For the Jews, the Passover is the Feast of Freedom, as it commemorates the departure from Egypt, a place where they lived for over 400 years, being a period as slaves.
The crossing of the Jews across the Red Sea towards the Promised Land symbolized the passage from slavery to freedom.
Since then, the Jews gather every year to celebrate the Passover with elements that recall their history and the facts that culminated in the departure from Egypt.
Significance and history of the Jewish Passover
The origin of the word Passover comes from the Hebrew term Passover, which means passage or crossing. It is one of the important festivals in the Jewish calendar, the festival of pilgrimage, which is related to the passage from slavery to freedom.
Moses, a Hebrew who was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter, received instructions from God to deliver his people from Egypt when he was 80 years old.
Faced with the refusal of the Egyptian leader, Moses began to show signs sent by God, which showed his wrath. They were: blood, frogs, insects, lice, death of cattle, ulcers, hail, locusts, darkness and the death of the first-born Egyptians.
With the last plague, the pharaoh lost his first son and, thus, frightened by everything that happened, he allowed the Hebrews to leave their lands, starting the exodus of the people.
Therefore, to this day the event is celebrated as a perpetual memorial of the oppression experienced by the ancestors and how freedom came to them.
Learn more about ten Plagues of Egypt.
Passover commemoration date
According to the Holy Scriptures of Judaism, the Torah, Passover should be celebrated on the fourteenth day of the first month, called of Abib or Nissan, and therefore the Jewish calendar was adjusted so that the festival always takes place in early spring.
The festival begins when spring arrives in Israel, which as it is located in the Northern Hemisphere, is the Spring Equinox. For those in the Southern Hemisphere, Easter is celebrated at the beginning of the Autumn Equinox.
See too: Judaism
Beginning of Passover commemoration by Jews
On the first Passover, the night before leaving Egypt, the Hebrews chose a lamb, representing the lamb. paschal, which was baked and served as food for the family, along with unleavened bread (unleavened) and herbs bitter.
The animal's blood was used to mark the sides of the houses so that the angel of death would not take away their firstborn during the last plague in Egypt. Therefore, the Passover it also means "going over".
Easter is a family gathering and, during this period, parents take the opportunity to teach their children about their history and about their God.
Over time, Passover, along with Pentecost and Tents, became the important festivals of the Jews, which led them to go to Jerusalem three times a year.
See too:Origin of Easter
Current Easter Celebration
Currently, the celebration follows a ritual, whose steps are: search for the Chametz, fasting of the firstborn, lighting of candles, Seder and reading of Passover.
Chametz Search
Fermented grains (chamêts) are completely abolished from Passover, a house inspection is carried out to remove crumbs and any product that has in its composition some of the five cereals: wheat, barley, rye, oats and wheat Saracen.
firstborn fast
on the eve of the Passover, all firstborn should fast as a way of thanking that their ancestors had their lives spared when the plague that took the firstborn Egyptians occurred.
Candle lighting
During the first day of Passover candles are lit at certain times and with texts being recited. For the second day, an existing flame is used to light more candles.
Seder: the Jewish Supper
In Hebrew, Seder means order and it is the Jewish family meal held to commemorate the Passover.
The Seder marks the beginning of the celebration, when families get together to consume food that recalls the trajectory of their ancestors.
During dinner, the reading of the haggadah to recall history and keep alive in the memory of the Jews the suffering they experienced and the restoration of their freedom.
The main table tray, called keará, is composed of elements, whose meanings are:
- Maror (bitter herb): represents the bitterness experienced by the Jewish people.
- Charoset (sweet): the mixture of delicacies recalls the color of bricks produced in Egypt.
- carpas (celery): resembles the hyssop used to spread the lamb's blood on the doors.
- Chazeret (Roman lettuce or endive): should be placed under the Maror.
- Bethsa (boiled egg): represents the oppression experienced by the Jews and how it strengthened them.
- Zeroa (lamb): symbolizes the God who brought them out of Egypt.
In addition to the symbols that make up the keará, three matsot (unleavened loaves), which represent the priests, Levites and Israelite people.
There is also a container of salt water to remember the tears shed during slavery and the sea they crossed. The glass of wine served to each guest must contain at least 86 milliliters.
Difference between Jewish Passover and Christian Passover
Passover and Passover have different meanings. Jews commemorate the passage from slavery to deliverance, while Christians commemorate the passage from death to life during the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
Until the fourth century the Jewish Passover was celebrated on the same day as the Christian Passover. The Council of Nicaea, held in 325 d. C., decided that because they do not have the same meaning, they should not be celebrated in the same period.
From then on, Christian Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the equinox spring, for those in the Northern Hemisphere, and the autumnal equinox, for those in the Hemisphere South.
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