by Rabbi Mendy Hecht
A. Pesach (pronounced PAY-sakh) is the Hebrew word for Passover.
Pesach is a holiday that commemorates the Hebrews rapid departure
from ancient Egypt. The Jews had just endured over 200 years of
exile, including several decades of torturous slave labor, and now
G-d was going to fulfill His promise to Abrahamthe promise to
redeem the Jews and do justice to their slave-masters. Right before
the Exodus, G-d commands the Jews to sacrifice one lamb per family
and mark the Jewish doorposts with its blood. This would be a sign
for G-d to "pass over" the Jewish homes as He slew the Egyptian
firstbornthe last of ten supernatural attacks on the Egyptians.
This is the origin of the name "Passover." In Hebrew, Egypt is
Mitzrayimetymologically related to meitzarim, or borders. The
moral of the Exodus story is that we all can escape our personal
Egypts.
B. Passover is a Spring holiday; it starts on the 15th of Nissan
(usually sometime in April) and lasts for eight days (in Israel,
seven days). The first two and last two days (in Israel, only the
first and last day) are major holidays, i.e. on these days it is
forbidden to work, drive, turn on or off a light, etc. The middle
days are Chol Hamoed.
C. We observe Passover much the same way the Jews did on the first
15th of Nissan in Egypt. Pesach is observed by sacrificing a lamb,
eating bitter herbs, and Matzah, and purging ones house of any
grain-based leavened item. The lamb is not done today due to the
Temples absence, but everything else is: the mad, meticulous
scrubbing and cleaning of every nook and cranny, the Seders on the
first two nights, and the Shabbat-like services on the first and
last days.
D. The lesson of Pesach is that you have unlimited potential. In
Hebrew, Egypt is Mitzrayimetymologically related to meitzarim, or
borders. The moral of the Exodus story is that we all can escape
our personal Egypts. And the seek-and-destroy-any-leavened-particle
part of Passover teaches us to eradicate our puffed-up, inflated,
doughy egos and be simple, flat, unleavened Matzot. The holiday of
Pesach contains innumerable lessons, laws and customs.