What should you do during Passover? (2023)

What are you supposed to do during Passover?

Families hold a seder on the first and sometimes second night of Passover. It is fundamentally a religious service set around a dinner table, where the order in which participants eat, pray, drink wine, sing, discuss current social justice issues and tell stories is prescribed by a central book called the Haggadah.

Some Christians celebrate Passover as the Jews celebrate it. They roast and eat lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened matzo. Others follow the instructions that Jesus gave to his disciples at the Last Supper before he was crucified, and share bread (usually unleavened) and wine instead of roasted lamb.

During the first two and last two days of Passover, many traditionally observant Jews will abstain from most of the same activities they avoid on the Sabbath — no driving, working, using electricity, lighting fires or spending money.

Passover (or Pesach in Hebrew) is one of the most important festivals in the Jewish Calendar. It commemorates the freedom of the Israelites after 400 years of slavery in Egypt.

Passover Traditions

One of the most important Passover rituals for observant Jews is removing all leavened food products (known as chametz) from their home before the holiday begins and abstaining from them throughout its duration. Instead of bread, religious Jews eat a type of flatbread called matzo.

As with all the biblical festivals, Passover foreshadows the coming of Jesus, our Deliverer and our Savior. He is the One who made eternal atonement for ours sins. You may recall John the Baptist, seeing Jesus coming toward him, crying out, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

You only need to clean cabinets and storage areas where food is stored and which you are going to use on Passover. If only dishes, utensils, paper goods or non-chametz foods are stored there, there is no need to clean.

what else can I eat on Passover? – Beef, chicken, turkey, duck, goose, or fish with scales. If keeping strictly kosher, the meat must be kashered by a kosher butcher or sold as a kosher cut of meat. – Many dairy products, like cheese and yogurt, are acceptable when they are not mixed with additives (like corn syrup).

During Passover, Jews are forbidden to eat leavened foods, and instead eat matzo, an unleavened flatbread similar to the unleavened bread eaten during the flight from Egypt.

So, during Passover, Jews abstain from eating or drinking anything that contain grains and water, which ferment and rise (called chametz). That means no bourbon, rye, Irish whiskey, or Scotch. You're also not allowed to drink a vodka or a gin that has a base made from wheat and beer is, of course, forbidden, too.

How can I make my Passover happy?

You can also say “chag sameach,” which translates to “happy festival” and is the Hebrew equivalent of “happy holidays.” To make this Passover greeting specific, you can throw the word “Pesach” in the middle of that phrase — “chag Pesach samech.” To wish somebody a “kosher and joyous Passover” in Hebrew, it would be “ ...

The Babylonian Talmud quotes four questions; why matzah is eaten, why maror is eaten, why meat that is eaten is exclusively roasted, and why food is dipped twice.

Passover is a Jewish holiday that honors the freedom and exodus of the Israelites (Jewish slaves) from Egypt during the reign of the Pharaoh Ramses II. Before the ancient Jews fled Egypt, their firstborn children were "passed over" and spared from death, thus dubbing the holiday "Passover."

Salvation that only comes through Jesus Christ and is often likened to the story of the Passover where the Hebrews went from slavery to freedom. God is mighty to save and His Spirit is ever-present to deliver us out of the bondage of sin.

The Torah's Book of Exodus, Chapter 12, offers one description of the instructions for Passover fare: “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: [Each household] shall eat [lamb] roasted over the fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs” (Jewish Publication Society translation).

We are not permitted to wash our entire body (which before home bathing facilities, was typically done in public bathhouses) with hot water on yom tov [even in water that was heated prior to yom tov], because it might be assumed that this is permitted on Shabbat as well.

Despite the fact that traditional Jewish law considers the devices forbidden on Passover — strictly observant Jews refrain from using any sort of electronic device on holidays, as they do on the Sabbath — dozens of versions of the Haggadah are now available in digital formats, where enhancements to the text include pop ...

Under normal conditions, asking a gentile to perform such a task on Chol Hamoed is prohibited. 3. Laundry, Dry Cleaning, Haircuts & Shaving – In general, these four activities may not be performed after חצות on Erev Pesach or during Chol Hamoed.

For starters, yes, you can — and should — wish someone a happy Passover during the holiday. If you're most comfortable sticking to English, "Happy Passover" is perfectly acceptable, and your Jewish friends and loved ones will appreciate the sentiment.

What can Jews not eat?

Food that is not allowed is called treif. Examples include shellfish, pork products and food that has not been slaughtered in the correct way, known as shechitah . Animals must have their throats cut with a sharp knife by a shochet , a person trained to slaughter animals in a kosher way.

Although Passover isn't traditionally a gift-giving holiday, it's always nice to bring something for your hardworking host. But if you've walked past the small Jewish section of your local department store and were underwhelmed with the paltry offerings, we're here to help steer you in the right direction.

Despite the fact that traditional Jewish law considers the devices forbidden on Passover — strictly observant Jews refrain from using any sort of electronic device on holidays, as they do on the Sabbath — dozens of versions of the Haggadah are now available in digital formats, where enhancements to the text include pop ...

“For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.” (Ex. 12:22–23.)