#passover5776

The Eight Night of #Passover Why is Passover observed for seven days in Israel but for eight days outside of Israel? Exodus 12:14 commands Jews to observe Passover for seven days, stating: "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it... for seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast." An extra day was added to the observance of Passover following the exile from ancient Israel in 70 C.E. This exile occurred after the destruction of the Second Temple and is when a large number of Jews began living in countries all over the world. Why was an extra day necessary? The answer has to do with the way the ancient calendar worked. The Jewish calendar is lunar based instead of solar based like the secular calendar. Ancient Jews didn’t use nifty wall calendars to track the dates like we do today – rather, each month began when witnesses spotted the New Moon in the sky. There had to be at least two male witnesses, who would testify about what they had seen to judges based in Jerusalem. Once the judges verified that the men had seen the correct phase of the moon, news about the start of the month was sent from Jerusalem to places far and wide. Because it could take a while for news to reach territories outside of Israel and because mistakes could possibly be made along the way, an extra day was added to the observance of Passover in order to prevent people from accidentally ending the holiday early. #Passover5776 #Passover2016 #Passover2016פסח (at Casa De A&R)

The seventh day of Passover is not a separate Festival in its own right, as is the case with Shemini Atzeret, the last day of Sukkot. Rather, it is the conclusion of Passover and we therefore do not recite the Shehecheyanu blessing when making Kiddush or lighting candles. The seventh day of Passover marks the day when many miracles were performed for our forefathers at the Red Sea. The Torah (Exodus, 2:15) states: And the seventh day shall be declared a holy day for you. No work shall be done on that day. In most of the instances where the Torah refers to the first day of Passover, mention is made of the Exodus from Egypt. Regarding the command to observe the seventh day of Passover, however, no mention is made of the miracle of the splitting of the sea which took place on that day. Moreover, when the Torah refers to the miracle no mention is made of the date on which the miracle took place. Holidays were not given to Israel to mark the downfall of her enemies. Rather, they were ordained to commemorate Israel's salvation. The Holy One, blessed is He, does not rejoice when the wicked are destroyed, and Israel is also not to celebrate these instances. Israel was commanded to observe the last day of Passover even before she knew that the Egyptians were destined drown in the sea on this day. The Torah therefore ignores the link between the last Festival day and the splitting of the sea. The essence of the celebration of this day is the song that Moses and Israel were Divinely inspired to sing on this day a song that merited being included in the Torah, a song to which God and His heavenly consorts listened. Although the Torah saw fit not to mention that the drowning of the Egyptians took place on this day for the reason that we have already mentioned, we have a tradition that this event took place on this day. Once it was permitted to commit the oral tradition to writing, we have written sources for this as well. #Passover5776 #Passover2016 #passover2016פסח (at Casa De A&R)

Religious Significance: The word "Passover" comes from a Biblical story about the ten plagues God inflicted on Egypt for enslaving the Israelites. The story of Passover is told in the Bible in Chapter 12 of the Book of Exodus. During one plague, God killed every Egyptian first-born male but passed over the homes of the Israelites. Passover is also sometimes called the Festival of Unleavened Bread. During Passover, only unleavened bread called matzo or matzah may be eaten. According to the story of Passover, the Jews did not have time to let their bread rise before they fled Egypt. Passover begins on the 15th day of Nisan, the seventh month in the Jewish calendar, March or April on the Gregorian calendar. #passover5776 #Passover2016 (at Casa De A&R)

God used four redemption in describing our Exodus from Egypt and our birth as a nation: 1. "I will take you out…" 2. "I will save you…" 3. "I will redeem you…" 4. "I will take you as a nation…" Our sages instituted that we should drink a cup of wine, a toast if you will, for each one of these expressions. We recite the Kiddush over the first cup, we read the Exodus story from the Haggadah over the second cup, we recite the Grace after Meals over the third cup, and we sing the "big Hallel" (Psalms and hymns of praises to God) over the fourth cup. #Passover5776 #Passover2016 (at Casa De A&R)