Passover is one of the most important festivals on the Jewish calendar. Jews celebrate the Feast of Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) to commemorate the liberation of the Children of Israel who were led out of Egypt by Moses.

Passover is also a celebration of new life, of a journey from slavery to freedom, and of taking responsibility for your self, the community, and the world. However, strangely enough, none of this taking of responsibility is done without tribulation. It was with groaning that the Hebrews expressed the pain of their ancient enslavement in Egypt more than 3,300 years ago, and it continues to this day, with the enemies of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob still attacking the children every chance they have.  

The first night always includes a special seder (ritual dinner). Plus, traditional Jews outside of Israel don’t work on either the first two or the last two days of the seven-day period, and the days in between are spent reading, remembering, praying, and focusing on YHVH and His promises.

You can think of Passover as celebrating the Jewish people’s “birth certificate” and “Declaration of Independence.” Or you can think of it as memorializing something that God did for the Jews 3,300 years ago. But for modern believer in YHVH, it is the celebration of all Y'shua (Jesus in Greek)  has done for us.

However, this required (by YHVH for all His people) feast is more meaningful because Passover is not celebrated at church. It is celebrated with family and friends as it is a personal celebration. In the Jewish culture, Passover is celebrated not so much as a past event but celebrated as if we actually walked through the desert with Moses.

What we know as Passover is actually made up three independent feasts.  The first is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasts for 7 days.  During these 7 days, the first day is set aside to celebrate the Passover followed three days later by the Feast of First Fruits. These feasts are so important and exciting that modern Judaism has added two additional feasts at the end to extend the celebrations.

The Passover Seder begins with the telling of the story of the exodus from Egypt after God’s people spent generations in bondage.  There are specific foods that go along with the telling of the story that will be sampled for the observance. The most notable observance of the Passover is the absence of leaven in the household and in the foods.   This commemorates the fact that the Children of Yisrah-el' were leaving Egypt were in a hurry, and did not have time to let their bread rise. It is also a symbolic way of removing the “puffiness” (sin, arrogance, pride) from our souls. 

Foods common to the Middle East will be available to snack on during the Seder.  The sit-down Seder dinner will be served toward the end of the observance (approx. 7:30 pm). Traditional dinner items including lamb, homemade GF matzah and Cheroset are involved. Additional items like mashed potatoes, salad, brisket and unleavened desserts can also be provided.

Yes, children are welcome and are a vital part of the family Passover tradition.  Just know that they will need to sit for a long period of time and not distract from the reverence of the observance.  The children will also participate in a portion of the Passover observance so that will give them a chance to stretch their legs and move around.