Passover

PASSOVER
ON THE PATHWAY TO PEOPLEHOOD

Passover (Pesach) celebrates the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. It begins on the 15th of Nisan and continues through 21 Nisan (7 days, although some Jews celebrate it for an eighth day). For this year's date see: <http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday0.htm>

The background to the holiday appears in the Torah. Joseph, Jacob’s much-loved son, is sold to a caravan of traders by his jealous brothers. He is taken to Egypt. There he becomes known as an interpreter of dreams and a seer. After much tribulation, he becomes an important advisor to Pharaoh. Understanding that a famine is coming, Joseph counsels Pharaoh to build the store cities of Pitom and Ramses. The famine eventually comes to Canaan where Joseph’s family lives. Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to beg for food. They appear before Joseph but don’t recognize him as their brother. Joseph toys with them but finally reveals his true identity in an emotional scene. He decides to settle his family in Goshen where they prosper. Finally, Joseph dies and a new Pharaoh comes to power who doesn’t know of him. The new Pharaoh is fearful of the size and prosperity of the Israelite population so he enslaves them.

The English name of the holiday is taken from the 10th plague, the slaying of the first-born, when the angel of death passed over Israelite homes but killed Egyptian children and animals. On that night, Pharaoh decided to let the Israelites leave supposedly to go into the desert to worship their God.

Another name for Passover is zman heiruteinu (the time of our liberation). It is also known as hag ha’aviv (the spring pilgrimage festival). It is the first of the three ancient pilgrimage festivals. (The others are Shavuot and Sukkot.) It is a time when spring breaks through the winter doldrums and life is born anew. Leaving breaks the chain of slavery and degradation. It offers the chance to make a new life in a land flowing with milk and honey. Another name is hag hamatsot (the festival of unleavened bread). The Israelites were instructed to quickly eat a meal of roasted lamb and leave. Their dough didn’t have time to rise. So they left with it as a major part of their provisions. As it baked on their journey it became coarse and flat.

This leave-taking reminds of us of Abraham who was instructed to leave his father’s home and travel through the desert to a place that he did not know. Passover is a holiday of hope. It reminds us that no matter how desperate our situation, there is always a chance for change and renewal. This is an example of the transformational nature of Judaism. We recall the past to be better able to look at the present. We were redeemed making future redemption possible.

It is said that the Exodus brought about a change in the Israelite’s covenantal relationship to God. Earlier, the covenant was between individuals (Noah, Abraham). Now it would be the turn of the group of Israelites to find out what their part of the bargain was. In fact, in the seder we create a special place for the prophet Elijah who is the precursor of redemption. In the seder, we are told to see ourselves as though we were personally redeemed from slavery at that ancient time. It is our own story and very much a part of the present.

To observe the holiday, we participate in three rituals: tell the story of the Exodus, eat matzah and refrain from eating or owning chametz. To do this we read the Hagaddah (the telling) and eat matzah, maror, charoset, parsley, salt water and eggs. The seder (order), at which we do this, is a home ritual so that everyone can hear the story again. It can be taught to the youngest children so that it is passed to the next generation.
Matzah is made of flour and water, mixed, docked and baked very quickly so that it won’t rise. Chametz is a mixture of flour and water with or without a leavening agent that has been allowed to rise. Since we aren’t supposed to eat it during Passover, the night before the holiday begins we ritually search for chametz with a candle, spoon and feather and burn whatever we have found. The ancient rabbis said that chametz represents the evil inclination. We become puffed up with our own pride and ego. Refraining from eating leavened foods reminds us to be humble. By abstaining, we become better people.

The Seder Table
The seder plate contains the symbolic foods. Karpas – a green vegetable, usually parsley, symbolizing spring and rebirth. It is dipped in salt water which is symbolic of the tears of the slaves. Charoset – a mixture of chopped apples, nuts, wine and spices (Ashkenazim) or dates, raisins, figs, apples, wine, spices (Sephardim). It symbolizes the mortar the slaves made to hold bricks together. Its sweetness softens the sting of the maror. Maror –Horseradish or romaine lettuce (at once sweet and bitter) to remind us of the bitterness of slavery. Betsah – roasted egg, which is a symbol of the festival sacrifice offered by each male Jew going to Jerusalem on the Passover pilgrimage. In addition, it is a symbol of new life. Zeroa – a roasted shank bone, a symbol of the Passover sacrifice.

The 3 matzot stand for the 3 groups of Jews: priests, Levites and Israelites. A fourth matzah can be added for Jews who aren’t yet free. Wine for 4 cups: freedom, deliverance, redemption, being taken as God’s people. Elijah’s cup: the prophet visits each home with the promise of redemption. This 5th cup helped to settle a rabbinic argument over serving 4 or 5 cups of wine. It also symbolizes welcoming the stranger. We read in the Hagaddah: ‘Let all who are hungry come and eat.’ Miriam’s cup filled with water: a new addition to the story. Miriam was said to be able to locate water in the desert. The legend says that after her death, her well followed the Israelites in their wanderings.

Also at the seder we are told to recline. Only free people can recline. Slaves stand and serve. The order of the meal is based on the Greco-Roman banquet/symposium.

The Hagaddah
The book we use for the seder sets its order. We first light candles and sing the Kiddush blessing. We then drink the first cup of wine. We wash hands for purposes of purification. We dip the parsley in salt water and eat it. We break the middle matzah. Half of it becomes the afikomman or dessert. Then we read and tell the story. With the four questions, we involve children in the telling since the youngest one usually chants the questions. The story of the four children - wise, obstinate, simple and unable to ask - alerts us to the idea that we must tell the story in many different ways so that all may understand. The ten plagues - blood, frogs, lice, wild beasts, blight, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, slaying of the first-born – teaches us that even our enemies are God’s children. With the singing of Dayenu we say that although God has given us many things, any one of them would have been enough. We eat matzah and the Hillel sandwich (a combination of matzah, maror and charoset). We drink from the second cup of wine followed by the meal. Then there is the search for the hidden afikomman (usually by the children) and its redemption. This is dessert’s dessert, the very last thing eaten at the meal. We chant the blessing after the meal and drink the third cup of wine. Then children open the door for Elijah who is said to enter and sip from his wine cup. Then we drink the last and 4th cup of wine and end the seder with songs.

The seder shows our concern for the stranger since we were strangers in a strange land. We acknowledge that we can change our lives but with freedom comes responsibility. Although Moses is a major force in the story, he is hardly mentioned in the Hagaddah. Along with him it is important to mention the women. Miriam, Moses’ sister, watched over her brother and arranged to have their mother take care of him. Shifra and Puah were midwives who refused to kill Hebrew boys although they were ordered to do so. And then there is Pharaoh’s daughter who saved the baby Moses. She knew he was a Hebrew yet raised him as her own son.