Passover

Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew, is a major Jewish festival commemorating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and the formation of the Israelite nation. The central biblical narrative is told in the Book of Exodus, where God strikes down the firstborn in Egypt but passes over the houses of the Israelites, whose doorposts are marked with the blood of a lamb. This event gives the name Pesach, meaning "to pass over."

The holiday begins on the 15th of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar. In Israel it lasts seven days; in many diaspora communities it lasts eight. Chametz, leavened products, is prohibited during the festival. Preparations include searching for chametz (bedikat chametz) and nullifying it (biur chametz), with chametz removed before the first night.

Ritual life centers on the Seder, a ceremonial meal during which the Haggadah is read to retell the Exodus. The Seder plate contains symbolic foods: a roasted shank bone (zeroa), a hard-boiled egg (beitzah), bitter herbs (maror), charoset, karpas (vegetable), and sometimes a portion of chazeret. The Haggadah includes the Four Questions, the Exodus narrative, and songs such as Dayenu. Participants drink four cups of wine and eat matzah, the unleavened bread that recalls the haste with which the Israelites fled Egypt. The counting of the Omer begins on the second night of Pesach and leads to Shavuot.