When was passover

He kills an Egyptian slave master and escapes to the Sinai Peninsula, where he lives as a humble shepherd for 40 years. One day, however, Moses receives a command from God to return to Egypt and free his kin from bondage, according to the Hebrew bible.

Along with his brother Aaron, Moses approaches the reigning pharaoh who is unnamed in the biblical version of the story several times, explaining that the Hebrew God has requested a three-day leave for his people so that they may celebrate a feast in the wilderness. When the pharaoh refuses, God unleashes 10 plagues on the Egyptians, including turning the Nile River red with blood, diseased livestock, boils, hailstorms and three days of darkness, culminating in the slaying of every firstborn son by an avenging angel.

Terrified of further punishment, the Egyptians convince their ruler to release the Israelites, and Moses quickly leads them out of Egypt. The pharaoh changes his mind, however, and sends his soldiers to retrieve the former slaves. As the Egyptian army approaches the fleeing Jews at the edge of the Red Sea, a miracle occurs: God causes the sea to part, allowing Moses and his followers to cross safely, then closes the passage and drowns the Egyptians.

According to the Hebrew Bible, the Jews—now numbering in the hundreds of thousands—then trek through the Sinai desert for 40 tumultuous years before finally reaching their ancestral home in Canaan, later known as the Land of Israel. For centuries, scholars have been debating the details and historical merit of the events commemorated during the Passover holiday.

Although the ancient Egyptians kept thorough records, no mention is made of an Israelite community within their midst or any calamities resembling the 10 biblical plagues. A handful of scholars, including the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, have suggested a link between the Israelites and the Hyksos, a mysterious Semitic people—possibly from Canaan—who controlled lower Egypt for more than years before their expulsion during the 16th century B.

Most modern academics, however, have dismissed this theory due to chronological conflicts and a lack of similarity between the two cultures. 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. According to tradition, this is because the Hebrews fled Egypt in such haste that there was no time for their bread to rise, or perhaps because matzo was lighter and easier to carry through the desert than regular bread.

And while there are myriad Haggadot to choose from to fit nearly all religious, age-specific, political or even satirical needs , the retelling of the Exodus is a key fixture in a Haggadah, along with the reading of the 10 plagues, the asking of the four questions, and explaining various Passover rituals, some of which date back 2, years, according to My Jewish Learning.

In the very basic Passover storyline , the Pharaoh is fearful that there will be too many Jews living in Egypt so he institutes slavery and demands that male Jewish babies be killed. After killing a slave master, Moses flees into the desert, and encounters a burning bush of God revealing himself to Moses.

God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh and lead the Jews out of slavery. Moses goes to the Pharaoh and asks that he let the Jews go free from Egypt. The tenth and final plague is the most drastic: the killing of the first born by the so-called angel of death. The Israelites were ultimately freed from slavery and wandered the desert for 40 years before making it to the promise land.

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.

On Passover seder tables, you may see a partitioned plate containing small amounts of specific food. This is the seder plate, and each food is symbolic for an aspect of Passover: A roasted shank bone represents the Pescah sacrifice, an egg represents spring and the circle of life, bitter herbs represent the bitterness of slavery, haroset an applesauce-like mixture with wine, nuts, apples, etc.

Also placed on the table are three pieces of matzah — a cracker-like unleavened bread — that represent the bread the Israelites took with them when they fled Egypt, and salt water to represent the tears of the slaves.

I make my own unleavened bread all week long. It's great to see a website that allows people to share their faith. The last supper can not possibly be a passover Please read Dr. Happy Easter!! The last supper was the day before Passover. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb. The Bible states that even tho it was a holy day Passover when nothing but test was to be done on that day, Jesus was still crucified.

The romans did not practice what the Jews did. I am not Jewish. But I am always very interested in traditions of other religions and spiritual practices. I always read the recipes, and have learned to appreciate some of the dietary taboos of Judaism, that were always in the background of Sunday School teachings. This is a great article for the Old Farmer's Almanac to present. The article, above, ends with "If you do celebrate Passover, please share your traditions below!

Not one of the comments and I read into 's comments talked about foods or traditions of Passover. My grandmother used to make Passover Popovers. Every year, we'd have those popovers during the week. Then my mom began making them. They are such a big hit. Remove from heat. Add Matzo Meal, all at once and stir til well incorporated and becomes a "ball". Add eggs, one at a time, stirring thoroughly after each egg. Stir to blend eggs and to make sure lots of air is stirred into the batter.

Bake for 20 minutes at F. Turn down heat to for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and enjoy wait a couple minutes until cooling down. I am sorry you have been exposed, as a group, to some very unpleasant commentary from unevolved people.

I enjoyed your recipe and comment. Maybe I will get the courage to try your Grandmother's Pasech. Its the "stirring in the air" bit that has me shaking in my boots! Thank you for posting it! May you and your family have a truly blessed Passover, this year. It seems so very stressful for many of us. Janice, we use the skimmed fat from the chicken soup instead of oil in our matzo ball recipe.

We also have a minhag of keeping a piece of the afikommen from one year to the next. Chag Semeach! Thank you! Thank you so much for sharing! Why does all the calendars say Passover is on the 10th? During one plague, God killed every Egyptian first-born male but passed over the homes of the Israelites. Passover is also sometimes called the Festival of Unleavened Bread. During Passover, only unleavened bread called matzo or matzah may be eaten. According to the story of Passover, the Jews did not have time to let their bread rise before they fled Egypt.