The Passover is one of the major holidays that the Jews celebrate because they were redeemed from slavery in Egypt. This religious holiday was invented to by the Jew people to honor their past history as recorded in the Bible in the book of Exodus (Fishman12). The Jew people had been enslaved in Egypt. It is important note that the term Passover was used in the Bible to literally symbolize the Angle of Death passing over the houses of the Israelites while killing the Egyptians’ first born sons (Tourville 15). The Passover is an important holiday for the Jewish people because they commemorate and appreciate their Jewish roots in that their lineage runs from the ancient Egypt to today. In addition, the holiday reflects a sense of freedom in that they were no longer held as slaves as they were God’s chose people (Fishman 62). This paper will discuss the functional events that the Jews hold to celebrate Passover.
The books of Exodus records the events that took place in the night of Passover when God had promised to redeem the Israelites from their misery. The Passover is also known as the ‘festival of unleavened bread’ because the Jews had little time to put Yeast in the breads (Tourville 65). The Jew people had to feed on unleavened bread for seven days before Pharaoh set them free. This practice has been passed down to generations as one of the things Jews have to do in the week of Passover. This is essential to them because they want to re-live their historical experience. During the week of Passover, the Jews tend to wash their houses clean and getting rid of anything that contains yeast in order to celebrate their ancestors (Fishman 24). The Hebrew people feast on unleavened bread, which is known as Matzah, during the Passover (Tourville 67). This holiday is significant to the Jews because it has become part and parcel of their cultural identity.
The Passover is often celebrated at home where the Hebrew people cook a special traditional meal and re-tell the Exodus account that records the events that happened during the Passover. The Passover was integrated into the Jewish culture because God ordered them to have an annual festival to mark the day they would be released from bondage. (Fishman 42) The Passover puts the Hebrew people in spiritual place because they revisit the oppression and slavery their ancestors had to go through in Egypt. However, God came to their rescue when He sent Moses to redeem them from Pharaoh. Liberation is an important theme during not only during the Passover but also among the human race. The Jewish meal that is eaten is called a sedar (Fishman 43). This is important to this paper because in the US, Hebrew people in Colorado celebrate the event by having an annual women day. In this event, women discuss the importance of redemption and liberation in their lives (Fishman 78). This means that the Hebrew women are brought together by this important event to share their success stories in their lives through reflecting on their past Biblical history.
The Passover meal, sedar, is an important religious meal that embodies their suffering and deliverance (Goldberg 36). Seder is spiritual in that people sit around the table but there is one seat that is left for Prophet Elijah. The sedar is a special meal where different foods are cooked to signify liturgy. Some of the meals prepare are bitter herds that represent the pain and suffering of the Hebrew people while in Egypt. The Jews also avoid eating lamb during the Passover because the lamb was used for sacrificial purposes. In addition, the Jews prepare a mixture of walnuts, apples, and wine to symbolize the mortar that was used by the slaves to construct Pharaoh’s structures in Ancient Egypt. Eggs are also included in the meal because they symbolize grief (Goldberg 38-43). This shows that Passover is an important religious festival to the Jew people.
The Passover is so important to the Jewish tradition and identity such that children are obliged to ask questions to gain knowledge (Tourville 87). This is an important act that in embedded in the Jewish tradition in that knowledge can be passed from one generation to the other through repeating the Biblical narrative a couple of times. The importance of this action is to ensure every generation envisions the oppression their ancestors went through while enslaved and also instils a sense of pride among the Jews because they were liberated by God (Tourville 89). This ritual is engrained in the Jewish tradition in order to commemorate the day their ancestors were released out of bondage.
In conclusion, it is clear that the Passover is an imperative Jewish tradition brings people together to celebrate redemption. In the book of Exodus, the writer records the events that happened during their last days in Egypt and these events have been re-lived by the Jewish people as a way of honoring God and their ancestors. Given that cultural ethics are slowly being washed away, the Jews try to celebrate this event so as to pass the stories to the next generation. The importance of the festival is to envision the suffering that their people may have gone through but in the end, they were liberated by the Deity. This is a powerful event given, God asked the Jews to mark the special day in their annual calendars.
Works Cited
Fishman, Cathy Goldberg, and Jeni Reeves. Passover. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press, 2006. Print.
Goldberg, Rabbi Nathan. Passover Haggadah: a new English translation and instructions for the Sedar. New rev. ed. New York: Ktav Pub. House Inc., 1991. Print.
Tourville, Amanda Doering. Passover: Jewish celebration of freedom. Mankato, Minn.: Capstone Press, 2007. Print.
