Happy Passover!!! פסח שמח!! From 2014.April 14-April 22

1、Passover offering, korban Pesach

When the Temple in Jerusalem was standing, the focus of the Passover festival was the Passover sacrifice (Hebrew korban Pesach) also known as the "Paschal Lamb". Every family large enough to completely consume a young lamb or wild goat was required to offer one for sacrifice at the Jewish Temple on the afternoon of the 14th day of Nisan,(Numbers 9:11) and eat it that night, which was the 15th of Nisan (Exodus 12:6). If the family was too small to finish eating the entire offering in one sitting, an offering was made for a group of families. The sacrifice could not be offered with anything leavened,(Exodus 23:18) and had to be roasted, without its head, feet, or inner organs being removed (Exodus 12:9) and eaten together with unleavened bread (matzo) and bitter herbs (maror). One had to be careful not to break any bones from the offering, (Exodus 12:46) and none of the meat could be left over by morning (Exodus 12:10Exodus 23:18).

Because of the Passover sacrifice's status as a sacred offering, the only people allowed to eat it were those who had the obligation to bring the offering. Among those who could not offer or eat the Passover lamb were: An apostate (Exodus 12:43), a servant (Exodus 12:45), an uncircumcised man (Exodus 12:48), a person in a state ofritual impurity, except when a majority of Jews are in such a state (Pesahim 66b), and a non-Jew. The offering had to be made before a quorum of 30 (Pesahim 64b). In the Temple, the Levites sang Hallel while the priests performed the sacrificial service. Men and women were equally obligated regarding the offering (Pesahim 91b).

Women were obligated, as men, to perform the Korban Pesach and to participate in a Seder.

Today

Today, in the absence of the Temple, the mitzvah of the Korban Pesach is memorialized in the Seder Korban Pesach^[28], recited in the afternoon of Nisan 14, and in the form of symbolic food placed on the Passover Seder Plate, which is usually a roasted shankbone. The eating of the afikoman substitutes for the eating of the Korban Pesach at the end of the Seder meal (Mishnah Pesachim 119a). Many Sephardi Jews have the custom of eating lamb or goat meat during the Seder in memory of the Korban Pesach.

2、Passover 2014 Calendar Dates

The eight-day festival of Passover is celebrated each year in the early spring, from the 15th through the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Nissan, so the dates on an American calendar vary from year to year and we often find ourselves asking "when does Passover start?" or "when is the first Seder in 2014?"  We are happy to provide you with this information about Passover 2014 dates. 

In 2014, Passover begins on the evening of Monday, April 14, 2014 at nightfall, and ends after nightfall on the evening of Tuesday, April 22, 2014.  Accordingly, the first seder 2014 will be Monday night, April 14, 2014, and the second seder will be Tuesday night, April 15, 2014.  Personally, we're happy that this doesn't coincide with the secular/public elementary, middle, high school and college Spring Breaks, because in 2013 fares to travel during Passover were super expensive because of the overlap!  Remember to make your seder more fun -- it's easy to add the Passover Bingo Game to make it more interactive! 

According to traditional Judaism, the first two days and last two days are full-fledged holidays.   We wish each other Passover greetings such as “Happy Passover” or “Chag Sameach” (Happy Holidays) we can also say Happy Passover in Hebrew, which would be “Chag Pesach Sameach.”  Holiday candles are lit at night, and Kiddush – the blessing over the wine- and sumptuous holiday meals are enjoyed on both nights and days. We don’t go to work, drive, write or switch on or off electric devices. We are permitted to cook and to carry outdoors.  Traditional (Orthodox and most Conservative) Jews usually have a Seder, during which we read the story of Exodus from special books called Haggadot (Hagaddahs), on both the first and second nights, but some more liberal or modern Reform Jews, and some Jews in Israel, only have a seder on the first night

2、Here is a recap of the Passover calendar for 2014:

• April 14, 2014 (Monday, 14 Nissan): Erev/night before Passover and First Seder: The Seder contains the observance of many biblical and rabbinical mitzvoth, including: eating Matzah, eating Maror, drinking four cups of wine, relating the story of the Exodus to children, reclining as a symbol of freedom

• April 15, 2014 (Tuesday, 15 Nissan): 1st day of Passover. Evening:  Second Seder

• April 16, 2014 (Wednesday, 16 Nissan): 2nd day of Passover. Celebrate Passover’s intermediate days. Between now and the last two days of Passover, we may resume much of regular workday activities; but, we continue to eat Kosher for Passover foods exclusively.  Thinking about soft, doughy pizza bread?  Stop it!  Go grab the matza instead.

• April 17, 2014 (Thursday, 17 Nissan): 3rd day of Passover, 1st day of Chol Hamoed. 

• April 18, 2014 (Friday, 18 Nissan): 4th day of Passover, 2nd day of Chol Hamoed. 

• April 19, 2014 (Shabbat, 19 Nissan): 5th day of Passover, 3rd day of Chol Hamoed.

• April 20, 2014 (Sunday, 20 Nissan): 6th day of Passover, 4th day of Chol Hamoed. It is customary in many communities to remain awake all night, studying Torah, in commemoration of the great miracle of the splitting of the sea, which occurred on the 7th day of Passover.

• April 21, 2014 (Monday, 21 Nissan): 7th day of Passover, Shevi’I Shel Pesach

• April 22, 2014 (Tuesday, 22 Nissan): Final day of Passover, Acharon Shel Pesach. Sunset brings the official end of Passover 2014!

• Passover seder

  

  

  Table set for the Passover Seder
  Main article: Passover Seder

  It is traditional for Jewish families to gather on the first night of Passover (first two nights in communities outside the land of Israel) for a special dinner called a seder (סדר—derived from the Hebrew word for "order", referring to the very specific order of the ritual). The table is set with the finest china and silverware to reflect the importance of the meal. During this meal, the story of the Exodus from Egypt is retold using a special text called the Haggadah. Four cups of wine are consumed at various stages in the narrative. The Haggadah divides the night's procedure into 15 parts:

  1. Kadeish קדש – recital of Kiddush blessing and drinking of the first cup of wine
  2. Urchatz ורחץ – the washing of the hands – without blessing
  3. Karpas כרפס – dipping of the karpas in salt water
  4. Yachatz יחץ – breaking the middle matzo; the larger piece becomes the afikoman which is eaten later during the ritual ofTzafun
  5. Maggid מגיד – retelling the Passover story, including the recital of "the four questions" and drinking of the second cup of wine
  6. Rachtzah רחצה – second washing of the hands – with blessing
  7. Motzi מוציא – traditional blessing before eating bread products
  8. Matzo מצה – blessing before eating matzo
  9. Maror מרור – eating of the maror
  10. Koreich כורך – eating of a sandwich made of matzo and maror
  11. Shulchan oreich שולחן עורך – lit. "set table"—the serving of the holiday meal
  12. Tzafun צפון – eating of the afikoman
  13. Bareich ברך – blessing after the meal and drinking of the third cup of wine
  14. Hallel הלל – recital of the Hallel, traditionally recited on festivals; drinking of the fourth cup of wine
  15. Nirtzah נירצה – conclusion

  These 15 parts parallel the 15 steps in the Temple in Jerusalem on which the Levites stood during Temple services, and which were memorialized in the 15 Psalms (#120-134) known as Shir HaMa'alot (Hebrew: שיר המעלות‎, "Songs of Ascent").^[42]

  The seder is replete with questions, answers, and unusual practices (e.g. the recital of Kiddush which is not immediately followed by the blessing over bread, which is the traditional procedure for all other holiday meals) to arouse the interest and curiosity of the children at the table. The children are also rewarded with nuts and candies when they ask questions and participate in the discussion of the Exodus and its aftermath. Likewise, they are encouraged to search for the afikoman, the piece of matzo which is the last thing eaten at the seder. Audience participation and interaction is the rule, and many families' seders last long into the night with animated discussions and much singing. The seder concludes with additional songs of praise and faith printed in the Haggadah, including Chad Gadya ("One Little Kid" or "One Little Goat").

  Maror

  

  

  Types of maror: grated horseradish,romaine lettuce, whole horseradish root

  Maror symbolizes the bitterness of slavery in Egypt. The following verse from the Torah underscores that symbolism: "And they embittered (ve-yimareru וימררו) their lives with hard labor, with mortar and with bricks and with all manner of labor in the field; any labor that they made them do was with hard labor" (Exodus 1:14).

  

  

  Silver seder plate

  Four cups of wine

  There is a Rabbinic requirement that four cups of wine are to be drunk during the seder meal. This applies to both men and women. The Mishnah says (Pes. 10:1) that even the poorest man in Israel has an obligation to drink. Each cup is connected to a different part of the seder: the first cup is for Kiddush, the second cup is connected with the recounting of the Exodus, the drinking of the third cup concludes Birkat Hamazon and the fourth cup is associated with Hallel.

  The four questions and participation of children

  See also: The four questions

  Children have a very important role in the Passover seder. Traditionally the youngest child is prompted to ask questions about the Passover seder, beginning with the words, Mah Nishtana HaLeila HaZeh (Why is this night different from all other nights?). The questions encourage the gathering to discuss the significance of the symbols in the meal. The questions asked by the child are:

  Why is this night different from all other nights?

  On all other nights, we eat either unleavened or leavened bread, but tonight we eat only unleavened bread?

  On all other nights, we eat all kinds of vegetables, but tonight, we eat only bitter herbs?

  On all other nights, we do not dip [our food] even once, but tonight we dip twice?

  On all other nights, we eat either sitting or reclining, but tonight we only recline?

  Often the leader of the seder and the other adults at the meal will use prompted responses from the Haggadah, which states, "The more one talks about the Exodus from Egypt, the more praiseworthy he is." Many readings, prayers, and stories are used to recount the story of the Exodus. Many households add their own commentary and interpretation and often the story of the Jews is related to the theme of liberation and its implications worldwide.