Pesach

Pesach (Passover) is a celebration of freedom. The festival commemorates the escape of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
The story of Passover is told in the Book of Exodus. The Children of Israel were slaves in Egypt. God appeared to Moses and told him that he should lead the Israelites into Canaan, the land promised to Abraham.

Pharaoh at first ignored Moses' plea "let my people go". So God brought down ten plagues on the Egyptians, the final plague being the death of the first-born. God told Moses that the Israelites should mark their door posts with the blood of a lamb so that the avenging angel would 'pass over' their houses and spare them from this plague. The festival is also known as Passover.

Pharaoh relented and told Moses that the Israelites should go at once. They left so hurriedly that their bread did not have time to rise. We eat unleavened bread (matzah) during Pesach to remind us of the bread eaten during the exodus from Egypt.

The Pesach Seder

The highlight of Pesach is the seder, when family and friends and family gather together for the traditional meal eaten on the first two evenings of the festival.

The term 'seder' means 'order'. At the seder, the story of Pesach is read from the Haggadah which sets out the well ordered customs which must be observed at the meal. These customs, and the special foods we eat, symbolise the story of the escape from slavery.

The centrepiece of the table is a seder dish on the table containing:

bitter herbs (usually horseradish) symbolising the bitter life of the Israelites during their time of slavery.
a roasted shank bone and a hard-boiled egg, representing the sacrifices which used to be made in the Temple.
charoset (a mixture of apples, nuts, wine and spices), a symbol of the mud bricks which the Israelite slaves had to make.
parsley. This is dipped in salt water and eaten, to represent the tears of slavery, set against the hope of a new spring.

The main elements of the seder are:

Kiddish - We recite a blessing over a glass of wine (the first of four glasses of wine).
We dip a vegetable (usually parsley) in salt water, say a blessing and eat it.
The middle matzah of the three matzahs on the table is broken. Half is returned and the remaining half is put aside to be eaten at the end of the meal. The tradition is for the children to hide the matzah (the afikomen) and then to ask for a ransom at the end of the meal before returning the matzah.
The youngest child asks the four questions "why is this night different from all other nights?" The answer is in the story of the Exodus which is then read. As we say the name of each of the ten plagues, we spill a drop of wine on our plates.
We say a blessing over the matzah, the matzah is broken and we each take a piece to eat.
We say a blessing over bitter herbs, which are then eaten.
The bitter herbs are dipped into the charoshet and eaten.
Bitter herbs and charoset are placed on a piece of matzah and eaten together.
Finally it's time to eat the meal. The meal starts with a a dish of hard-boiled egg in salt water.
At the end of the meal, we finish with a piece of the matzah that was set aside earlier.
We say Grace after Meals (Birkat Ha-Mazon).
We pour an extra cup of wine and open the door to welcome the return of the prophet Elijah, who will be the herald of the Messiah.
Next we recite Hallel, and bless and drink the fourth and final cup of wine.
The seder is complete, and we say "Next Year in Jerusalem". There is often a spirited rendition of familiar Pesach songs to end the evening.

At NWSS we have a communal seder on the second evening of Pesach. Members of the community gather for a traditional seder (with a few special NWSS customs) to share the joy of the seder, and on the serious side, to remember the Israelites deliverance from slavery and to reflect on the lack of freedom which still exists in parts of the world.

Festival dates