PASSOVER: THE RIGHT OF BELONGING
The year’s pass over is celebrated from evening till morning every year. A previous year was celebrated on Wednesday, April 12, for eight days. It was the anniversary of the liberation of the jews from Egyptian bondage. It reminds each jew that if God had not freed his forefathers, then he and his sons and the sons of his sons would still be slaves to Pharaoh of Egypt.
A verse in the Bible expressed the mood of Passover: “Ki gayrim heyitem beretz mitzrayim (For you were strangers in the land of Egypt. The reason for remembering this historical day is that the Jews are taught that most terrible condition is to be a stranger. To be a stranger means to be alone, cut off, even near death. On the other hand, the condition of greatest human satisfaction is to belong.
The Passover is celebrated from the special home ceremony called Seder (order) in which Jews come together as families. The day before Passover, the fast of the first born takes place to recall the “passing over” of the Israelite homes by the Angel of death on his way to slay the first born of the Egyptians. The Seder service begins with the Kiddush (sanctification) prayer.
The Seder plate or kaarah contains symbolic foods. The roast egg stands for the festive offering at the time of the Temple. The ‘maror’ herb leaves the bitter taste of slavery in our mouth. The ‘haroset’, a mixture of apples,nuts, cinnamon and red wine represents the clay with which Jews made bricks for the Pharaoh.
The ‘carpus’ or parsley dipped in salt water recalls the tears of the enslaved Jews. The ‘matzah’ or unleavened bread is then broken, signifying the ‘bread of affliction’ eaten by the Jews fleeing Egypt.
Usually the youngest son of the household asks the Four Questions of the Haggadah, about what these objects represent. The participants chant the answers in traditional tunes. The Seder is thus the past re-created.