7 facts about Passover that will surprise and delight you – St. Louis Jewish Light

Thisstoryoriginally appeared on Kveller, 70 Faces Medias Jewish parenting site.

Had I only gotten out of hosting last years seder,dayenu! But here we are, anotherpandemic Passover, which begins this year at sundown on Saturday, March 27 and lasts through April 4.

Passover celebrates our liberation from slavery in Egypt and rebirth as a free people; it is the mostwidelycelebrated Jewish holiday among American Jews! We prepare by cleaning our homes ofhametz(leavening), refrain from eating most carbs, attend or host two(Zoom) seders, and renegotiate with our oldest child that this year will absolutely be the last year they have to sing theFour Questions.

The Passover story you can find a short recaphere is foundational in Jewish tradition, spanning four of five books in the Torah. Symbolic themes are prevalent throughout: slavery, faith in Gods deliverance and miracles, feminism, rebirth, and freedom.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab a box of matzah, dust off yourhaggadah, pour yourself a glass of wine (or four) and enjoy these lesser known but totally kosher for Passover facts:

Happy spring! Passover is purposely and metaphorically linked with this season. Just as our earth is reawakened after months of harsh weather and dormancy, Passover commemorates our peoples sufferingandcelebrates our re-emergence as a liberated nation. Rabbi Michael Strassfeldemphasizesthe influence the season has on the holiday, from thematic similarities of our story of renewal and growth, to thedreadedact of spring cleaning, to the use of a leafy green vegetable (representing spring) on the seder plate.

Womens roles areintrinsic to the Passover story. Five heroic women are highlighted at the very beginning of our story; biblical scholar Andrea L. Weissrecognizes themas having ensured the eventual deliverance of our people. In the first chapter of Exodus, Pharaoh commands two midwives,Shifah and Puah, to kill all newborn boys with the hope of weakening and decreasing the Israelite population. They refuse, and their excuse is quite believable, even back then: [Hebrew women] arevigorous. Before the midwife can come to them, they have given birth.

Three more women save and protect Moses life: Yocheved, Moses mother, no longer able to conceal her infant, places Moses in abasketand sets it along the Nile to be followed by his sister, Miriam. Miriam watches over her brother andinteractswith Pharaohs daughter, who rescues baby Moses from the river. A non-Israelite, she defies her fathers decree to kill all Israelite boys andadoptshim as her own son.

These actions are nothing short of extraordinary, and together, these women saved our eventual leader and most distinguished of prophets. Now, if only he wanted the job

Talk about chutzpah! Thus far in the Torah, our prophets are known for saying yes to God for example, God tellsNoahandAbrahamwhat to do, and they do it.

Moses, by contrast, already gets special treatment when God appears in aburning bush, which isnt nearly enough to frighten Moses into agreement. Then, there is a unique dialogue between God and Moses inExodus 3:11-4:17that has a pattern of Moses offering an objection and Gods unwavering reassurance and support.

Thefifthtime, however, is my favorite. Moses requests, Please, O LORD, make someone else Your agent. At this point, God begins to losepatiencewith the new prophet, assures him that his brother Aaron will be his spokesperson, and the discussion is officially OVER!

The instructional manual we use to lead us through our seder is called the haggadah, Hebrew for telling. Moses, honored in the Torah as thegreatestprophet of all, is mentioned but one time in the haggadah, in the quoting ofExodus 14:31: [The Israelites] had faith in the LORD and His servant Moses. Thats it!

Biblical scholar Marc Zvi Brettler offers an answer as to why: Much of the haggadah was written during the classical rabbinic period, which spanned the 1st through 6th centuries, and therefore, its contents were filtered through the lens of its rabbinic redactors. The rabbis wanted to emphasize Gods marvels and miracles as divine, stressing the difference between God (deity) and Moses (human).

Im a proud Ashkenazi Jew, but I enthusiastically adopted my IsraeliSephardihusbands Passover dietary traditions upon getting married.

Why? Well, during Passover, all Jews are prohibited from eatinghametz, namelywheat, spelt, oats, barley, and rye. The reason is stated in the Torah: After thetenth plagueclaimed the lives of Egypts first-born children, the Egyptians urged the Israelites to leave immediately. They then baked their unleavened dough quickly and took their freshmatzahon their journey.

However, in contrast withAskenazi Jews(who, broadly speaking, are of Eastern European descent), Sephardi Jews (originally from the Iberian Peninsula) are permitted to eatkitniyot. The Hebrew for legumes, these include beans, corn, rice, and all of their derivatives. Biblical scholar Jeffery Spitzer explains thatkitniyotwere firstbannedin the 13th century for fear of unintentional mixing or substitution for wheat ingredients.

First the Sephardi Passover diet, and now this?! In Exodus, we read that Passover is celebrated from the 14th to 21st of the Hebrew month ofNissan. Why, oh why, then, do Jews living outside of Israel keep Passover for an extra day? Rabbi Daniel Kohn teaches that, around the first century, the Sanhedrin (Jewish governing body), would alert Jewish communities of holidays commencements bylighting firesto be seen by designated witnesses. These witnesses would then light their own fires to help spread the word. Very unfortunately, during times of strife with neighboring non-Jewish communities, random fires would be lit with the hope of sending confusing signals to the Jewish population, ensuring discrepancies as to when a holiday would begin.

To avoid this problem, the Sanhedrin sent messengers by foot. However, depending upon the distance from Jerusalem, communication could bedelayed. Therefore, those living outside of Israel developed the practice of celebrating certain holidays one day longer, overcompensating to make sure the holiday was observed on the correct day. This became known asyom tov shenisecond festival day. Even after the Jewish calendar was set, the Diaspora community continued to extend the holiday of Passover (and Shavuot and Sukkot) by one day.

Also, in Israel, only one seder is held for the same reason!

Rabbi Simeon J. Maslin explains that during our seder, four cups of wine are blessed and consumed to represent Gods four promises to the Israelite people found inExodus 6:6-7, I will free youdeliver youredeem youtake you to be My people.

However, just a verse later, afifthis revealed: I will bring you into the land The Talmud records a dispute over how to categorize this fifth promise: Is it to be counted with the first four, thereby needing an accompanying (fifth) cup of wine? Or should it stand alone, allowing only four cups of wine?

There is a Talmudic term,teku, marking an indecision. (Im totally using this from now on in my parenting!) The cups-of-wine question was determined teku, and the haggadah offers this solution: Four cups of wine would be drunk throughout the seder, and a symbolic fifth cup would be poured and reserved for the Prophet Elijiah.

As awesome as Elijiah is, what role does he have in our telling of the Passover story? Well, Elijiah is associated with two tremendous prophecies: The first is the ushering of the Messiah, who will bring a time of peace and tranquility for the Jewish people, and thesecondis to resolve all the discussions left teku!

Well, I guess thats how the matzah crumbles! Wishing you and your families a safe and pleasant holiday and prayers for Next year together!!!Pesach sameach!

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7 facts about Passover that will surprise and delight you - St. Louis Jewish Light