Passover is known as Pesach in Hebrew. Pesach is the most sacred Jewish festival and it is celebrated by Jews all around the world. Passover is celebrated to commemorate the story of the Israelites’ departure from Egypt. This story is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible’s books of Exodus. Passover is celebrated for a whole week. This festival is celebrated with various important rituals including the traditional Passover meal. This traditional meal is known as Seder. Before Passover, Jews clean their houses and get rids of leavened food items. They substitute matzo in place of leavened bread and they retell the story of Exodus.

Passover 2021

In 2021, this festival will be celebrated from March 27, 2021 evening to the April 4, 2021 evening. There are no specific dates of Passover and they keep changing every year. It is so because the date of Passover is not set by the Gregorian calendar. The dates of Passover are decided by the lunar-based Hebrew calendar. Passover always takes place in the Hebrew month of Nisan. You can celebrate the upcoming Passover in an amazing way by selecting one of the best Passover programs.

Story Of Passover 

As per the Hebrew Bible, the settlement of Jewish takes place in ancient Egypt when the son of patriarch Jacob moved to Egypt along with his family due to severe famine in Canaan.

Israelites lived there with peace and harmony for many years in the province of Goshen. But, when the population of Jews started growing, then Egyptians considered them as a threat. When Joseph and his brother died, the hostile pharaoh ordered for their enslavement. Egyptians started taking away the firstborn sons of Jews and throwing them away in the Nile River.

Moses

Moses was a firstborn child of Jews who was thrown in the Nile River and this doomed infant was rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter. She has named this baby Moses. The meaning of this word is one who is pulled out. This baby was adopted by the Royal family of Egypt.

When Moses reached adulthood, he got to know about his true identity and the brutal treatment of Egyptians towards Jews. He killed a slave master and moved to the Sinai Peninsula. In this place, he lived like a humble shepherd for more than 40 years.

But, Moses returned to Egypt after receiving an order from God to set free his kin from the enslavement of the monarch pharaoh.

Moses and Aaron (brother of Moses) approached the monarch Pharaoh (whose name is not mentioned in the biblical version of the story) several times. He requested Pharaoh to allow Jews to leave Egypt and live their lives freely. He explained to Pharaoh that Hebrew God has requested leaves for three-days so that they can celebrate a feast in the wilderness.

10 Plagues

After the refusal of Pharaoh, God sent 10 plagues to Egypt and one of those plagues turned the Nile River into the red with blood. Other plagues are boils, hailstorms, diseases, livestock, and darkness for three days and the death of the firstborn by an avenging angel.

Ancient Israelites prevent themselves from these plagues by marking their doors with the blood of the lamb. When the angel of death sees this mark on the doors of the Israelites house, they will get to know that this is the house of an Israelite. Thus, they will “pass over” each Jewish household.

Death of the firstborn was the tenth and last plague sent by God to Egypt. After this plague, Egyptians were terrified and they convinced their ruler i.e. monarch Pharaoh to release Israelites. Moses helped the Israelites to leave Egypt. However, Pharaoh quickly changed his mind and sent a soldier to get back these slaves. When the Egyptian soldiers started approaching fleeing Jews at the border of the Red Sea then a miracle took place. God created a safe path for Moses and his followers by causing the sea to separate. Once the Israelites crossed the Sea, then the Passage was closed by God and Egyptian soldiers had drowned away.

It is also mentioned in Hebrew Bible that after leaving Egypt ancient Israelites trek through the Sinai desert for approximately 40 years to reach the ancestral homeland in Canaan. Now, this place is known as the Land of Israel.