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| THE PURPOSE OF PASSOVER BY RABBI ESTHER BOUCHER |
The name of the festival Pesach in Hebrew means passing over or protection and
is derived from the instructions given to Moses by G-d in Exodus 6:6-8. Passover
is the time of beginnings for Israel. It is celebrated on the 14th day of Abib later
called Nisan. Things celebrated at Passover include the end of the rainy season
and the beginning of the growing season, the new lambing time and the Exodus of
the Israelites.
G-d directs parents on this special night to take on the role of teacher and pass
down His story of the Exodus from Egypt to future generations, but it also presents
the promise of Messiah’s death and resurrection. Moses and Aaron go to
Pharaoh to tell him the L-rd has said to let the Israelites go. Pharaoh refuses.
G-d sends the plagues to show the people that He is the one true G-d. The ten
righteous plagues are inflicted upon the Egyptians because each plague has to
do with a false god worshipped by the Egyptians. The first plague was to turn the
Nile waters to blood. The Nile River was an idol. The Nile’s waters nourished the
land and determined the welfare of all the people. The Egyptians thirsted after
blood when they slaughtered the Hebrew children and now G-d gave them blood to
drink. The second plague were frogs representing the fertility goddess, Isis, who
was supposed to help women in childbirth. The frogs that symbolized life were left
to be raked in heaps of rotting piles of death. The lice of the third plague
represented Egyptian god of the earth, Seth. The fourth plague was flies.
Beelzebub was glorified as the god of flies. The fly was always present at idolatry
sacrifices. The stinging, disease-carrying flies ruined the land. The fifth plague
was the disease of livestock. The bull was sacred in Egypt. The sixth plague was
boils. Sores in the body were looked upon as punishment for sin, a means by
which to call one to repentance. This plague was a direct attack on the
shamanism of the edico-mystical process in Egypt. The seventh plague was a
hailstorm ice and fires were mingled with the hail. The sorcerers were shamans
who supposedly controlled the weather. By the eighth plague Pharaoh’s people,
magicians and advisors began to rebel. Pharaoh stood alone against G-d. The
locust devastated the land. In the ninth plague the Egyptians rebelled against the
light of G-d’s Word and they were justly punished with darkness. The children of
G-d walked in light while Pharaoh and his people wandered in the darkness. This
plague was an attack on the supreme deity Re the sun god. The final plague was
the death of the firstborn. G-d placed a special claim on the firstborn of man and
beast. The nation of Israel attached unusual value to the eldest son and assigned
special privileges and responsibilities to him. Since the firstborn was regarded as
G-d’s property, it was necessary for the father to redeem or buy back, the child
from the priest. The firstborn’s birthright was a double portion of the estate and
leadership of the family. As head of the home after his father’s death, the eldest
son customarily cared for his mother until her death and provided for his
unmarried sisters until their marriages. He was the family’s spiritual head and
served as its priest. The significance of the death of every firstborn in Egypt from
the house of Pharaoh to the slaves and the livestock was great. Israel was spared
to show an obvious distinction between those who belong to Yahweh and those
who do not. During Passover Jews and Gentiles remember this great event by
eating special foods associated with the bitterness of slavery and the sweetness
of freedom. The entire meal is called the Seder. Everything in the Seder is
directed toward the prime command from the Bible in Exodus 13:8. The
requirements directing the Passover meal are found in Exodus 12:1 – 13:16. 1.)
Celebrated in the first month – Nisan. 2.) Tenth day select a year old lamb or kid.
3.) On the fourteenth day the lamb was killed in the evening. 4.) The blood of
the lamb was to be put on the two side posts and the upper doorpost of the
houses. 5.) The lamb was to be roasted with fire, his head and legs and no bones
broken. 6.) It was to be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 7.) None
of the lamb was to remain all that was not eaten was burnt with fire. 8.) They
were to eat the meal with their shoes on and staff in their hands. 9.) The feast
day was declared a memorial to be kept forever.
The feast of Unleavened Bread is the second spring festival beginning on the
fifteenth of Nisan. It is a reminder of both slavery and redemption. During this
weeklong feast, nothing with leaven (yeast) in it may be eaten. In Jewish religion,
leaven is the symbol of all that is unclean and evil and therefore must be removed
from all houses before the Passover feast. Abstaining from leavened bread for
seven days was symbolic of G-d’s people separating themselves from sin and
becoming a holy people. Requirements for Unleavened bread Lev. 3:6 and
Exodus 12:15-17. 1.) First day all leaven should be removed from the home. 2.)
Seven days they are to eat unleavened bread. 3.) This feast was a high Sabbath
(an extra Sabbath besides the weekly Sabbath). No work should be done the first
day and the seventh day except food preparation. 4.) This feast was declared a
memorial to be kept forever.
is derived from the instructions given to Moses by G-d in Exodus 6:6-8. Passover
is the time of beginnings for Israel. It is celebrated on the 14th day of Abib later
called Nisan. Things celebrated at Passover include the end of the rainy season
and the beginning of the growing season, the new lambing time and the Exodus of
the Israelites.
G-d directs parents on this special night to take on the role of teacher and pass
down His story of the Exodus from Egypt to future generations, but it also presents
the promise of Messiah’s death and resurrection. Moses and Aaron go to
Pharaoh to tell him the L-rd has said to let the Israelites go. Pharaoh refuses.
G-d sends the plagues to show the people that He is the one true G-d. The ten
righteous plagues are inflicted upon the Egyptians because each plague has to
do with a false god worshipped by the Egyptians. The first plague was to turn the
Nile waters to blood. The Nile River was an idol. The Nile’s waters nourished the
land and determined the welfare of all the people. The Egyptians thirsted after
blood when they slaughtered the Hebrew children and now G-d gave them blood to
drink. The second plague were frogs representing the fertility goddess, Isis, who
was supposed to help women in childbirth. The frogs that symbolized life were left
to be raked in heaps of rotting piles of death. The lice of the third plague
represented Egyptian god of the earth, Seth. The fourth plague was flies.
Beelzebub was glorified as the god of flies. The fly was always present at idolatry
sacrifices. The stinging, disease-carrying flies ruined the land. The fifth plague
was the disease of livestock. The bull was sacred in Egypt. The sixth plague was
boils. Sores in the body were looked upon as punishment for sin, a means by
which to call one to repentance. This plague was a direct attack on the
shamanism of the edico-mystical process in Egypt. The seventh plague was a
hailstorm ice and fires were mingled with the hail. The sorcerers were shamans
who supposedly controlled the weather. By the eighth plague Pharaoh’s people,
magicians and advisors began to rebel. Pharaoh stood alone against G-d. The
locust devastated the land. In the ninth plague the Egyptians rebelled against the
light of G-d’s Word and they were justly punished with darkness. The children of
G-d walked in light while Pharaoh and his people wandered in the darkness. This
plague was an attack on the supreme deity Re the sun god. The final plague was
the death of the firstborn. G-d placed a special claim on the firstborn of man and
beast. The nation of Israel attached unusual value to the eldest son and assigned
special privileges and responsibilities to him. Since the firstborn was regarded as
G-d’s property, it was necessary for the father to redeem or buy back, the child
from the priest. The firstborn’s birthright was a double portion of the estate and
leadership of the family. As head of the home after his father’s death, the eldest
son customarily cared for his mother until her death and provided for his
unmarried sisters until their marriages. He was the family’s spiritual head and
served as its priest. The significance of the death of every firstborn in Egypt from
the house of Pharaoh to the slaves and the livestock was great. Israel was spared
to show an obvious distinction between those who belong to Yahweh and those
who do not. During Passover Jews and Gentiles remember this great event by
eating special foods associated with the bitterness of slavery and the sweetness
of freedom. The entire meal is called the Seder. Everything in the Seder is
directed toward the prime command from the Bible in Exodus 13:8. The
requirements directing the Passover meal are found in Exodus 12:1 – 13:16. 1.)
Celebrated in the first month – Nisan. 2.) Tenth day select a year old lamb or kid.
3.) On the fourteenth day the lamb was killed in the evening. 4.) The blood of
the lamb was to be put on the two side posts and the upper doorpost of the
houses. 5.) The lamb was to be roasted with fire, his head and legs and no bones
broken. 6.) It was to be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 7.) None
of the lamb was to remain all that was not eaten was burnt with fire. 8.) They
were to eat the meal with their shoes on and staff in their hands. 9.) The feast
day was declared a memorial to be kept forever.
The feast of Unleavened Bread is the second spring festival beginning on the
fifteenth of Nisan. It is a reminder of both slavery and redemption. During this
weeklong feast, nothing with leaven (yeast) in it may be eaten. In Jewish religion,
leaven is the symbol of all that is unclean and evil and therefore must be removed
from all houses before the Passover feast. Abstaining from leavened bread for
seven days was symbolic of G-d’s people separating themselves from sin and
becoming a holy people. Requirements for Unleavened bread Lev. 3:6 and
Exodus 12:15-17. 1.) First day all leaven should be removed from the home. 2.)
Seven days they are to eat unleavened bread. 3.) This feast was a high Sabbath
(an extra Sabbath besides the weekly Sabbath). No work should be done the first
day and the seventh day except food preparation. 4.) This feast was declared a
memorial to be kept forever.
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