Matzah, Seder, bitter herbs, ten plagues of Egypt… Here are the rites and symbols of Pessah, the Jewish Passover celebrated with the family.
Passover, or Jewish Passovercommemorates the exit of the Hebrews from Egypt at the time of Pharaoh. Celebrated each year for a week, this major holiday in the Jewish calendar is marked by rites rich in meaning, notably the consumption of matzah, an unleavened bread which replaces leavened bread throughout the holiday period.
What are the dates of Passover this year?
Passover began on April 1, 2026, at nightfall. The first two evenings are devoted to the Seder, a ritual meal during which families read the Passover Haggadah, which tells the story of the Exodus, before sharing a family dinner. The party continues until Thursday, April 9 in the evening.
What is the story of Passover?
Passover draws its origins from the biblical story of the exodus from Egypt. According to Jewish tradition, the Hebrews lived in slavery under the authority of Pharaoh who, fearing their growing numbers, ordered the killing of newborn Hebrew males, thrown into the Nile. After years of oppression, God would have inflicted the ten plagues on Egypt in order to obtain their liberation. This founding episode marks the birth of the Hebrew people as a free people. The festival of Passover thus commemorates this deliverance and the flight from Egypt, carried out in such a hurry, to the point that the Hebrews did not have time to let their bread rise, hence the consumption of matzah during the festival.
What are the 10 plagues of Egypt?
According to the Bible, each time, divine tragedies spared the Jewish people. But it was the last, the most terrible, which finally convinced Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go, after losing his only son. After the Jewish people were freed, Pharaoh sent his troops to pursue them. This resulted in further punishment. God allowed Moses to part the sea in two, allowing the Hebrews to cross on dry land to Mount Sinai, where Moses gave them the Torah (the tablets of the law) and led them to the Land of Israel. Meanwhile, the Egyptians were drowned when the sea closed in on them. In total, these are 10 plagues that were sent to try to end the slavery of the Jewish people namely: blood, frogs, vermin, wild beasts, plague, ulcers, hail, locusts, darkness, and the extermination of the first born Egyptians.
What does Passover mean?
Passover, in Hebrew, means “to pass over“. In English, the holiday of Passover is called “Passover” and is translated in the same way. This term is explained as follows: when the Angel of Death killed all the Egyptian firstborn during the 10th plague of Egypt, he spared the Jewish houses by passing over them. To avoid this massacre, the Jews had marked their houses by putting lamb’s blood on the doorposts and lintel. This is why the custom is to prepare a dish based on lamb during the Passover holidays.
What foods are prohibited on Passover?
There Jewish Passover is accompanied by a certain number of rituals. During this period, practitioners must refrain from consuming cereals, and more specifically any leavened product (Hametz). Observation of this practice first requires a big house cleaning intended to ban any food containing leaven, even in tiny quantities. In short, one should not have any crumbs of bread, pasta, or foods that could leaven in the house. Purifying cooking utensils and using aluminum to kosher the stove are also recommended before the party begins. Note that according to customs, some practitioners consume rice during the Passover festival.
Why do we eat matzah on Passover?
When they left Egypt, the Hebrews did not have time to take their personal belongings. While they used to bake their own bread, the dough did not have time to rise. Matzo breadwhich it is customary to eat during Passover, therefore refers to the hasty exit from Egypt.
What are the Passover traditions?
During the first and last two days of Passoverthe faithful will refrain from working and using electric lights. Songs and reading of prayers will punctuate Jewish Easter. Finally, theThe first two evenings, During the Passover Seder, we read the story of the Jewish Passover, called the Passover Hagadato remember the exit from Egypt, and the freedom regained. She specifies in particular that “in every generation each must consider himself as if he himself had come out of Egypt.” Around a very family meal, we explain this part of the story to the children, we involve the youngest ones and we answer their questions.
Passover meals and cakes: what recipes and meals?
It is customary to prepare a meal based on lamb for the Passover festival. For cakes, wheat flour should be replaced with corn flourpermitted during Passover. You can therefore prepare almond or chocolate cakes by simply replacing the ingredients that are not consumed during this period. But the flagship recipe for Passover cakes is undoubtedly the sferies, made from crushed matzah and syrup. These little donuts always delight little gourmands. See the Sferies recipe.
Passover Seder: What do the foods on the plate mean?
Passover is inaugurated by the Seder, ritual remembering the Jews’ accession to freedom. THE Seder plate consists of various elements each referring to a part of the Passover story:
- Three matzos (unleavened bread): in reference to the exit from Egypt, the bread not having had time to rise. The three matzot also refer to the entire Jewish people.
- The Passover lamb (zeroa) which had been used to spare Jewish families.
- Bitter herbsto remember the difficult and bitter life of the Jewish people in slavery.
- Du Harosset : it is a mixture made from nuts, pears and apples, dates, linked with wine. It refers to the mortar used to make bricks for city building for the Egyptians.
- A hard boiled egg, which represents a festive offering in the Temple.
- A vegetable soaked in salted water: in reference to the tears shed by the Jewish people during forced labor.
