If you’re searching for a handy introduction to Passover, look no further! Learn about the Festival of Unleavened Bread and how to observe this important holiday. Keep reading for a full guide to Passover for Beginners!
Probably the most famous of the Jewish holidays is Passover; whether you’re Jewish or not, you’ve likely heard of it. It tends to fall right around Easter, which in and of itself makes it prominent. You may have seen one of the two most common renditions of the tale, including The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner, and the animated classic The Prince of Egypt. (Both fantastic epic movies, highly recommend!) But if you haven’t, or if you’d like a bit more background into the holiday or are curious about holiday traditions, read on!
The Passover Story: A Synopsis
The story itself is a long one; roughly half of Exodus in the Bible is devoted to it, so I’ll make this “introduction to Passover” story the really-really-short-and-condensed version.
It starts with the Israelites in slavery in Egypt, about 1,400 years B.C. The Egyptian empire witnessed the growth of the Israelite people and, seeing them as a potential threat, subjugated and enslaved them. The king, Pharaoh, also issued a tragic decree that all firstborn Israelite boys were to die upon birth.
Moses, the Boy “Drawn From the Water”
One little baby boy was saved from this awful fate. His mother set him afloat in the river in a waterproofed basket, and Pharaoh’s daughter found the baby. She decided to raise him as her own child and called him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water” (Exodus 2:10).
When Moses grew up, he witnessed an Egyptian taskmaster beating a Hebrew slave; repulsed, he killed the Egyptian. He then fled to Midian, afraid of Pharaoh’s wrath at his deed.
The Burning Bush
G-d appeared to him through a bush which seemed to be ablaze with flame but which did not char or burn up. G-d commanded Moses to be a leader to the Hebrew people and lead them out of Egypt as a free nation. (“Let my people go!” Sound familiar? These were Moses’s words to Pharaoh.)
Pharaoh did not take Moses’s commands too kindly; why should he oblige a random request from some unknown, letting go of his entire labor force?
The Ten Plagues
This is the most vital part to our introduction to the Passover story. Ten times, Moses asked Pharaoh to free the Israelites (technically, the request was to go worship G-d in the desert for 3 days, but to take every single man, woman, and child, and all herds, livestock, and possessions). Pharaoh repeatedly denied this request. So ten times G-d sent a plague to wreak havoc on the Egyptians’ land, livestock, physical health, and finally life itself with death of every firstborn Egyptian.
On the eve of the final plague, the Israelites were told to be ready to flee. The Angel of Death would pass through the entire land that night. Each Jewish family was to roast a lamb and put some of the blood over the door to their houses. Seeing that signal, the Angel of Death would “pass over” the Israelite homes, leaving the inhabitants unharmed. Unfortunately none of the Egyptian households were spared, not even Pharaoh’s own son.
The Parting of the Red Sea
Upon the death of his own child, Pharaoh finally ordered the Hebrews to go. They fled quickly into the desert, numbering over six hundred thousand. After a short time, Pharaoh again changed his mind and went after the Israelites with the Egyptian army. They caught up with the Jews at the Red Sea. G-d then parted the sea so the Israelites could cross safely. Once they were on the other side, the waters crashed down on the pursuing Egyptian army. The Jews were finally a free people, ready to start their journey towards their own land.
How Do We Celebrate our Liberation?
Telling the Tale
We retell the story of the Exodus and the Passover every year, during two special dinners called Seders. As it says in Exodus 12:14, “…you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord throughout the ages…” Per Exodus 13:3, “Remember this day, on which you went free from Egypt, the house of bondage, how the Lord freed you from it with a mighty hand…” We are not to forget or take the occasion lightly. Up to that point in history, empires had not seen a deity actually interfere on behalf of a people. The pagan gods supposedly went about their affairs without overly concerning themselves with humans. In this case, however, it was readily apparent that G-d had actually acted on behalf of the Israelites to change their situation entirely.
When telling the story, we use an instructional guide called a Haggadah; this includes the Passover story itself as well as all the customs surrounding the Seder. The Haggadah is a great way to engage with Passover, for beginners as well as those who have celebrated the holiday for years. There are many different types of Haggadot (plural of Haggadah): traditional and elaborate, minimal and short, or even full of comedy. Haggadot.com offers many versions for free download, that can even be fully customized with poems, skits, or songs! (I customized my own in 2020 and it was so much fun!)
Children have a special role in the Seder, asking the Four Questions about why we do certain rituals at this meal (such as why we eat matzah and bitter herbs, to be discussed further below). We also discuss the Four Children, hypothetical kids with differing attitudes/questions regarding the holiday and the appropriate responses.
Passover for Beginners – The Seder Plate and Other Traditional Foods
We always place a special Seder plate on the table. This plate holds the following:
- Karpas – A small green, usually parsley, symbolizing the rebirth associated with spring.
- Charoset (pronounced with a gutteral h- sound at the beginning) – this is a sweet mixture of diced apples, wine or grape juice, honey, spices, and possibly nuts. It represents the mortar used by slaves to make bricks.
- Maror – bitter herbs, commonly horseradish or romaine lettuce, symbolizing the bitterness of life in slavery.
- Beitzah – an egg representing the sacrifice that would be offered in the time of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
- Zeroa – a shank bone representing the lamb sacrifice that was done at the actual Passover, on the eve of the tenth plague.
The plate can also include more modern additions, such as an orange to symbolize inclusion of women and any marginalized peoples.
In addition to the items on the Seder plate, we also lay out matzah, a form of bread that is not allowed to rise and is therefore a flat cracker (the “unleavened bread”). When the Israelites fled quickly, they had to pack up their bread before it had risen; this was basically matzah. It represents both the poverty of slavery as well as the newfound taste of freedom. (More on this below.)
Wine or grape juice is also a tradition of the holiday, symbolizing joy. In fact, we drink 4 cups during the meal! (Well, most of the time we just take a few sips each time and then top it off at the next cup. But if you can hold your liquor, go for it!). However, we also have a custom of dipping a finger in the wine and sprinkling one drop on our plate for each of the ten plagues; our cup should not overflow with joy when reading about the suffering of our enemies.
Living the Experience of Fleeing to Freedom
We make the effort to actually feel what it must have been like to leave in a hurry, freed after a lifetime of slavery. As it is said in Exodus 13:8, “And you shall explain to your son… ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I went free from Egypt.’” (emphasis added) We must put ourselves in our ancestors’ shoes: what is it really like, to be a slave your entire life and to all of a sudden flee to freedom? In modern days, everyone is also always struggling against some vice or hardship; so it truly is as if we ourselves are racing toward liberation.
To that end, we endeavor to fully experience the taste of slavery and freedom. We dip the parsley into salt water, representing the tears of slaves, and eat it, tasting the tears as if they’d wet our own cheeks. We eat the bitter herbs to physically experience what for many was involuntary pain of servitude. As it is said in Exodus 12:8, “…they shall eat [the lamb] roasted over the fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs.” We partake of matzah, as if we had baked it ourselves and it is the only bread we have available. We drink wine to relish the sweet joy of liberty.
We also put out a few extra ornate and dedicated cups on the table. One is a cup of water for Miriam, Moses’s sister (according to Exodus, Miriam’s well provided water to ease thirst when the Israelites were wandering the desert). Having this cup also promotes the contributions of women to society. A cup of wine is also set out for the prophet Elijah; according to tradition, Elijah will herald the coming of the messianic age. So we fill a cup and open our door while singing, in the hopes that Elijah will finally make his appearance.
Introduction to Passover – The Commandment concerning Matzah
One of the most conspicuous rules is that regarding matzah, or unleavened bread. We are not to own or eat any products with leaven (yeast, baking soda/powder, anything that will make bread rise). As it says in Exodus 12:15 (and repeated many times): “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the very first day you shall remove leaven from your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.” (Outside of Israel, Passover is observed for eight days.)
Here’s a *big* part to this guide to Passover for beginners: we are also technically not supposed to eat anything that includes wheat, oats, rye, barley, or spelt, or any derivative from these grains. (So no bread, no baked goods, no pasta, no pizza, among other things.) If say, flour, were to come into contact with water, it might start to ferment after a certain period of time and emit carbon dioxide, starting the “rising” process. Matzah is indeed made with wheat, but it’s baked so quickly that there is no time for the dough to rise. (Many Jews typically refrain from rice, corn, and legumes too since it was previously easy for these grains to get mixed in with the forbidden ones. Given that many products are made with soy or corn syrup, that knocks out quite a lot of foods.)
In preparation for Passover, Jews will many times clear any leavened items (called chametz, with a gutteral h- at the beginning) out of their homes. This often involves going through one’s kitchen, removing items that include any of the forbidden grains or yeast in the ingredients list, and either discarding or selling them to a non-Jew for the duration of Passover (the sale actually involves a legal document and is usually facilitated by a rabbi). If the chametz is sold, it should be gathered up and locked away in a closet for the holiday so it is not accidentally used or eaten (after all, it’s no longer yours but belongs to someone else). Many traditional Jews will clean their house in order to remove any crumbs and will often use special dishes and utensils that are only used on the holiday, to avoid contamination.
Takeaway
As you can see, Passover involves a positive flurry of activity! (No wonder it’s one of the most famous holidays!) We tell one of the most well-known Bible stories. We eat specific foods to immerse ourselves within the story. We refrain from eating many grains. And all for a full 7-8 days, not just one! But we do all this because it’s one of the three major festivals during the year, to be celebrated every year “throughout the ages.” After all, per Deuteronomy 5:15, “…the Lord your G-d freed you from [Egypt] with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm…” If not for G-d’s wonders, we might potentially still be slaves today, and so we thank G-d for working on our behalf and setting us free. I hope this guide to Passover for beginners helps you to better understand the holiday and plan your own celebration!
Sources referenced and utilized:
Note: The book titles below include affiliate links to Amazon. This simply means that any purchases through these links may generate a small commission for us, at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. More info can be found in our full disclaimer here. Thank you for your support!More info can be found in our full disclaimer here. I personally own all of these books, consulted them for this article, and highly recommend if you’re interested in further learning. Thank you for your support!
JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh: The Traditional Hebrew Text and The New JPS Translation, Second Edition. The Jewish Publication Society. 1999.
Jewish Literacy: Revised Edition. by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin. William Morrow, HarperCollins Publishers. 1991, 2001, 2008.
The Jewish Holidays: A Guide and Commentary. by Michael Strassfeld. William Morrow, HarperCollins Publishers. 1985, 2001.
chabad.org: a wealth of information regarding all things Jewish, with an Orthodox/modern Orthodox point of view.
myjewishlearning.com: similar to Chabad, but with a reform or more contemporary stance.
Judaism’s Gifts to the World. by Rabbis Baruch Shalom Davidson, Lazer Gurkow, and Shmuel Super. The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute. 2020.
Cover image photo credit: IStockPhoto.com/photovs
