Slaying of the First Born
The holiday's name - Pesach,
meaning "passing over" or "protection" in Hebrew, is derived from
the instructions given to Moses by G-d . In order to encourage the
Pharaoh to free the Israelites, G-d intended to kill the first-born
of both man and beast. To protect themselves, the Israelites were
told to mark their houses with lamb's blood so that G-d could
identify and "pass over" their homes.
The
Pharaoh was unconvinced and refused to free the Jewish slaves until
the last plague.
When
the Pharaoh finally agreed to freedom, the Israelites left their
homes so quickly that there wasn't even time to bake their breads.
So they packed the raw dough to take with them on their journey. As
they fled through the desert they would quickly bake the dough in
the hot sun into hard crackers called matzohs. Today to remember
this event, Jews eat matzoh in place of bread during Passover
The
Pharaoh's army chased them through the desert towards the Red Sea.
When the Jews reached the sea they were trapped, since the sea
blocked their escape
It was
then that a miracle occurred. The waves of the Red Sea parted and
the Israelites were able to cross to the other side. As soon as they
all reached the other side the sea closed trapping the Pharaoh's
army as the waves closed upon them
Then as
the Israelites watched the waters of the Red Sea sweep away the
Pharaoh's army they realized they were finally free
Passover
celebrates this history. The first 2 nights of the 8 day holiday are
celebrated with lavish meals called Seders in which the stories and
history of Passover are celebrated. Special foods, plates,
silverware are all a part of the Seder.