Passover

Jewish Calendar

Passover — or Pesach, in Hebrew — is a week-long springtime festival commemorating the Exodus from Egypt. It also celebrates national redemption and freedom from slavery. It is observed through avoidance of certain foods, mainly leavened grains, and ritual dinners called Seders, where attendees retell the story of the Exodus.

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The Seder Plate is Not Just Any Plate

KABBALAH

Extensive kabbalistic significance is ascribed to each of the items on the seder plate, which is traditionally placed in the center of the seder table. Decode the symbolism through the teachings of 16th-century Rabbi Isaac Luria, the founder of modern kabbalah.

From Rabbi Chayim Cohen in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak (Ari), may his memory be blessed, who enlightened the eyes of the sages - the order of the arrangement of the Seder plate for the night of Passover: Take the three matzot of shemurah (stringently guarded) matzah and place the [one representing the] priest on top, the [one representing the] Levite below it and the [one representing the] Israelite below it; and these are the three aspects of wisdom, understanding and knowledge (chochmah, binah vedaat) (in other books, the three minds [mochin]) of the supernal Father…

Pri Etz Chaim, Gate of Passover 6:4

The Passover Sacrifice: A Judgement on Idolatry

MUSAR

Passover occurs in the spring during the astrological sign of Aries, which is associated with a ram. In this mystical work, the 17th-century chief rabbi of Prague alludes to the connection between the Passover story, the sheep offered as a Passover sacrifice, and Egyptian gods.

The purpose of the Passover sacrifice is first and foremost to demonstrate G–d's superiority over all other deities both in Heaven and on earth. This is important; G–d had endowed many agents with different powers, and the impression that there were a number of primary sources of power in the universe had to be refuted. The discrediting of the strongest of these forces, the שר של מצרים, automatically brought about the discrediting of all other deities.

Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Torah Shebikhtav, Bo, Torah Ohr 7

An Eternal Memorialization

TANAKH

What is the basic idea behind the Passover festival? The Torah provides a simple explanation that it is an annual commemoration of past events.

This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly: it is a passover offering to יהוה. For that night I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down every [male] first-born in the land of Egypt, both human and beast; and I will mete out punishments to all the gods of Egypt, I יהוה. And the blood on the houses where you are staying shall be a sign for you: when I see the blood I will pass over you, so that no plague will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt…

Exodus 12:11-14

How is This Four Questions Different from Other Four Questions?

MISHNAH

The custom of asking questions at a Passover seder is as old as the ritual itself. The earliest source for the four questions that are traditionally asked at the seder comes from this early rabbinic legal text, and is a little different from modern versions.

The attendants poured the second cup for the leader of the seder, and here the son asks his father the questions about the differences between Passover night and a regular night. And if the son does not have the intelligence to ask questions on his own, his father teaches him the questions. The mishna lists the questions: Why is this night different from all other nights? As on all other nights we eat leavened bread and matza as preferred; on this night all our bread is matza…

Mishnah Pesachim 10:4

One Does Not Need a Book to Tell the Story

HALAKHAH

“Haggadah” means telling, and somehow it became the name given to the book of texts read at the Passover seder. Rambam, the well-known 12th-century legal scholar and philosopher, explains key components of this book.

Whoever does not mention these three matters on the night of the fifteenth has not fulfilled his obligation. They are: the Paschal sacrifice, matzah, and maror.
The Paschal sacrifice: [It is eaten] because the Omnipresent passed over the houses of our ancestors in Egypt as [Exodus 12:27] states: "And you shall say: 'It is the Paschal sacrifice to God.'
The bitter herbs: [They are eaten] because the Egyptians embittered the lives of our ancestors in Egypt.
The matzah: [It is eaten] because of the redemption. These statements are all referred to as the Haggadah.

Mishneh Torah, Leavened and Unleavened Bread 7:5

The Festival of Matzah

MIDRASH

Does the Torah expect people to eat matzah every day of Passover, or just to skip bread for a week? This work of legal analysis of the Book of Leviticus, from the time of the Talmud, compares and contrasts biblical verses to try to solve the puzzle.

3) "the festival of matzoth to the L–rd, seven days, etc." What is the intent of this? Because it is written (Devarim 16:8) "Six days shall you eat matzoth and on the seventh day it is a cessation (atzereth) for the L–rd" — The seventh day was included in the general (mitzvah of matzoh, viz.: [Shemoth 13:6] "Seven days shall you eat matzoth; and it left that general category to serve as a paradigm, viz.: Just as (the eating of matzoth on) the seventh day is permitted (and not obligatory), so, all (of the days) are permitted (in this regard, and not obligatory…

Sifra, Emor, Chapter 11 3

Miriam's Well

MIDRASH

Miriam, Moses’s sister and a central figure in the Passover story, is often associated with water. This early-medieval book of rabbinic interpretations of Song of Songs explains Miriam’s role in protecting the people of Israel from dehydration during their travels in the wilderness.

“Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that graze among the lilies” (Song of Songs 4:5).
“Your two breasts” – these are Moses and Aaron. Just as the breasts are the splendor and the glory of a woman, so too, Moses and Aaron are the splendor and the glory of Israel. Just as the breasts are the beauty of the woman, so too, Moses and Aaron are the beauty of Israel. Just as the breasts are the honor and praise of a woman, so too, Moses and Aaron are the honor and the praise of Israel…

Shir HaShirim Rabbah 4:5

A Cultural Imperative to Keep a Calendar

COMMENTARY

On the Gregorian calendar, Passover moves around a bit, but it is always in the spring. In the commentary of 11th-century scholar Rashi on Deuteronomy, he explains the significance of making sure that Passover coincides with the spring barley harvest.

שמור את חדש האביב WATCH THE MONTH OF ABIB — This means: Before it comes watch whether it will be capable of producing ripe ears (אביב), so that one may offer the Omer meal-offering during it, and if not (i.e. if you observe that the ears will not be ripe by the 16th of Nisan), then intercalate the year (i.e. add a month to the winter-period, so that the month Abib falls later than it otherwise would, by which time the ears will be ripened) (cf. Sanhedrin 11b and Note 4 on p. 191 of Leviticus in the Silbermann edition of the Pentateuch).

Rashi on Deuteronomy 16:1:1

Moses the Shepherd

MIDRASH

What qualities make a good leader? Shemot Rabbah, a medieval compilation that interprets the book of Exodus, suggests looking at Moses’ early career as a shepherd to understand what made him great.

“Moses was herding” – that is what is written: “God was in His sacred Sanctuary” (Habakkuk 2:20). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: Until the Temple was destroyed, the Divine Presence rested in it, as it is stated: “God was in His sacred Sanctuary” (Psalms 11:4). When the Temple was destroyed, the Divine Presence removed itself to the heavens, as it is stated: “The Lord established His throne in the heavens” (Psalms 103:19).
Rabbi Elazar says: The Divine Presence did not move from the Sanctuary, as it is stated: “My eyes and My heart will be there…” (II Chronicles 7:16)…

Shemot Rabbah 2:2

We All Have Something to Learn

COMMENTARY

Who are the mysterious four children referenced at the Seder? The 16th-century Haggadah commentary below provides one of many possible answers, focusing on the experience of those attending the seder.

The Torah speaks of four types of children: The commandment of Haggadah, of telling the story of the Exodus, is written in four places. Since the Torah appears to repeat itself, we understand the four as referring to four types of children. They are not necessarily children but they are lacking knowledge, like children.

Kimcha Davshuna on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, The Four Sons 1:3

Hidden Meanings of Common Customs

COMMENTARY

At seders around the world people remove wine from a cup with their fingers while reciting the ten plagues, but why? 16th-century Rabbi Moses Isserlis traces the origin of this ritual to kabbalistic practices relating to angels and numerology.

In the Maharil (Our teacher, Rabbi Yaakov Levi Moelin): But if his wife and his children [already] ask him [relevant questions], there is no need to say Mah Nishtanah (How is it different). So one just begins from, "We were slaves." Also there: When one reaches, "Blood, Fires and Pillars of Smoke," he should remove [some of the wine in his cup] with his finger. And likewise when one says, "Datzach, Adash, Baachab" (the initials of the ten plagues), individually and as groups. The total is sixteen times. And this was the custom of our teacher Rabbi Shalom (of Neustadt)…

Darkhei Moshe, Orach Chayim 473:18:1

Exodus from Egypt is Relevant to More than Passover

COMMENTARY

Are there things so central to who you are that you think about them daily? Commenting on a verse in the Book of Exodus, the commentator Ramban (13th-century Spain) explains why the Passover story is so central in Jewish wisdom and practice.

IN PLOWING TIME AND IN HARVEST THOU SHALT REST. In line with the plain meaning of Scripture He mentioned plowing and harvesting [as works forbidden on the Sabbath] because they are the mainstay of man’s life. He mentioned the Sabbath between the holidays, putting it next to the feast of unleavened bread and the sanctification of the firstborn, because they are all a reminder of the act of Creation, for in the exodus from Egypt itself there is a sign and wonder referring to the Creation, as I have explained in the Ten Commandments…

Ramban on Exodus 34:21:1

Ritual Embodiment of Personal Renewal

JEWISH THOUGHT

What is the goal of avoiding leavened bread during the week of Passover? In his mystical text on theology, 18th-century Italian Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato explains why this practice is core to the theological underpinnings of the festival of Passover.

Regarding chamets and matsah: The content of chamets (unleavened grain products) and matsah is that until the exodus from Egypt, Israel was subservient to the other nations - a nation inside another. But in their exodus, they were redeemed and separated out. And behold that until that time, all the aspects of people's bodies were darkened by overpowering darkness and pollution. But with the exodus, Israel was separated, and their bodies were prepared to become pure and to be ready for the Torah and for [divine] service…

Derekh Hashem, Part Four, On Seasonal Commandments 1

Seder table with family, The 'Sister Haggadah', Barcelona, 1300-1400, British Library

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Seder

Haggadah

The Exodus from Egypt

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