Passover
Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew, is
one of the Jewish religion’s most sacred and widely observed holidays. Passover
commemorates the story of the Israelites’ departure from ancient Egypt, which
appears in the Hebrew Bible’s books of Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, among
other texts. Jews observe the weeklong festival with a number of important
rituals, including a traditional Passover meals known as a seder, the removal
of leavened products from their home, the substitution of matzo for bread and
the retelling of the exodus tale.
The Passover Story
According to the Hebrew Bible,
Jewish settlement in ancient Egypt first occurs when Joseph, a son of the
patriarch Jacob and founder of one of the 12 tribes of Israel, moves his family
there during a severe famine in their homeland of Canaan. For many years the
Israelites live in harmony in the province of Goshen, but as their population
grows the Egyptians begin to see them as a threat. After the death of Joseph
and his brothers, the story goes, a particularly hostile pharaoh orders their
enslavement and the systematic drowning of their firstborn sons in the Nile.
Moses
One of these doomed infants is
rescued by the pharaoh’s daughter, given the name Moses (meaning “one who is
pulled out”) and adopted into the Egyptian royal family. When he reaches
adulthood, Moses becomes aware of his true identity and the Egyptians’ brutal
treatment of his fellow Hebrews. He kills an Egyptian slave master and escapes
to the Sinai Peninsula, where he lives as a humble shepherd for 40 years. One
day, however, Moses receives a command from God to return to Egypt and free his
kin from bondage, according to the Hebrew bible. Along with his brother Aaron,
Moses approaches the reigning pharaoh (who is unnamed in the biblical version
of the story) several times, explaining that the Hebrew God has requested a
three-day leave for his people so that they may celebrate a feast in the
wilderness.
10 Plagues
When the pharaoh refuses, God
unleashes 10 plagues on the Egyptians, including turning the Nile River red
with blood, diseased livestock, boils, hailstorms and three days of darkness,
culminating in the slaying of every firstborn son by an avenging angel. The Israelites, however, mark the doorframes
of their homes with lamb’s blood so that the angel of death will recognize and
“pass over” each Jewish household. Terrified of further punishment, the
Egyptians convince their ruler to release the Israelites, and Moses quickly
leads them out of Egypt. The pharaoh changes his mind, however, and sends his
soldiers to retrieve the former slaves. As
the Egyptian army approaches the fleeing Jews at the edge of the Red Sea, a
miracle occurs: God causes the sea to part, allowing Moses and his followers to
cross safely, then closes the passage and drowns the Egyptians. According to
the Hebrew Bible, the Jews—now numbering in the hundreds of thousands—then trek
through the Sinai desert for 40 tumultuous years before finally reaching their
ancestral home in Canaan, later known as the Land of Israel.
Questions of Historical Accuracy
For centuries, scholars have been
debating the details and historical merit of the events commemorated during the
Passover holiday. Despite numerous attempts, historians and archaeologists have
failed to corroborate the tale of the Jews’ enslavement in and mass exodus from
Egypt. Although the ancient Egyptians
kept thorough records, no mention is made of an Israelite community within
their midst or any calamities resembling the 10 biblical plagues. There is also
no evidence of large encampments in the Sinai Peninsula, the fabled site of the
Jews’ wandering, or any sudden fluctuation in Israel’s archaeological record
that would indicate the departure and return of a large population. A handful
of scholars, including the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, have
suggested a link between the Israelites and the Hyksos, a mysterious Semitic
people—possibly from Canaan—who controlled lower Egypt for more than 100 years
before their expulsion during the 16th century B.C. Most modern academics, however, have
dismissed this theory due to chronological conflicts and a lack of similarity
between the two cultures.
Passover Traditions
One of the most important
Passover rituals for observant Jews is removing all leavened food products (known
as chametz) from their home before the holiday begins and abstaining from them
throughout its duration. Instead of bread, religious Jews eat a type of
flatbread called matzo. According to tradition, this is because the Hebrews
fled Egypt in such haste that there was no time for their bread to rise, or
perhaps because matzo was lighter and easier to carry through the desert than
regular bread.
Seder
On the first two nights of
Passover, families and friends gather for a religious feast known as a
seder. During the meal, the story of the
exodus from Egypt is read aloud from a special text called the Haggadah (Hebrew
for “telling”), and rituals corresponding to various aspects of the narrative
are performed. For example, vegetables are dipped into salt water representing
the tears Jews shed during their time as slaves, and bitter herbs (usually
horseradish) symbolizing the unpleasant years of their bondage are eaten. A seder plate at the center of the table
contains Passover foods with particular significance to the exodus story,
including matzo, bitter herbs, a lamb shankbone and a mixture of fruit, nuts
and wine known as charoset, which represents the mortar Jews used while bonding
bricks as slaves in Egypt. Other typical
menu items include matzo kugel (a pudding made from matzo and apples), poached
fish patties called gefilte fish and chicken soup with matzo balls. Children
play an important role in the seder and are expected to take part in many of
its customs. At one point during the meal, the youngest child present recites
the four questions, which ask what distinguishes this special night from all
other nights. In many households, young people also enjoy participating in the
traditional hunt for the afikomen, a piece of matzo that is hidden early in the
evening. The finder is rewarded with a prize or money.
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