Passover

Passover

About the Holiday

Passover, or Pesach (PEH-sach) פֶּסַח in Hebrew, celebrates the Exodus of Israelites from slavery in Ancient Egypt to freedom more than 3000 years ago.  Like other Jewish holidays, we are to observe this holiday with symbolic rituals, foods, and prayers, as well as to retell the story to family and friends, near and far, as if we went through the ordeal ourselves.  But, beyond this simple definition of the holiday, Passover is also one of three pilgrimmage festivals, with Shavuot and Sukkot being the other two.  Pesach comes from the Hebrew root, Pay-Samech-Chet, meaning to pass-through or to "pass over."  It refers to the experience that God "passed over" the homes of the Israelites and spared them from the final plague - the slaying of the fist born.  Passover is sometimes referred to as Chag He'Aviv, "the Spring Festival," or Chag ha-Matzot, "the festival of unleavened bread (or matzah)."   

When Is It?

• 5785:  April 13 - April 20, 2025