BRATTLEBORO — This year, the Jewish festival of Passover begins the evening of Friday, April 6.
The holiday, known in Hebrew as Pesach, is our “festival of freedom,” commemorating the Exodus from Egypt. Passover is regarded as the “birth” of the Jewish nation, and its lessons of freedom and responsibility continue to form the basis of Jewish identity and its ways of life.
The name of the festival derives from the biblical book of Exodus which tells us that during the final plague (the slaying of the first born) God “passed over” the Jewish homes. Exodus goes on to tell us that this event is to be observed each year, for all future generations:
“This day shall become a memorial for you, and you shall observe it as a festival for the Lord, throughout the ages; you shall celebrate it as an institution for all time. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the very first day you shall remove the leaven from your homes ... you shall observe the (Feast of) unleavened bread, for on this very day I brought you out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe this day throughout the ages as an institution for all time.”
To this day, many Jews observe Passover for seven days. In traditional communities outside of the land of Israel, many celebrate an extra day. In all Jewish communities, even among the most secular of families, the holiday is celebrated on the first night(s) with an elaborate meal known as a seder.
The word “seder” means order, emphasizing the prescribed order of the symbolic retelling of the Passover story. It is done in such a way as to help participants understand and, if possible, re-live the experience of going forth from slavery to freedom.
As recorded in the haggadah, the booklet of readings and prayers used during the meal, we tell of the Exodus and recount the Ten Plagues. We eat symbols of slavery and freedom, and the festive meal includes many delicious foods that people look forward to all year, such as charoset and matzah balls.
We conclude the meal with prayers of praise and thanksgiving, and recite at the very end the seder, “Next year (may there be peace) in Jerusalem!”
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The seder is a meaningful occasion for us to reconnect with family and friends and with the inquisitiveness of youth. Children are usually encouraged to lead the singing of traditional songs like Ma Nishatana (the Four Questions), Dayenu (It Would Have Been Enough), and Hah Gad Yad (One Little Goat).
They also open the door for Elijah the Prophet, and at the end of the meal they search for the afikomen, a hidden piece of matzah which, when found, symbolizes redemption.
In addition to the seder, the most significant observance of Passover involves abstinence from leavened products and other foods whose ingredients ferment when coming in contact with water.
The grain product we eat instead is matzah, unleavened bread made simply from flour and water and cooked very quickly. This practice symbolizes the fact that the Israelites leaving Egypt were in a hurry and did not have time to let their bread rise. It is also symbolizes our intention to remove the “puffiness” of pride and arrogance from our souls.
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Passover is a profoundly meaningful and festive occasion and a good time to reconnect, not only with family and friends but also with the underlying message of the holiday - that greater freedom necessarily entails greater responsibility.
While the Jewish people use this time to celebrate the freedom we now enjoy, we observe Passover most faithfully when we practice the obligation that comes with freedom: to work so that all people may be free.