Essay On The Passover

In the history of the Jews, they have frequently been in persecution of their oppressive societies. Today, most of the Jewish population are living as ethnic minorities in diaspora. Judaism is a religion that conveys hope to the Jews in times of suffering. The Passover is an important Jewish tradition that celebrates this hope and strengthens their inner spirits. Its origin can be traced back to the Exodus of Jews from Egypt, and to this day, this event is still celebrated in Passover. It has transformed over the history from the earliest Biblical account to the present day practices. The Passover is a Jewish holiday that begins on the 15th on the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar (Jacobs, 374). Scholars believe that the holiday’s traditions

In the pre-rabbinic period, the rites were originally performed in the temple. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E., the rites were changed because Jews no longer had access to the temple. Originally, a lamb was sacrificed in the Temple, and the family would later eat the lamb for dinner (Greenberg, 40). This sacrifice was made so that God will pass over the Israelites’ houses when he kills the Egyptians’ first-born (Jacobs, 374). Today, the sacrifice is omitted, and the sacrificed lamb is symbolized by the shank bone (Greenberg, 40).

The current Passover rites are based on the earliest full account of the Passover recorded in the Mishnah, edited in Palestine in 200 C.E (Bokser, xi). The Mishnah changed the way the rites were to be performed to make them more accessible at locations outside the temple. It substitutes offerings with the unleavened bread, permits individuals to praise the God without a prophet, allows the rites to be performed without sacrifices, and elevates the narration of the Exodus to a central place (Bokser, 77). The early rabbinic Judaism transformed the Passover ritual from based on a temple to a home and the

Unlike the Christians who believe that salvation is an inward experience, Jews believe that redemption is achieved through physical means. Passover’s most significant symbol is the triumph of hope and freedom over the oppression exerted by humans. It proves that “human beings are meant to be free” and “God is concerned” (Greenberg, 35). The Torah stresses the association of spring to Passover in the cultural context, and it is a paradigm of the relationship between nature and history (Greenberg, 59). The Torah teaches that the natural phenomena and human biology are intertwined with the transcendent realm (Greenberg, 60). Spring is the archetypal symbol of rebirth, a symbol for the triumph of life over death (Greenberg, 60). Spiritually, it is also a time for redemption when love and hope overcomes death and evil (Greenberg, 60). It symbolizes the soul breaking out of the slavery of the material body to spiritual salvation (Greenberg,