Pesach

• Lasts 7 days (8 days outside of Israel)
• Occurs during the Spring, between 15th and 22nd NISAN (March/ April)
• The FIRST and LAST days are holy, when no work, apart from the preperation of food is permitted
• The Jewish Easter became a commemoration of one of the most significant historical events within Judaism: THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT
• Because of this FREEDOM is the important conecpt in the festival and the escape from captivity in Egypt is symbolic of the freedom Jews still hope for

• PESACH is associated with nature
• In Egypt on the evening of the very first Jewish Easter every Jewish family was ordered to offer and eat a lamb. Later, the Torah ordered the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb every year to remember the lamb offered in Egypt. This was known as PASCHAL (Easter lamb)
• The concentration is on God's control over history and the fact that he realeased the Israelites from Egypt

Preperation

• The day BEFORE the Jewish Easter is a day of FASTING FOR FIRST BORN SONS, to commemorate the tenth plague (first born son of every family was killed). The fast doesn't happen very often
• The house is cleaned in order to get rid of any leaven
• The Jewish PESACH is also called the "Feast Of The Unleaven Bread" and during the 8 days of its duration, no leaven (CHAMETZ) was allowed in the house. This order is obeyed by many families and special crockery and cutlery is used for the festival
• Any food containing leaven can be given to someone who is not a Jew to be kept during PESACH and can then be accepted back.
• To ensure that the house is free of any leaven an inspection of the house is carrie out the evening before PESACH. A candle is used to illuminate the search. Any piece of leaven found is swept away, usually with a feather and burnt the following morning. Sometimes the children hide small pieces of leaven and the search becomes one of the first games of the Jewish Easter that is played by the whole family
• CHAMETZ makes the bread enflamed and rise. There should be no enflamed personalities, shouldn't feel self important or righteous- everyone's equal

The Seder Meal

• Special feast held on the first evening
• ORTHODOX…