Jewish Passover is often called Jewish Passover, but in fact, these two holidays are practically not connected with each other, so today I would like to tell you when this holiday will take place in 2022, as well as about the main traditions of its celebration, as well as about what it is. different from traditional Easter.
Pesach begins to be celebrated on the 14th day of the spring month of Nisan. This is the first month of the biblical year in the Hebrew calendar, corresponding to approximately March-April in the Gregorian reckoning. The celebration lasts 7 days in Israel (with the first and last days being an official weekend), and in other countries where diasporas live, it increases by another day.
In 2022, Passover holidays fall from the evening 14th of April (Thursday) until night23 april (Saturday).
Exodus story
Passover is a spring holiday of rebirth and freedom. One of the interpretations of the word "pesach" is "to jump over" - that is, to go from slavery to freedom. The events of the holiday date back to the tradition of the 400-year stay of the Jews in Egyptian slavery and its end thanks to the greatest prophet of the Jewish peopleMoses (Moshe)… These events are described in the main book of Judaism, the Torah: the part dedicated to the end of Egyptian slavery is called the Book of Exodus.
The Book of Exodus says that the Jews, under the leadership of Moses, who was directed by the Lord, decided to throw Egypt, where they were slaves to the Pharaohs for several centuries. However, the Pharaoh who ruled at that time refused to release his slaves, for which the Lord sent “10 plagues” to the Egyptians - terrible calamities, each of which was more terrible than the previous one. After the most terrible execution - the killing of all Egyptian first-borns - Pharaoh surrendered and agreed to release the Jews. They gathered so quickly that instead of bread, they took with them tubs of dough that had failed to rise, which did not even begin to ferment.
However, soon the pharaoh changed his mind and, having collected a huge army, rushed in pursuit of the fugitives. But the Lord saved the Jews: the waters of the Red Sea parted, the Jews managed to pass, and then the waves closed again, absorbing the Pharaoh's army.
Soon the former slaves reached the foot of Mount Sinai, where Moses received the 10 Commandments from God - a set of laws that the Jews were to follow from now on. After long wanderings, the Jews reached the Promised Land, where they founded their state. In Judaism, Exodus is the most important fundamental event in Jewish history, and Passover is not only a holiday of liberation, but also the birthday of Jews as a nation.
The essence of the holiday: how it differs from Easter
Let's start with the title. “Passover” is translated from Hebrew as “passed”. This refers to the episode described in the Bible during the tenth Egyptian execution. For the fact that the pharaoh refused to release the Jews from slavery, terrible punishment fell upon him and all the inhabitants of his country. The last of these was the death of the firstborn in every family. But this punishment did not affect the Jews, the misfortune did not affect their homes - that is, God "passed by."
Horrified by what happened to the firstborn (and even his own son did not escape death), the pharaoh nevertheless decided to let the Jews go. Actually, this event is celebrated on Passover - the Exodus from Egypt and the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery. It is clear that there is little in common with Christian Easter, which is the resurrection of the Savior from the dead. However, some parallels can still be traced. For example, the date of Nisan 14 - according to the New Testament, it was on this day that the Last Supper took place, the last meeting of Christ with his disciples before his execution. In the Gospel description of the Last Supper there is also a direct reference to the Old Testament - Jesus on it likens himself to the Passover lamb, which, according to legend, was sacrificed by the Jews during the flight from Egypt.
Ritual dishes, where does the ban on leavened food come from?
Easterwine, of which it is customary to drink four glasses, is a drink symbolizing the joy of liberation from slavery.
One of the main rules of Pesach is the prohibition on foods prepared with sourdough or by fermentation. First of all, it is bread, but you cannot also beer and the rest of alcohol based on malt, etc. Leaven (chametz) is strictly forbidden not only to eat, but also to keep it at home on the days of the holiday, therefore, on the eve of Nisan 14, all this is burned or symbolically sold to non-Jews. Then they do a thorough cleaning - not a crumb of chametz should remain in the dwelling. Even the dishes that will be put on the table during the seder try to use new ones.
Such a severe restriction was established again in memory of the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. In an effort to leave the country where they were slaves as quickly as possible, the Jews could not even wait for the bread dough to finally ripen. Therefore, all the time in the desert, they had to eat unleavened matzo.
Matzo - this is the very "bread of freedom", baked very quickly and without yeast, which the ancient Jews ate during their flight from Egypt. In memory of the deprivations of the Exodus, all the days of Passover, Jews refuse leavened (in Hebrew "chametz"), which includes not only yeast bread, but also all products in the preparation of which fermentation is used. Before the holiday, chametz is completely expelled from Jewish homes. This ritual symbolizes getting rid of sinful things for the sake of submission to God's will. After special cleaning, the remains of chametz are ritually burned (these are usually bread crumbs), or ritually sold during the holiday.
On the first and last day of Passover, any work is also prohibited.
Also on Passover on the table in the first seder on a special dish liesmaror (bitter greens in memory of the bitterness of Egyptian slavery),zeroa (fried meat on the bone),stain (a hard-boiled egg is a symbol of divine perfection),karpas (greens) as wellharoset (a sweet mixture, symbolizing the clay from which the Egyptian pyramids were erected by the slaves). All dishes naturally have a symbolic meaning.
The pandemic has had an impact on the tradition of public seders, but this year, for example, in Israel, strict quarantine bans have already been lifted, so the holiday there will be almost the same as it has been for many centuries.
Read also:
- Public holidays in 2022 in Russia
- Production calendar 2022
When using materials from the site https://www.kp.ru/putevoditel/kalendar-prazdnikov/evrejskaya-paskha-pesakh/
