach,” or “Chag Pesach Sameach,” which translates to “happy holiday” or “happy Passover holiday.”
Some Ashkenazi Jews will say “a zissen Pesach,” a phrase which comes from the Yiddish for “a sweet passover.” On the first and last days of the holidays, some Ashkenazi Jews will say “gut yuntif,” meaning literally “good good-day.” In Hebrew, passerbys will say “Yom Tov” or “good day.”
