This Year Jews Celebrate Passover April 14-22

The celebration of Passover – Pesach – begins this year on April 13 at sunset. It is a holiday of spring (Chag Ha-Aviv) and freedom associated with the exodus of the Jews from Egypt.

The celebration begins on the eve of the 15th of the month of Nisan (according to the Hebrew lunar calendar), which falls in March-April (Gregorian calendar). It is believed that on this day, about 1200 BC, the prophet Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt kingdom, freeing them from 400 years of slavery.

The followers of Judaism celebrate Passover for eight days. This year the celebration of Passover ends on April 22. Throughout the week, leavened (chametz) food is not consumed.

The word “Pesach” (Passover) has two meanings: “to skip over” and “to traverse.” There is also a dual interpretation of the celebration. In addition to the Israelites’ crossing of the Red Sea, there was another event that preceded the exodus of Jews from Egypt.

According to the tradition of the Old Testament, Pharaoh stubbornly refused to allow the people of Israel to go – and then God inflicted ten calamities upon Egypt. The last plague was the death of the firstborn. God commanded Moses to inform all the Israelites to mark lamb’s blood on the doorposts on every door so that the Lord would pass over them and, thus sparing all the Israelite first-borns. After this plague the Pharaoh was finally convinced to submit, and let the Israelites go.