Passover 2023 starts at sundown tonight, and many around the world will celebrate by holding a seder, a ritual meal to celebrate the holiday. The holiday will run over the next seven days, ending on April 13. Many communities will hold seders during the first two nights, which is a ritual feast that includes telling the story of Passover, drinking wine, eating symbolic food and celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt.
God instructed Moses to tell the Israelite people to bring a lamb into their homes on the same night that God said he would strike down the firstborn child of the Egyptians.
The Israelites then slaughtered the lambs and ate them with matzah (unleavened bread) and maror (bitter herbs). Afterward, they were instructed to smear the blood of the lamb on their doorposts as a sign to God that this was an Israelite home to be “passed over” while death visited the homes of the other firstborns.
On the first two nights of the holiday, a ceremonial meal called Seder is observed.
The 15-step tradition includes eating matzah and maror, drinking wine or grape juice, and reading from a Haggadah, according to the Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center.
Unleavened bread is eaten to signify what Jews brought along for food when quickly leaving Egypt. A Haggadah tells the story of the Exodus and describes rituals.
During Passover, Jews are not allowed to consume grains, such as wheat, barley, spelt, oats and rye, that can ferment or become leavened, Chabad.org says. So, they cannot eat breads, pastas, cakes, cookies, pizza, beer, certain types of liquor and other foods.
Wheat flour can only be eaten during Passover if it is baked into matzah.
Even dishes must be cleaned thoroughly to remove any trace of the forbidden leavened food — called chametz — if that dish is to be used to cook kosher food for the holiday.
Passover is an eight-day holiday that commemorates the departure of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt more than 3,000 years ago.
