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Friday, March 30, 2018

CHAG SAMEACH


In Hebrew, Pesach means "to pass over";  interestingly, this year Passover will be celebrated March 30 to April 7 and Good Friday will be the same day as Passover.  The Last Supper, was a seder and Jesus was an observant Jew.

Passover is the Festival of Freedom which commemorates the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and their transition from slavery to freedom. 

The main ritual of Passover is the seder, a festive meal that involves the retelling of the exodus through stories and songs and the consumption of ritual foods: matzah, unleavened bread (represents the fact that the Israelites had to leave quickly and couldn't wait for the bread to rise), maror, bitter herbs (represents the bitterness of slavery), harroset, mixture of apples, nuts, raisins, and spices (represents the mortar the Hebrew slaves used in building for the Egyptians), karpas, celery, parsley, or other green vegetables (represents spring), and a roasted egg (represents mourning). 

The Haggadah outlines the stories and rituals of Pesach.

The appropriate greeting for Passover is Chag Sameach which means "Happy Holiday" in Hebrew.

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