Spring Has Sprung: Passover Vocabulary: April 12–20

There is some evidence that the qumran community observed the feast, perhaps even quite independently of the Temple ritual and following their own calendar, which assigned the Passover annually to the same day of the week. Encyclopedia.com

Families also read the Haggadah—a book that tells the Passover story—with songs and blessings. BBC

One day, however, Moses receives a command from God to return to Egypt and free his kin from bondage, according to the Hebrew Bible. History.com

By the 1st century CE, Josephus and the Gospels indicate that Passover drew large crowds of Jews to Jerusalem, the central cult site for the celebration of Passover. World History Encyclopedia

Passover is often celebrated with great pomp and ceremony, especially on the first night, when a special family meal called the seder is held. Britannica

A seder refers to the traditional Passover meal Jews share to mark the holiday. It includes dishes like the 'Hillel sandwich' (charoset spread between two pieces of matzoh) and parsley dipped in salt water to commemorate the tears of the ancestors. USA Today

Pesach is Passover in Hebrew, which is spoken in Israel and in many Jewish communities around the world. BBC

Ashkenazi food is reflective of the colder regions where Ashkenazi Jews settled (Eastern Europe, Hungary, Russia). To survive a Russian or Polish winter, one needed heavy, rib-sticking cuisine—foods like potatoes, noodles, meat, smoked fish, preserved and pickled foods. PBS

“As Jews become more diverse in the U.S, and are in more racially diverse leadership roles, modeling that it’s OK to bring all of your culture into Judaism is really beautiful and important, because food is such an important part of who we are,” she said. NY Times

Though Passover commemorates the Exodus, the historical deliverance of the Jewish people from Egyptian bondage in the days of Moses (13th century BCE), Jews are ever mindful that this event was a prelude to God’s revelation on Mount Sinai. Britannica

He would have celebrated Passover, I suspect, with his family, and would have known of the hopes embedded in Passover for divine deliverance. PBS

She and her wife, Susan Hurrey, prepare their own matzo, the unleavened bread that the Jews are said to have made because they left Egypt quickly and did not have time to let the dough rise. NY Times

Meant to honor the Jewish people's Exodus from Egypt and their journey to freedom, Passover for many is a time to gather around the seder table and read off the 'Haggadah' a guide to the dinner which comes in different forms. USA Today

The oldest Biblical allusions to the festival (Ex 23.15; 34.18) do not mention the name Passover but enjoin the keeping of the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days in the spring month of Abib (the old name for Nisan). Encyclopedia.com

Passover, the Jewish festival of freedom, is a holiday marked by ceremony. USA Today

As the Egyptian army approaches the fleeing Jews at the edge of the Red Sea, a miracle occurs: God causes the sea to part, allowing Moses and his followers to cross safely, then closes the passage and drowns the Egyptians. History.com

Jewish people aren't allowed to eat this during Passover. This is because the Israelites had to leave Egypt so quickly that they did not have time to let their bread rise, so food products that have risen are forbidden during Passover. BBC

The holiday is often celebrated for eight days (seven in Israel), and incorporates themes of springtime, a Jewish homeland, family, remembrance of Jewish history, social justice and freedom—including recognizing those who are still being oppressed today. Time

And we can see in some of his parables how he plays on images from scripture. For instance, the great Cedar of Lebanon from Ezekial probably plays a role in his description of the mustard seed, which becomes a tree, and there's probably an element of parody there. So his relationship with the scriptural heritage is a complex one, but it certainly is an important one in his formation. PBS

Like many Jewish holidays, the beginning of Passover is marked at sundown. USA Today

'Hametz' refers to any leavened food, though different sects and individuals have different rules around what qualifies as kosher for Passover. USA Today

During the holiday many Jewish people will refrain from eating leavened products, honoring a key component of the Passover story: when the Israelites fled Egypt, they had no time for their bread to rise. USA Today

In analyzing and proposing a history for the textual growth of Exodus 12:1-28, Professors Simeon Chavel and Mira Balberg suggest that the oldest layer of text in Exodus 12 does not feature "Israel's liberation through Yahweh's smiting of Egypt and does not explicitly advance it" (Chavel 2018, 299), essentially characterizing it as an ambiguous piece of folklore about a festival. World History Encyclopedia

The holiday tells the story of the persecution of the Jewish people and their exodus from Egypt. Newsweek

After the death of Joseph and his brothers, the story goes, a particularly hostile pharaoh orders their enslavement and the systematic drowning of their firstborn sons in the Nile. History.com

When the pharaoh refuses, God unleashes 10 plagues on the Egyptians, including turning the Nile River red with blood, diseased livestock, boils, hailstorms and three days of darkness, culminating in the slaying of every firstborn son by an avenging angel. History.com

This Passover, “I pray to God he will make miracles, the way he made miracles for the Jewish people in Egypt,” the rabbi said. AP News

"For millions of observant Jews in New York and beyond, Passover is an important holiday, and their preparations should be respected, not manipulated for profit. I urge any New Yorker who is concerned that they have been a victim of discriminatory behavior because of their religion, race, or background to contact my office immediately." NPR

During the meal, the door is also left open for the prophet Elijah, who is an important religious person, as it is believed he will come to announce the coming of the Messiah. BBC

As the ritual moves toward its conclusion, psalms of praise (Hallel, previously read in part) are recited in unison and a fourth cup of wine is poured to acknowledge God’s loving providence. Britannica

Although ancient Israelite and Judean religion, along with Early Judaism, perceived the temple to be central to their worship, the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 CE forced the Rabbis to reconsider how they would perform their ancient rituals. World History Encyclopedia

Passover means it’s time to get creative with matzo, potato recipes and other chametz-free ingredients for some delicious Passover recipes. Good Housekeeping

At the seder, foods of symbolic significance commemorating the Hebrews’ liberation are eaten, and prayers and traditional recitations are performed. Britannica

Broadly construed, the association of Jesus' death with the Passover sacrifice “points to an understanding of the sacrifices of the Passover lamb as the remembrance of God's past act of redemption that foreshadowed the sacrifice of the Lamb of God as God's ultimate act of redemption” (Mangum 2016). World History Encyclopedia

Commemorating the liberation of Israelites from servitude in Egypt more than 3,000 years ago, the festival of Passover, which begins tomorrow at sundown, emphasizes the need of "a twentieth century story of deliverance" for five million Jews in "virtual bondage in Central and Eastern Europe..." The New York Times

The Seder "can get long and it needs creativity," said Shimon Apisdorf, the Baltimore author of "The Passover Survival Kit" and "The Survival Kit Family Haggada," which are part of the growing campaign to enliven and modernize the holiday celebration. The Baltimore Sun

Then a shank bone, symbolic of the Paschal lamb eaten in ancient times, and (commonly) a hard-boiled egg, symbolic of God’s loving kindness (or, according to some, a mournful reminder of the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem), are removed from the seder plate, while all recite a prayer. Britannica

In a call and response format, after each question is asked the remaining dinner guests respond, explaining to their younger, less wise counterpart how the traditions came to be. USA Today

The Israelites were ultimately freed from slavery and wandered the desert for 40 years before making it to the promise land. Time

Directly after Passover is the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which most traditions describe as originating when the Israelites left Egypt and they did not have sufficient time to add yeast to the bread to allow it to rise. World History Encyclopedia