, 16 Nissan[d], 17 Nissan[d], 18 Nissan[d], 19 Nisan[d], 20 Nissan[d], 21[d] And 22[d]
Commandments
Kashrut for Passover
Hametz (leavened)
Such a "sale" is considered obligatory according to the Halacha, with each owner having to put all the "chametz" he is selling in a box or box and assume that at any time during the holiday a non-Jewish buyer can come to collect or use his share. Likewise, religious Jewish shopkeepers sell all their "chametz" to a non-Jew, fully aware that the new "owner" may claim their property. The Jews sell all their "chametz" to their non-Jewish neighbors at the risk that the latter will not return it back.
Formal search chametza (« Bdikat chametz»)
After dark on Nisan 14, there is a formal search for leaven (" Bdikat chametz"). At the same time, the head of the family reads a special blessing “on the elimination of chametz” (על ביעור חמץ - al biur hametz), after which he moves from room to room to check that there are no crumbs left anywhere. It is customary to turn off the lights in the room being searched and conduct searches using a candle, a feather and a wooden spoon: a candle effectively illuminates corners without casting a shadow, a feather can sweep crumbs out of hard-to-reach places, and a wooden spoon used to collect crumbs can be burned the next day together With " chametz».
There is also a tradition to hide ten slices of bread carefully wrapped in aluminum foil or plastic wrap in the house before the search. This ensures that the head of the family finds some "chametz" and his blessing is not wasted.
Burning chametza (« biur chametz»)
In the morning, all leavened products found during the search are burned (“ biur chametz»).
The head of the family announces any " chametz", which was not found, "invalid" "like the dust of the earth." If " chametz” will actually be found during Passover, it must be burned or made unfit for food.
Dishes for Pesach
Because of the strict separation chametza» On Pesach, religious Jewish families usually have a complete set of dishes especially for Pesach. Ashkenazi families who buy new utensils for the holiday first immerse them in boiling water to remove any traces of oils or materials that may have contained "chametz" ( agalat kelim). Some Sephardic families who use the same glasses for Passover as they do throughout the year wash them thoroughly beforehand.
Fasting of the Firstborn
On the morning before Pesach, the fast of first-born men begins in memory of the salvation of the first-born of Israel during the "Execution of the First-born", the tenth of the plagues of Egypt.
In fact, however, most firstborns only fast until the end of the morning prayers in the synagogue. According to tradition, one who takes part in a meal on the occasion of a joyful event is exempted from the need to fast. Therefore, before Passover, there is a common custom to finish the study of a section of the Mishnah or Talmud and, in honor of this, arrange a festive meal in the synagogue on the morning before Passover. Thus, all participants in this meal are exempt from fasting.
Passover sacrifice
During the existence of the Temples, a sacrifice was made on Pesach in the form of an animal slaughter, which was called " korban pesach". According to the Pentateuch, each family (or group of families if they are individually too small to eat a whole lamb) must eat one lamb on the night of Nisan 15. The lamb could not be slaughtered by those who had leaven in their possession. The lamb was to be roasted and eaten with matzah and maror (English)Russian- bitter herbs. It was impossible to break the victim's bones. Nothing should have remained from the victim until morning.
However, after the destruction of the Second Temple, no sacrifices were made, so the story of " Korban Passover” is retold at the Passover Seder, and on the Seder platter it is symbolically represented by “ zroa"- fried lamb shank, chicken wing or leg, which are not eaten, but are involved in the ritual.
Seder Passover
Pesach celebration. Ukrainian lubok of the 19th century
The central event of the holiday is Easter evening ( layl a-seder or seder-passover, or simply seder / seider / sider).
The holding of the Seder is carefully regulated and consists of many elements. On this night, the Jews should read the Passover Haggadah, which tells about the Exodus from Egypt, and hold the Passover meal in accordance with tradition.
Reading the Passover Haggadah
On the first evening of Pesach (outside of Israel - on the first two evenings) every religious Jew should read the story of the Exodus from Egypt.
four bowls
During the Seder, there is an obligation to drink four cups of wine or grape juice. Grape juice is also considered wine and may be used in the Seder (especially for children and the infirm) if it is prepared according to the requirements for kosher wine. This applies to both men and women. According to the Mishnah, even the poorest person should drink them. Each bowl serves as an introduction to the next part of the Seder. The four bowls symbolize the four promises in the book of Shemot (Ex. 6:6-8):
6 So say to the children of Israel:
I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage,
and I will save you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments;7 And I will take you to myself as a people, and I will be your God, and you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of Egypt;
8 And I will bring you into the land about which I lifted up my hand and swore to give it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and I will give it to you as an inheritance. I am the Lord.
In addition to these four bowls, there may be an additional fifth bowl - " a bowl for Elijah".
Afikoman
The meal is completed by "afikoman" - the final dish. During the time of the Temple, the afikoman was the Passover offering, and after its destruction, a piece of matzah, which is broken off at the beginning of the Seder. Afikoman is taken before eating the third bowl - the bowl of "redemption".
Matzo
Machine-made matzah.
The commandment says to eat at least one piece of matzah the size of an olive at the Seder. The ritual of the seder provides for several moments during the evening in which matzah is eaten.
Baking matzah
Matzah for the holiday is baked during the pre-holiday weeks. In Orthodox Jewish communities, men traditionally gather in groups to hand-bake special sheets of matzah called matzah shmura(“preserved matzah”, meaning that wheat is protected from contact with water from the day of cutting in summer until matzah is baked for the subsequent Passover). Matzah must be baked in 18 minutes, otherwise the fermentation process will begin and the matzah will become non-kosher on Pesach.
Maror
During the Seder, at various points in the ritual, it is instructed to taste bitter herbs (from
Later, during the existence of the Jerusalem Temple, the Passover offering was eaten during the Passover Seder on Nisan 15. However, after the destruction of the Temple, no sacrifices were made, so the story of " Korban Passover” is retold at the Passover Seder, and on the Seder platter it is symbolically represented by “ zroa"- fried lamb shank, chicken wing or leg, which are not eaten, but are involved in the ritual.
Passover Seder
Pesach celebration. Ukrainian lubok of the 19th century
Main article: Seder
The central event of the holiday is Easter evening ( layl a-seder or seder-passover, or simply seder / seider).
The holding of the Seder is carefully regulated and consists of many elements. On this night, Jews must read the Passover Haggadah, which tells about the Exodus from Egypt, and have a Passover meal in accordance with tradition.
Reading the Passover Haggadah
On the first evening of Pesach (outside of Israel - on the first two evenings) every Jew should read the story of the Exodus from Egypt.
four bowls
During the Seder, there is an obligation to drink four cups of wine (or grape juice). This applies to both men and women. According to the Mishnah, even the poorest person should drink them. Each bowl serves as an introduction to the next part of the Seder.
Matzo
Machine-made matzah.
The commandment says to eat at least one piece of matzah the size of an olive at the Seder. The ritual of the seder provides for several moments during the evening in which matzah is eaten.
Baking matzah
Matzah for the holiday is baked during the pre-holiday weeks. In Orthodox Jewish communities, men traditionally gather in groups to hand-bake special sheets of matzah called matzah shmura(“preserved matzah”, meaning that wheat is protected from contact with water from the day of cutting in summer until matzah is baked for the subsequent Passover). Matzah must be baked in 18 minutes, otherwise the fermentation process will begin and the matzah will become non-kosher on Pesach.
Maror
During the seder, at various points in the ritual, it is prescribed to taste bitter herbs (from horseradish to lettuce leaves) - maror.
holiday week
Counting down the days of the Omer
From the night of the second day of Pesach, the countdown of the days of the Omer begins. In the days of the Temple, on the day of the first day, a sheaf was brought there (“ omer”) of wheat from the new crop. Before bringing the Omer to the Temple, Jews were forbidden to use the new harvest. After the destruction of the Temple, it is forbidden to eat the new crop until the evening of the second day of Passover.
The days of the Omer are counted for 49 days, after which Shavuot (Pentecost) is celebrated on the 50th day. When counting, both days and weeks are counted: for example, on the first day they say “ Today is the first day of the Omer", and on the 8th -" Today is 8 days which is a week and one day of the Omer».
Seventh day of Pesach
The Almighty commands: on the seventh day also the sacred assembly; do no work» (Lev. 23:8). However, the reason for the holiday is not specified. According to tradition, on this day the waters of the Red Sea parted before the Jews and swallowed up the pharaoh who was pursuing them (Ex. 14:21-29). In memory of this, on this day, a passage from the Torah dedicated to these events is read, including the “Song of the Sea”.
There is a custom to go to the sea, river or other body of water (in extreme cases, to the fountain) and sing "Song of the Sea" there.
The first and seventh days (the first two days and the final two days - in the diaspora) are holidays in the full sense ( yom tov), non-working days like Saturday (but cooking is allowed); other days - hol ha-mo'ed(`holidays`) - work is allowed (with some restrictions).
The name "Pesach" is traditionally associated with the fact that God has passed ( Easter) the houses of the Israelites, without touching them during the executions of the Egyptians (Ex. 12:23-27). The word "Pesach" in ancient times was called a one-year-old lamb or kid, sacrificed on the eve of this holiday (Nisan 14 in the evening); it was roasted whole and eaten at the family festive meal at night (Ex. 12:1-28, 43-49; cf. Deut. 16:1-8, where the calf is also mentioned). Those who, not possessing ritual purity or being too far from the Temple, could not perform this rite on Nisan 14, could perform it a month later (Num. 9:1-14); this is the second Pesach Sheni), or small Pesach, according to later terminology. Passover is also called hag x ha-mazzot(`feast of unleavened bread`, see Matza; Ex. 23:15; Lev. 23:6; Deut. 16:16), since on this holiday it is commanded to eat bread only from unleavened dough in memory of the fact that the Israelites, leaving Egypt in a hurry, they were forced to make bread from dough that did not have time to rise (Ex. 12:39).
The laws associated with Passover are formulated in the Talmudic treatise Psachim. Before the Passover week, all leaven (chametz) is collected in the house and in all other territories belonging to a Jew and burned on the last morning before Pesach (or sold to a non-Jew). According to rabbinic authorities, it is obligatory to eat matzah only on the first day of the holiday (the night of Nisan 14), while on the rest of the Passover week, according to the majority, it is required only not to eat leavened food. Dishes used for chametz can be consumed on Pesach only after special treatment by immersion in boiling water (hag'ala); dishes that are put on fire are red-hot; if the utensil cannot be processed in any of these ways, it is not used on Pesach. Sometimes the family keeps special dishes for Pesach.
On the first day of Pesach, a dew prayer is read in the synagogue ( tal) and in full - X allele (in the countries of dispersion, the X allele is read in full on the first two days, and on the remaining days of Pesach - until the middle); on Saturday, which falls on one of the days of the holiday week, the Song of Songs is read in Ashkenazi synagogues; on the last day of Pesach, H azkarat neshamot is read. This day is usually associated with the crossing of the Red Sea. In the synagogue liturgy, Pesach is called the feast of freedom ( hag ha-herut).
It is customary in Jewish communities to gather before Pesach me'ot hittim(literally `money for wheat) or kimha de fisha(in Aramaic, literally `Easter meal`); Initially, money was collected for flour for matzo, and later - for the Easter table in favor of the poor members of the community. In Talmudic times, anyone who lived in a given settlement for a year was obliged to donate, and if he himself was poor, he could receive me'ot hittim. In medieval Europe, it was customary for the rabbi of the community and seven of its prominent members to draw up a list of donors and recipients of charitable money.
According to some researchers, the Passover holiday in its final form arose as a result of the merger of two originally independent holidays - the Passover ceremony proper and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It has been suggested that the Easter ceremony developed from rituals performed by nomadic shepherds before moving from winter pastures in the desert to summer pastures in settled areas, and the custom of smearing doorposts with the blood of the victim - from the magical ritual of protecting herds. Initially, Pesach was celebrated in the family circle (cf. Ex. 12:21) - first in tents, and with the settlement of the Israelites in Canaan - in permanent homes. After the centralization of the cult in the Temple of Jerusalem by King Josiah, the celebration of Pesach there became massive (II Ch. 23:21–23; cf. Deut. 16:2,7). The custom of slaughtering a sacrificial animal, cooking and eating its meat at the Temple (II Chr. 30; 35:13–14; Jub. 49:16–20) apparently continued after the return from Babylonian captivity. Later, when the number of participants increased, only the slaughter was performed at the Temple, and the meal was served in private houses in Jerusalem (Psach. 5:10, 7-12, etc.). The Easter sacrifice at the Temple put an end to the ritual of smearing the doorframe with the blood of the victim: now it was sprinkled on the altar (II Chr. 30:15–16; 35:11).
Pesach or Passover is one of the most important events in Jewish culture. The holiday is dedicated to the most important event in biblical history - the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, which is considered the beginning of the history of the Jewish people.
In Israel, the holiday lasts a week, and outside it - eight days.
© AFP / MENAHEM KAHANA
The date of the holiday in the Gregorian calendar is calculated separately each year. In 2019, Pesach begins on April 19 at sunset.
Pesach
The Jewish Passover is older than the Christian Passover and has a completely different meaning. Jews celebrated this day long before the birth of Christ - from the XIII century BC, when Moses led the Jewish people out of Egypt.
The story began with the time of Jacob, who moved to Egypt with his family. At first they lived richly, but as the years passed, generations changed, the Egyptian pharaohs began to oppress and oppress strangers. Gradually, the Jews turned from guests into slaves of the Egyptians.
The Lord, wanting to save the Jews, sent Moses and showed a number of miracles that made possible the exodus of the Jews from Egyptian captivity. Despite the punishments of God, the pharaoh did not agree to release the slaves. For this, God punished Pharaoh and all of Egypt with 10 terrible punishments, including the death of livestock and crops, Egyptian darkness, and terrible diseases.
But the worst of them was the 10th plague - in one night all the first-born of the Egyptian people were killed. To protect his people, the Lord told Moses that every Jewish family, on the evening before the execution, slaughtered a lamb, and marked the front door with its blood, then pestilence would bypass their house.
And on the night of Nisan 14, the Almighty passed by houses with marks. "Pesach" in Hebrew means "to pass by". After that, Moses was able to lead the Jews away from the land of Egypt.
Since then, Easter has been celebrated by the Israelis as the day of deliverance - the Exodus from Egyptian slavery and the salvation of all Jewish firstborn from death.
The essence of the holiday
The whole system of Judaism is based on the memory of the Exodus and subsequent events related to the acquisition of the Promised Land and the building of its own independent state.
The celebration of Pesach in biblical times was accompanied by pilgrimages to the Temple, sacrifices and a feast with the eating of the Passover lamb.
Historians believe that two ancient holidays of pastoralists and farmers merged together in Pesach. And in the biblical period, he also became associated with liberation from Egyptian slavery.
Therefore, the holiday has several names - the first "Pesach", on this day the salvation of Jewish children from death is celebrated.
The second name - Chag a Matzot (holiday of matzah), recalls that during the oppression of the Jews in Egypt, they ate mainly ordinary unleavened bread, matzah, since there was no money and time for the rest.
The third name is Chag HaAviv (spring holiday), which means that Jewish Passover is also a holiday of the rebirth of nature. The fourth name - Chag a Herut (freedom festival), means the exodus of the Jews from Egypt.
In the Jewish prayer book (siddur), Pesach is called "the time of our freedom." The Torah calls it the "Feast of Unleavened Bread", since the main feature of Pesach is the commandment to eat unleavened bread (matzo) and the strictest prohibition not only to consume, but also to have leaven (chametz) in your home.
This is the same food that the Jews did not have time to stock up on when they left Egypt. Also avoid those foods that can ferment. Malt liqueurs, beer and other yeast-based alcoholic beverages are prohibited.
The laws associated with Pesach are formulated in the Talmudic treatise "Psachim".
Traditions
Before the holidays, according to tradition, a general cleaning is arranged in the house. Dwellings are cleaned not only from dirt, but also from food that is not kosher on Pesach, called chametz. This is the name of all kvass products that have gone through the fermentation process - from drinks to bakery products.
To destroy all chametz and even its traces in the house, they clean every corner in the children's bedrooms where the child could bring bread, wash all the dishes with hot water, and so on.
On the evening before Pesach, according to tradition, the head of the house will go around all the rooms with a candle, a feather and a spoon in his hands in a symbolic search for hamtz. And everything that they find must be destroyed the next morning in the presence of the whole family.
Matzah, unleavened bread made from wheat flour, which the Jews ate in Egypt and during the exodus from there, is the only bread allowed on Pesach. Flour is allowed to be used from one of five cereals: wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt.
The entire baking process from the moment water is added to the flour should not exceed 18 minutes, since matzah is a reminder that the Jews, having finally received permission from the pharaoh to leave the country, left Egypt in such a hurry that they had to bake bread from the not yet in time ascend test.
Seder
Of particular importance is the festive dinner - Seder (order), which is arranged on the first evening of the holiday, and in the countries of the Diaspora - on the first two evenings. The whole family usually gathers for a gala dinner, the table is set after sunset, after returning from the synagogue.
Not only the closest relatives are invited to dinner, but also lonely, poor Jews, as well as those who are left alone during the holiday.
During the seder, the blessings established by the rules are pronounced, prayers are read and psalms are sung. The best dishes and silver, candles, kosher wine, three large pieces of matzah are placed on the table.
© photo: Sputnik / Dmitri Donskoy
During the seder, in a certain sequence, they read the story of the Exodus (usually from the book of Haggadah) and eat special symbolic dishes: matzah, in fulfillment of the commandment of the Torah; bitter greens - maror (lettuce, basil and horseradish) and hazeret (grated greens), symbolizing the bitterness of Egyptian slavery.
During meals, greens are dipped in salt water, symbolizing the tears shed by the Jews in Egyptian slavery and the sea they crossed during the Exodus.
At the festive meal, they also eat a mixture of grated apples, dates, nuts and wine - charoset, the color of which resembles the clay from which the Jews made bricks while in Egyptian slavery.
All food is laid out on a keara, a special dish used only for the Seder meal. Three symbolic dishes are also placed on kear, which are not eaten: zroa - a fried piece of lamb with a bone, in memory of the Easter sacrifice in the Jerusalem temple, beytsa - a hard-boiled egg, as a memory of temple services, and karpas - a piece of any spring vegetable (Jews, living in Europe replace it with boiled potatoes).
Cooked products are laid out on a dish in a certain way. Three whole matzahs covered with a napkin are placed in front of the leader of the Seder. Before each participant in the meal, they put the Haggadah - a book containing the legend of the Exodus from Egypt and all the prayers and blessings necessary for the Seder.
The main dishes for the Passover meal are chicken soup with matzo dumplings, gefilte fish (stuffed fish) and baked meat.
During the seder, every Jew must go through five obligatory stages (mitzvot): eat matzah, drink four cups of wine, eat maror (usually between two pieces of matzah), read the Haggadah, sing (or read) laudatory psalms.
Four glasses of red wine symbolize the four promises given by the Almighty to the people of Israel: "And I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians ..."; "And I will deliver you..."; "And I will save you..."; "And I will accept you..."
According to tradition, it is customary to fill the fifth, special, glass and leave it for the prophet Eliyah (Elijah), who will return to earth on the eve of Pesach to announce the coming of "the great and terrible day of the Lord." This glass is not drunk, but left on the festive table. The Prophet Eliyah is considered the herald of Mashiach (Messiah), with the advent of which all Jews will return to Eretz-Israel.
© photo: Sputnik / Levan Avlabreli
There is a custom to hide a piece of matzah (afikoman) during the Seder in order to captivate children in search of it. The found afikoman is eaten at the end of the meal. The meal ends with the words of greeting: "Next year - in Jerusalem!".
The first and last days of the holidays are considered non-working days for Jews. The rest of the week is called "holiday weekdays". On the first day of Passover, all kinds of work are prohibited. A solemn service is held in the synagogue.
In the next five days in Jerusalem, at the Wailing Wall, a ceremony of blessing the priests is held, in which only the descendants of the priestly family of the Levites take part.
The last, seventh day of Pesach, celebrates the crossing of the Red Sea by the Jews. When Moses and the Jews, pursued by the Egyptian army, reached the seashore, they had nowhere to go, since they had no ships. Then Moses asked the Almighty for salvation, and a path appeared before the Jewish people, straight across the sea.
This day is celebrated in a joyful atmosphere, with singing and dancing. At midnight, in synagogues and religious schools, a ceremony is held to "separate the waters of the sea."
The eighth day of Pesach is celebrated only in the regions of the Diaspora, where the first two days and the final two days are holidays.
The material was prepared on the basis of open sources.
Later, during the existence of the Jerusalem Temple, the Passover offering was eaten during the Passover Seder on Nisan 15. However, after the destruction of the Temple, no sacrifices were made, so the story of " Korban Passover” is retold at the Passover Seder, and on the Seder platter it is symbolically represented by “ zroa"- fried lamb shank, chicken wing or leg, which are not eaten, but are involved in the ritual.
Passover Seder
Pesach celebration. Ukrainian lubok of the 19th century
Main article: Seder
The central event of the holiday is Easter evening ( layl a-seder or seder-passover, or simply seder / seider).
The holding of the Seder is carefully regulated and consists of many elements. On this night, Jews must read the Passover Haggadah, which tells about the Exodus from Egypt, and have a Passover meal in accordance with tradition.
Reading the Passover Haggadah
On the first evening of Pesach (outside of Israel - on the first two evenings) every Jew should read the story of the Exodus from Egypt.
four bowls
During the Seder, there is an obligation to drink four cups of wine (or grape juice). This applies to both men and women. According to the Mishnah, even the poorest person should drink them. Each bowl serves as an introduction to the next part of the Seder.
Matzo
Machine-made matzah.
The commandment says to eat at least one piece of matzah the size of an olive at the Seder. The ritual of the seder provides for several moments during the evening in which matzah is eaten.
Baking matzah
Matzah for the holiday is baked during the pre-holiday weeks. In Orthodox Jewish communities, men traditionally gather in groups to hand-bake special sheets of matzah called matzah shmura(“preserved matzah”, meaning that wheat is protected from contact with water from the day of cutting in summer until matzah is baked for the subsequent Passover). Matzah must be baked in 18 minutes, otherwise the fermentation process will begin and the matzah will become non-kosher on Pesach.
Maror
During the seder, at various points in the ritual, it is prescribed to taste bitter herbs (from horseradish to lettuce leaves) - maror.
holiday week
Counting down the days of the Omer
From the night of the second day of Pesach, the countdown of the days of the Omer begins. In the days of the Temple, on the day of the first day, a sheaf was brought there (“ omer”) of wheat from the new crop. Before bringing the Omer to the Temple, Jews were forbidden to use the new harvest. After the destruction of the Temple, it is forbidden to eat the new crop until the evening of the second day of Passover.
The days of the Omer are counted for 49 days, after which Shavuot (Pentecost) is celebrated on the 50th day. When counting, both days and weeks are counted: for example, on the first day they say “ Today is the first day of the Omer", and on the 8th -" Today is 8 days which is a week and one day of the Omer».
Seventh day of Pesach
The Almighty commands: on the seventh day also the sacred assembly; do no work» (Lev. 23:8). However, the reason for the holiday is not specified. According to tradition, on this day the waters of the Red Sea parted before the Jews and swallowed up the pharaoh who was pursuing them (Ex. 14:21-29). In memory of this, on this day, a passage from the Torah dedicated to these events is read, including the “Song of the Sea”.
There is a custom to go to the sea, river or other body of water (in extreme cases, to the fountain) and sing "Song of the Sea" there.
