Passover a Celebration and Time of Remembrance for Jewish people throughout the World

PASSOVER begins at sundown today, April 8, and ends on Thursday, April 16.

This is one of the major Jewish holidays and was originally a spring festival offering the “first fruits of the barley”, the first grain to ripen and be harvested.  Later it became a commemoration of the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt and their liberation from slavery to freedom.

The principal Passover ritual is the Seder, the festive meal held on the first two nights of the holiday, although only on the first night in Israel.

Products containing yeast are removed from the home, with unleavened matzo substituting bread.

During the meal, the story of the Exodus is read aloud and rituals corresponding to the narrative are carried out.  Vegetables are dipped in salt water, representing the tears shed by the Jews during their slavery and bitter herbs, often horseradish symbolise their bitter years of bondage.

Children play an important part in the Seder and at one point during the meal the youngest asks four questions, asking what makes this night so different from all the other nights of the year.

In many households, the children hunt the afikomen, a piece of matzo hidden earlier that morning, with a prize or money for the finder.