Chag Sameach Pessach

APRIL 1/NISSAN 14

FAST OF THE FIRSTBORN

A fast in recognition of the fact that during the “Plague of the Firstborn” (which occurred at midnight of Nissan 15), G-d “passed over” the Jewish firstborn when He killed only the firstborn Egyptians. The prevailing custom, however, is to participate in a festive meal celebrating the conclusion of studying a section of Torah, thereby exempting themselves from the obligation to fast.

REMOVAL OF CHAMETZ

Chametz is not eaten from two hours before midday, and is disposed of an hour before midday for the entire subsequent 7 days of Pesach. The latter is done by: a) selling it to a non-Jew; b) burning the chametz found in our search on the previous evening, or otherwise destroying it; c) nullifying the chametz that has not been found by declaring it ownerless.

PASSOVER SEDER

The 7-day festival of Pesach (Passover)--also called “The Festival of Matzahs” and “The Time of Our Freedom”--begins at nightfall (technically Nissan 15). From the time of the Exodus through the present, Jews all over the world conduct a Seder (”order”) -- a 15-part ritualistic feast that encompasses the observances of the Passover festival: telling our children the story of the Exodus as described and expounded in the Haggadah; eating matzah (unleavened bread), bitter herbs and the afikoman; drinking the four cups of wine; together with song, exposition and questions, all commemorating both our slavery in Egypt and our liberation on this night.

2448 (1312 BCE):

Paschal lambs were sacrificed by the Jews in Egypt to be eaten later that night at the very first Passover Seder (Exodus 12:28), and their blood was sprinkled on their doorposts as a sign that G-d will “pass over” their homes when inflicting the final plague upon the Egyptians. This was an act of great courage, as sheep were regarded as gods in Egyptian society, and the Jews were technically still subject to Egyptian slavery. When the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, the Passover lamb would be offered and eaten by every Jewish family that made the pilgrimage. Today it is commemorated symbolically by the shank bone on the Seder plate and the afikoman -- a portion of matzah eaten in its stead at the end of the Seder meal.