People of the Covenant

Pesach
The Festival of Passover

Festival of Passover
The most important Jewish festival.
It celebrates events that happened nearly
4000 years ago.
The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for
hundreds of years, and Moses became sure
that God wanted him to lead them to
freedom.
The Pharaoh (Egyptian King) refused to let
the Israelites go because the work they
were doing was very useful.

Moses
Warned the Pharaoh that a series of
disasters would strike the country
This came true and after the tenth of
these disasters ( the death of the
eldest son in every Egyptian house)
the Pharaoh said they could go.
The Israelites left immediately, without
even waiting for the bread, they had
been making for the journey, to rise.

The Pharaoh
Changed his mind and sent his
soldiers after the Israelites.
The Israelites were saved when
Moses used the staff God had given
him to part the Red Sea. Once the
Israelites had crossed the sea closed
in again.

How do Jews remember these events?

The festival of Passover lasts for 8 days.
During those 8 days Jewish people make
sure they do not come into contact with
anything that contains leaven.

Leaven is like yeast or self-raising flour.

Leaven
The house is searched carefully to
make sure there are no hidden
crumbs down the sides of lounges
etc
Different bowls are used for washing
up and different crockery, cutlery and
kitchen equipment is used for the
festival.

Seder (sounds like Say-der)

The Seder is a meal.
It is the main part of the Passover
celebrations.

 The meal follows a special order

written down in a book called the
Hagadah.
This book tells how the Jews were
slaves in Egypt, and how they
escaped.
The story is told as the meal is eaten.
The youngest person at the meal
asks four questions and the oldest
person answers them.

Why is this night

different from all other
nights? Why do we eat
matzah (unleavened
bread) tonight?

On other nights, we eat

all kinds of herbs. Why
do we eat only bitter
herbs tonight?

Why do we, tonight, dip

two things: parsley into
salt water and bitter
herbs into charoset
(mixture of crushed fruit,
nuts and wine)?

 On all other nights, we

eat sitting. Why do we
only recline tonight?

The table setting

At the centre of the table is the Seder
plate. It is divided into 6 sections and
has special foods on it.

Seder plate

Shank bone of lamb

Reminder of the lambs that were killed: the

Israelites put lambs blood above their
doors so that the Angel of Death passed
over them during the tenth plague.
This is where the name Passover comes
from.

Egg
Hardboiled, then roasted in a flame.
This is a symbol of new life.

Green vegetable
Usually parsley or/and lettuce
The parsley is dipped in salted water
This is a symbol of springtime

Bitter herbs
Usually horseradish
A reminder of the bitterness of
slavery.

Charoset
A sweet mixture of nuts, apples, spices and
wine.
A reminder of the cement used when they
were building.

Also a reminder of the sweetness of

freedom.

The Seder meal

Other things on the table also have
symbolic meaning

Salt water
A bowl of salt water is also found on
the table to symbolize the tears that
the slaves cried

Wine
There is a glass of wine for each person
(children drink grape juice)
Wine is drunk four times during the
meal, as a reminder that God promised
four times that he would free them.
There is also a glass of wine for Elijah,
one of the greatest prophets of Judaism.
Jews believe that one day he will return
to announce the coming of the Messiah.

Matzot
Cakes of unleavened bread, similar
to flat crackers.

This reminds them that on fleeing the

Jewish did not have time for the
bread to rise.

What else does the

Seder include?
The Seder also includes a proper
meal as well as the symbolic food.
After the meal, they usually stay at the
table and sing songs.
The songs often have repeated words
so even young children can join in.
The meal is a strong link with Jewish
history, and it looks forward to a time
of peace and joy.

The last words of the

Seder are
Next year in Jerusalem, next year
may we all be free.