B'nai Israel Community Day School

What is Passover?

Passover is the Jewish celebration lasting seven to eight days (seven in Israel, eight outside of it) that marks the freedom of the Jews from enslavement by the Egyptians. According to the Old Testament, the Jews, led by Moses, had requested freedom from the Pharaoh of Egypt, but were denied. To punish the Egyptians, God sent the 10 plagues to Egypt to convince the Pharaoh to release the Jews. The last of these plagues, and the most devastating, was to do away the firstborn male in each Egyptian household.

The Jews marked their doorways in hopes of protecting their firstborn sons. This allowed the threat of the first born to “pass over” the Jews in fulfillment of this last plague. Passover is often translated from the term Pesach which means to "pass over" or "to protect." In commemoration of avoidance of this last plague and the resulting freedom from Egypt, Jews across the world now celebrate Passover.