Passover - Pesach : History and Meaning of Freedom in Faith

Passover celebrates the Hebrew peoples' freedom from Egyptian bondage that took place approximately 3,300 years ago, as told in the first 15 chapters of the biblical Book of Exodus. In dramatic narration, the Passover story describes the events which led to their Exodus from Egypt and concurrently led to the Hebrews' intellectual transition and elevation from the "animalistic" intellect due to the pagan customs that they had adopted from the Egyptians while in Egypt, to the development of their "human" intellect, which eventually enabled them to be worthy enough to receive the Torah from G-d via Moses at Mount Sinai on the 50th day after the Exodus from Egypt.

Note: Regarding all dates on this Passover / Pesach web page, see the footnote near the bottom of this web page.

What is the ultimate message of Passover? The events contained in the story of Passover serve as a beacon and a reminder to all humankind that only the one true G-d is all-powerful and omnipresent in the lives of all humanity. The Passover story of the Hebrews' becoming physically and politically free from slavery which led to the Hebrews' becoming spiritually free from the "animalistic" intellect adopted in Egypt reminds us that whatever events occur in life, be they good or bad according to how each of us interprets each event, one must be readily aware that G-d ultimately wants to "free" us from our personal enslavement to the issue and assure us the best possible outcome in the long run, just as G-d enabled the best possible outcome for the Hebrews in the Passover story when they were physically and spiritually transformed and elevated from a loose collection of 12 tribes that were toiling in slavery in Egypt in physical and spiritual oppression, to a nation that became distinguished from other nations by entering into a covenant with G-d that was established at Mount Sinai, which included the Torah as the "guiding light" for the Hebrew nation along with its detailed explanations which were explained orally to Moses by G-d and were subsequently passed on orally from generation to generation, with additional explanations of the Torah text from Hebrew/Jewish Sages added on in each generation, until the entire collection of Oral Law as well as the Written Law of the Torah itself was finally organized, arranged, and written down in a compilation known as the Talmud (The word "Talmud" means "teaching" in Hebrew), beginning from about 10 B.C.E. until about 500 C.E.

Passover - Pesach : To Ignite Your Inner Light To "Love Your Neighbor As Yourself"

Universal messages interpreted from the Hebrews' experiences in the Passover / Pesach story point to the expanding, broadening, and elevating of a person's intellect and perspective, from a self-centered state of mind characterized by the personal desires of the individual being of paramount importance, towards a collective state of mind where the individual feels part of and is strongly aware of the Kollel ("Kollel" means "to include" or "inclusive" in Hebrew and is traditionally "a connection of all Jewish people through education and Judaism".). The great 2nd century C.E. Rabbi Akiva Ben Joseph once stated "Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18), this is (a) great general principle (klal) of Torah" [Rashi, Torath Kohanim on Kedoshim 19:18; also mentioned in "Sifra" ("Sifra" means "book" in Aramaic; specifically, it means the "Midrash Halakhah" or "commentary on the Book of Leviticus")]. Thus, in a broader sense, this klal can be extended to include all humanity. (the Hebrew word "klal" means a principle that is universal, the foundation on which everything else stands, a "foundational" principle, as opposed to some concepts or principles which apply in particular situations and conditions, or certain laws that apply to particular people or items or at particular times). When one begins one's perspective of any situation from the point-of-view of personal "freedom in the faith to 'love one's neighbor as yourself'", as opposed to being intellectually and emotionally self-absorbed and hence psychologically cut off from one's neighbor, then one has opened up the possibility of advancing any situation towards a more positive conclusion for all. All institutionalized religions in and of themselves and outside of how they are interpreted began as a desire for dealing with the feeling of insecurity about oneself and oneself vis-à-vis one's environment, insecurity being one of the fundamental feelings of human beings, in order to attain more positive outcomes for humanity. The universal messages echoed to humanity in the telling and retelling of the Passover / Pesach story down through the generations convey an unbroken reminder to each and every person that the one true G-d is urging us to reach towards and attain our personal psychological freedom through exercising the klal of "loving one's neighbor as yourself", to constantly work on loving yourself by broadening your perspective through improving yourself emotionally, intellectually, physically, and spiritually as you view others with a similar empathy, which ultimately benefits both oneself and humanity. In the Passover / Pesach story and following the Exodus from Egypt until the Hebrews reached Mount Sinai, the process of strengthening the character in each Hebrew also resulted in the strengthening and consolidating of the Hebrew tribes into a nation that was ready to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai. This message can be extended to include people in all nations, for in Judaism, G-d is the G-d of all humanity.

The Passover story is about the experience of the Hebrews' transition from physical and political slavery to physical and political freedom from slavery but in contemporary times, the Passover celebration refers to the Jewish people's commemoration of the events the Hebrews experienced in the Passover story. A question: why are Jewish people celebrating the Passover story of the Hebrews? Shouldn't the Jewish people of today be commemorating the Passover story of the Jews? Well, based on my understanding of the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, the Jewish people of today are actually descendants of the Hebrews. According to my understanding of the Tanakh, before the Jewish people were known as Jewish or Jews - names that were derived from the region of Judea in what is today southern Israel where the word "Judea" was itself named for the Hebrew tribe of Judah when they settled there - they were known as the "B'nei Yisrael" ("Children of Israel" in Hebrew) or the Hebrew Children of Israel. Based on my understanding, the term "Hebrew" ("Ivri" in Hebrew) generally means "someone who passes over to the other side" and in a rabbinic sense, it is referring to the First Hebrew Patriarch Avraham the Hebrew (Genesis 14:13; originally named "Avram"; in English: "Abraham" and "Abram", respectively) as having stood apart or on the opposite side from both humanity and the world he lived in at that time so that G-d would focus and stay focussed on one person, namely Abraham. Another explanation from what I understand is that the word "Ivri" means that Abraham, with his monotheistic beliefs, was on one side while the rest of the world was on the other (I.E. pagan) side. Furthermore, based on my understanding, the word "Ivri" in a geographical sense can also similarly mean "from the (other) side", and refers to Abraham coming to the Land of Canaan from Mesopotamia which was "on the other side" of the Euphrates river in what is today Iraq. The "Hebrew Children of Israel", or simply the "Children of Israel" were names that collectively described the descendants of the Third Hebrew Patriarch Jacob who was also known as "Israel". Jacob was the son of the Second Hebrew Patriarch Isaac and the grandson of the First Hebrew Patriarch Abraham. Jacob had 12 sons, each of whom represented the father and namesake of a tribe. For instance, the name of one son was Judah so his descendants were known as the "Tribe of Judah". Collectively speaking, the descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob/Israel were known as the B'nei Yisrael [the "Children of Israel" in Hebrew, or the "Hebrew Children of Israel", or simply the "Hebrews" ("Ivriim" in Hebrew)]. In the region of Judea, the B'nei Yisrael or Hebrews eventually established and lived in both the Kingdom of Judah (922 B.C.E. - 587 B.C.E. or 586 B.C.E.; two of the 12 Hebrew tribes lived in this kingdom) and the Kingdom of Israel (922 B.C.E. - 722 B.C.E. or 721 B.C.E. or 720 B.C.E.; 10 of the 12 Hebrew tribes lived in this kingdom). After the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed in either 722 B.C.E., 721 B.C.E., or 720 B.C.E. by the Assyrians and its people deported and assimilated into the surrounding countries (whereupon the 10 Hebrew tribes that lived in this kingdom were thence known as the 10 "Lost" Tribes), only the Kingdom of Judah still stood as the surviving remnant of Hebrew culture. Therefore, based on my understanding, the Jewish people of today who have an unbroken Jewish lineage trace their ancestry back to the Jews who lived in the Kingdom of Judah, which consisted of both the Hebrew Tribe of Judah and the Hebrew Tribe of Benjamin as well as some members of the Levites class, which consisted of both the priests ("Kohanim" in Hebrew) and the assistants to the priests (known simply as "Levites" in English or "Leviim" or "Levi'im" in Hebrew). In addition, based on my understanding, some members of the 10 Hebrew Tribes as well as some members of the Levites class - both priests and assistants to the priests - from the Kingdom of Israel escaped from the Assyrians and fled to the Kingdom of Judah, where they were eventually incorporated into the Tribe of Judah and the Tribe of Benjamin, except for the Levites class (meaning both the priests and assistants to the priests), who remained apart from the other tribes for the purpose of serving G-d. In relation to the history of Passover, the events of Passover written about in the Book of Exodus occurred at a time when all descendants of the 12 Tribes of Jacob/Israel - the B'nei Yisrael - were involved in the Passover story. Based on my understanding, it is only after the establishment of the Kingdom of Judah that the Hebrew term "Yehudim" or "Jews" was first mentioned in the Torah, and so the Jews of today who have an unbroken lineage are descendants of the Jews of the Kingdom of Judah, meaning more specifically, the descendants of the Hebrew Tribe of Judah and the Hebrew Tribe of Benjamin as well as the remnants of the other 10 Hebrew tribes who were incorporated into the two aforementioned Hebrew tribes after the fall of the Kingdom of Israel. In addition, some Jews today are descendants of members of the Levites - meaning both the priests (Kohanim) and assistants to the priests (Levites) - who also lived in the Kingdom of Judah. Therefore, from my understanding, the Jewish people of today are primarily descended from just two of the original twelve Hebrew tribes - Judah and Benjamin - plus the Levites class consisting of the priests and assistants to the priests, along with remnants of the other Hebrew tribes which have long been assimilated into the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Furthermore, based on my understanding, the term "Israelite" ("Yisraelim" in Hebrew) is not found in the Torah, although there are those that use the term loosely to refer in genealogical terms to the descendants of the Third Patriarch of the Hebrews, Jacob (also named Israel as mentioned) or in political terms, to the Hebrews who lived in either the United Kingdom of Israel, which existed in the times of King David and his son, King Solomon, or to the subsequent Northern Kingdom of Israel, which, along with the Southern Kingdom of Judah, were created after the death of King Solomon. Interestingly, the Hebrew word for Egypt is Mitzrayim (or Mizrayim), and means either "constriction" or "narrow straits". This is in reference to the B'nei Yisrael being in a state of constriction while toiling as slaves in the land of Goshen, an area of ancient Egypt. For more about the history of Passover, go to our History of Passover page.

When is Passover in 2007?

Passover in 2007 will begin just after sundown on Monday, April 2nd, 2007. For Jews who celebrate Passover for eight days (all Jews living outside of Israel with some denominational exceptions), the Passover holiday in 2007 will conclude at sundown on Tuesday, April 10th, 2007 which in the Jewish/Hebrew calendar is from the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan to the 22nd day of Nissan in the Jewish/Hebrew calendar year of 5767. For Jews who celebrate Passover for seven days (most Reform Jews, some Conservative Jews, and Jews living in Israel), the Passover holiday in 2007 will conclude at sundown on Monday, April 9th, 2007 which in the Jewish/Hebrew calendar is from the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan 5767 to the 21st day of Nissan 5767. For more information about the date of Passover, you can head on over to our Passover Date page.

When was Passover in 2006?

Passover in 2006 began just after sundown on Wednesday evening April 12th, 2006. For Jews who celebrate Passover for 8 days - meaning all Jews living outside of Israel (with some denominational exceptions) - the Passover holiday concluded at sundown on Thursday, April 20th, 2006, or in the Jewish/Hebrew calendar, from the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan to the 22nd day of Nissan in the Jewish/Hebrew calendar year of 5766. For Jews who celebrate Passover for 7 days - meaning most Reform Jews, some Conservative Jews, and Jews in Israel - the Passover holiday in 2006 concluded at sundown on Wednesday, April 19th, 2006, or in the Jewish/Hebrew calendar, from 15 Nissan 5766 to 21 Nissan 5766.

What are the names of the Passover Holiday?

Passover is known by five different names. To read about the names of Passover, just steer over to our Passover Holiday Names page.

What were the 10 plagues of Passover?

In a nutshell, the 10 Passover Plagues were as follows:

• Passover Plague #1: Blood
• Passover Plague #2: Frogs
• Passover Plague #3: Lice
• Passover Plague #4: Dog Flies
• Passover Plague #5: Murrain
• Passover Plague #6: Boils
• Passover Plague #7: Hail
• Passover Plague #8: Locusts
• Passover Plague #9: Darkness
• Passover Plague #10: Death of the Firstborn Son

To read more about the Ten Plagues of Passover, just click over to The Ten Plagues of Passover page.

Since the time of the first Passover as told in the Book of Exodus, the Jewish people have observed the instructions to remember the Passover event which were provided by G-d in Exodus 12. These instructions were gradually developed into a festive meal with specific instructions for rituals called the Passover seder. The 'instruction manual' for the Passover seder is called the Passover Haggadah. It contains 15 steps complete with rituals and symbolisms inherent in each of these rituals. Even the order of the 15 steps are designed so that one moves from symbolisms of slavery to symbolisms of freedom. As well, the sounds of the titles for each of the 15 steps are designed in a musical-sounding way so that one can remember them easily if for whatever reason one does not have access to a Passover Haggadah. For more information on the Passover Haggadah, check out our Passover Haggadah page.

The Passover Seder

What follows is a list of the 15 Passover seder steps. For a brief description of each of the Passover seder steps and the symbolic foods of Passover, you can go over to our Passover : An Overview page. However, if you'd like to read more comprehensive explanations of the Passover seder plus how to prepare for the Passover holiday, please check out our Passover Seder page and Passover Preparation page, respectively. You can also check out the following web page to discover the origin of the Passover Seder Meal.

What follows are the 15 Passover seder steps:

• Passover Seder Step #1: Kadeish
• Passover Seder Step #2: Urchatz
• Passover Seder Step #3: Karpas
• Passover Seder Step #4: Yachatz
• Passover Seder Step #5: Maggid
• Passover Seder Step #6: Rochtza
• Passover Seder Step #7: Motzee
• Passover Seder Step #8: Matzah
• Passover Seder Step #9: Marror or Maror
• Passover Seder Step #10: Koreich
• Passover Seder Step #11: Shulchan Orech
• Passover Seder Step #12: Tzafun
• Passover Seder Step #13: Bareich
• Passover Seder Step #14: Hallel
• Passover Seder Step #15: Nirtzah

Passover Symbolic Foods

The following are the main symbolic foods of Passover. For more complete explanations, see either our Passover : An Overview page or our Passover Seder page, respectively.

• Passover Symbolic Foods #1: Matzah (also: Matzoh, Matza, Matzo, Mazzah, Massah) - Unleavened Bread
• Passover Symbolic Foods #2: Charoseth (also: Haroseth, Charoset, Haroset) - Mixture of Apples, Nuts, Sweet Red Wine, Cinnamon, and Honey, but some of these ingredients can vary
• Passover Symbolic Foods #3: Beitzah (also: Beitza, Baitzah, Baitza) - Roasted Hard Boiled Egg
• Passover Symbolic Foods #4: Salt Water
• Passover Symbolic Foods #5: Maror (also: Marror, Morror, Moror) - Bitter Herbs
• Passover Symbolic Foods #6: Karpas - Green Vegetable
• Passover Symbolic Foods #7: Z'roah (also: Zeroah, Zeroa) - Shankbone

The Four Cups

The Four Cups of wine symbolize the four distinct redemptions promised by G-d to the Hebrews as told in Exodus 6:6-7. To read about the origin and meaning of The Four Cups of Passover, just click over to The Four Cups of Wine for Passover page.

The following sections comprise The Four Questions, The Four Sons, Passover Songs, and The Prophet Elijah in relation to Passover. All these topics are part of the readings in the Passover Haggadah, the 'instruction manual' for conducting the Passover seder.

The Four Questions

The goal of the Four Questions is to raise the curiosity of all those at the Passover seder table, particularly the children who represent future generations and who will carry the messages of Passover into the future, and so the asking of the Four Questions is usually given to the youngest child at the Passover seder table. To read more about the Four Questions, you can click over to The Four Questions page.

The Four Sons

The story of the Four Sons represents another method of transmitting the messages of Passover to future generations. There are four different types of personalities where each type of personality is represented by a son. The goal is to tell the story of Passover in a way that will be understood by each son and their personality type. For more information on the Four Sons, just click over to The Four Sons page.

Passover Songs

Added into the Passover Haggadah over a period of centuries following the establishment of the 15 steps for the Passover seder, there are a number of Passover songs that sing the praises of G-d and His powers and deeds that were done for the Hebrews during the time of the first Passover. The many versions of Passover Haggadahs in existence today have even expanded this theme to include G-d's power to bring justice for the oppressed. The roundelay structure of the traditional Passover songs such as Echad Mi Yodea, Adir Hoo, and others have as their goal that no matter what injustices are done by the stronger to the weaker, in the end G-d stands as the ultimate judge of life on Earth. For more information on Passover songs, just check out the Passover Songs page.

The Prophet Elijah and Passover

The Prophet Elijah in relation to the Passover story symbolizes the need to include all those who are oppressed under the weight of slavery to join in the experiencing what it is like to feel freedom from oppression at the Passover seder table. Elijah symbolizes not just the humble wayfarer who is asked to join in the celebration of Passover at the Passover seder table, but his appearance at all Passover seder tables around the world on Passover seder nights symbolizes the hope for better times for all, and so the door to the household is left open for Elijah to enter. A 5th Cup of Wine - usually in a goblet - that is not drunk, is left for Elijah and sits on the Passover seder table. For more information about Elijah the Prophet and Passover, head on over to our Elijah the Prophet page.

L'Chayim! (To life!)L'Chayim! (To life!)

The McPassover Story (for those who like to read on the run).

Passover is the Jewish holiday that celebrates and memorializes the freedom of the Hebrews or Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt and takes place near the end of March or beginning of April. During the first two nights, there are gastronomic marvels and readings from the Haggadah, with prayers, singing, and blessings, which occur in a specific "order" or sequence. The meaning of 'order' in Hebrew is coincidentally, "Seder". The youngest child (it was always me, in my family) recites the four questions, and the traditional head of the family, usually the grandfather, recites the readings from the Haggadah. No food containing yeast (called 'Chometz' or 'Chametz' in Hebrew) is allowed in the house during the holiday of Passover. Only unleavened bread, called Matzah, is permitted. This symbolizes the unleavened bread that the Hebrews or Children of Israel made in haste, as they were fleeing Egypt.

The Best Passover Recipes: from my grandmother to my mother to you.

1) Matzah Balls or Knaidlach: My bubby*** made them hard as rocks, but they were magnificient. To this day, no one in the family can duplicate her recipe, despite many valiant attempts.

Ingredients: 2 tbsp. chicken fat or oil, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of matzah meal, 1 tsp. of salt, 2 tbsp. of water or chicken soup.

Instructions: Mix the chicken fat with the eggs. Combine the matzah meal with the salt, blending thoroughly. Add the water and gently stir it, then leave it alone for 20 minutes. Get a cup of coffee or tea, and relax with your favourite magazine or newspaper. Or even better, call your children and ask them how they are, and what's new? Next, mold the matzah meal into small round balls. The size is up to you. Some like small ones, some like bigger ones. It's pretty much like men's tastes in breast sizes! Jerry Seinfeld likes well-endowed women. No comment from me. I'm just glad to eat the delicious matzah balls whatever size. Where were we? Oh, yeah. Matzah balls. Take them and add them to a bowl of simmering home-made chicken soup. Let them simmer in there for 20-30 minutes to absorb all the flavor of the soup, and then serve. Makes 8-10 balls. Not bad. I wonder if George Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees can borrow some of them for his baseball team? (Incidentally, George M. Steinbrenner III is not Jewish, but Christian Scientist, being born on July 4, 1930 in Rocky River, Ohio and having grown up in a well-to-do family in suburban Cleveland. But I digress.)

*** Bubby or Bubbe means 'grandmother' in Yiddish.

2) Bubby's Foolproof, Tamper Proof, Idiot Proof Matzah Balls:

Ingredients: 3 eggs with separated yolks and egg whites, 3/4 cup of matzah meal, 1/2 tsp. of salt.

Instructions: Beat the egg whites until firm. Do the same for the yolks, not jokes. Add matzah meal and salt. Mold into balls (size is your call). Then place them into boiling water, or for you chemistry buffs, dihydrogen monoxide, or soup stock. Place a cover over the pot, and simmer for 45 minutes for the matzah balls to absorb the flavor of the soup. It should be in a pot by this time, silly! Take the matzah balls out using a spoon with holes. I can't remember the technical name for this spoon, but you know which spoon it is. It has holes in it, so the liquid stuff is drained away. Makes 10-20 matzah balls. YUMMY! Note of Advice: My bubby says to refrigerate for 20 minutes before molding the matzah meal into balls. She is the "resident" expert, so listen to her.

Source: "Second Helpings, Please!" by Norene Gilletz, Roslyn Brown and Rae Wander, 1967.

While you're here, why not check out some beautiful Passover paintings by Baruch Nachshon, an Israeli Artist. Just click: Jewish Arts - Israeli Jewish Art - Passover Paintings, and observe the beauty of mystical art !

If you would like to send 100% free Passover e-cards, you can steer over to our free Passover e-cards page and send as many Passover greeting cards as you like! If you want some Passover chuckles, check out our Passover Humor page!

If you have any comments, questions, recipes, or naches (A Yiddish word meaning "joy"), please e-mail Malcolm or Mike (or our Hebrew names, if you like: Elimelech or Mordechai, respectively) ! Just Click To E-Mail Us Here!

How about some Passover recipe links to get you more in the mood?

We've collected many great Passover recipe websites just for you on our Passover Recipes page. Just click to see all of them, and remember to watch that waistline! But if you can survive all that Passover food, it's a cinch you can survive anything!

If you have any suggestions for more Passover recipe sites to be added here, all you have to do is just Click To E-Mail Us Here! We're a very visible website: lots of mensches ('mensch' or 'mentsh' means a person of integrity and honor in Yiddish) have been visiting us! Such a bright mishpochah (meaning 'family' in Hebrew; in this sentence, it refers to the 'family' or group of people who've visited this website!).

Feel free to browse around the site and don't forget to bookmark us (Netscape users: Press Ctrl + d; Mac users: Press Apple + d) because I update the site often. Best wishes from myself - Malcolm (my Hebrew name being: Elimelech David Ha-Levi) in Montréal, Québec, Canada! As for my background, I'm a professional librarian who owns his own internet consulting company. This website is my mitzvah to the web! (By the way, mitzvah or mitzva means "commandment" in Hebrew, as in an obligation. The commandments all derive from G-d. As for my website being a mitzvah to the web, I'm using mitzvah in a colloquial sense to refer to a mitzvah as a 'good deed', an 'act of kindness', and a 'positive contribution' to the web!) :)

Thanks to Mike for providing the McPassover story and the humorous descriptions of his 'grandmother's' Passover recipes. I wrote the remainder of the Passover history and customs content and designed this Passover website. Shalom!

This website was created on March 8, 1999

Last updated on: January 26, 2009

Over 9 years on the air and counting! (G-d willing) :)

This website is symbolically blessed by the Hamsa Hand.

The bordered background on this page and on the Rabbi's perspective page provided by:

Uncle Debi's Jewish Holidays

Graphics on the first line of this page, courtesy of:

Just a footnote that if you want to learn about the history of the Jewish or Hebrew calendar, we have added that information on our Passover website. Just click the following link: Jewish Calendar - Hebrew Calendar.

Footnote regarding the dates on this Passover / Pesach web page: all dates discussed on this website are based on the modern Gregorian calendar, however, these dates are but one secular scholarly deduction; there are many other secular scholarly deductions as well as traditional Jewish chronological dates in addition to modern Hebrew/Jewish calendar dates regarding the timeline of events in Jewish history. To see a table of some important events in Jewish history discussed on this website and their various dates deduced from traditional Jewish sources, the modern Hebrew/Jewish calendar, and secular historical timelines, check out our Jewish History Timeline web page.

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Malcolm Wald