Passover is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, lasting seven to eight days  This year it begins Friday, March 30, and ends Saturday, April 7.

Over three thousand years ago the Pharaoh enslaved the Jewish people. The Egyptians forced the Jewish people to work in harsh conditions and make building. An Egyptian princess found Moses and adopted him.

Moses eventually finds out he is Jewish and warns the Pharaoh that he must set the Israelites free. The Pharaoh took this news with a grain of salt and did not listen to the warning. Gods decides to punish the Egyptians with ten plagues.

Blood, frogs, gnats, flies, blight of the livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and worst of all death of the first born were the ten plagues. 

In order for God to skip the Israelites he told Moses to put lamb’s blood on the doors. This is why the holiday is called Passover.

The Pharaoh decided he couldn’t take the punishments anymore and told Moses and the Israelites to leave at once. They were in such a rush that their bread didn’t have time to rise . That is why during Passover Jewish people traditionally eat Matzah.

Passover Traditions

On the evening before Passover there is a Seder, which is a Jewish ceremonial dinner that takes place the first few nights. The Seder plate consists of a lambs bone, a roasted egg, a green vegetable dip in salt water, bitter herbs made of horseradish, and charset.

There is also another cup of wine on the table for Elijah. Toward the end of the seder a door is open for Elijah to come in and drink the wine.

Haggadah is read during the Seder, some is written in Hebrew and some is written in English. The youngest child asks the four questions and the father responds.

Craig Epstein, a Jewish student stated,“Passover is one of my favorite holidays. I enjoy when my entire family gets together because I don’t get to see them as much as I would like. I also love watching the 10 Commandments because that movie is a classic.”

“My favorite thing about Passover is being able to come together as a family and keeping the tradition alive,” Mindy Epstein, a Jewish woman, said. “I also like reading from the Haggadah and singing my favorite song Dayenu.”