2.7b : Festivals (continued)

Question 1

What is Pesach (Passover)?

Answer 1

• Pesach is a freedom festival which commemorates the Jewish peoples freedom from slavery.
• It is the birthday of the Jewish nation and the seder meal.
• Any food containing yeast is called chametz and Jewish children play games to find any chametz in the house before passover begins.
• Pesach celebrates God’s power and control over history - without the Passover or Exodus there would be no Jewish people.

Question 2

What happens at Pesach?

Answer 2

• Pesach is welcomed into the home just like Shabbat.
• The synagogue holds a special service, in which special prayers are said to thank God for freeing their ancestors from slavery in Egypt.
• The family return home for the seder meal, which follows an order set out in the Hagadah book, and has special foods on the seder plate. The youngest memeber of the family asks a series of questions and the father answers them. After they have eaten the roast lamb meal, they eat the afikomen.
• In the seder meal, the charoset (fruit and nut paste) represents the mud bricks the Israelite slaves had to make, bitter herbs represent the pain of slavery, the burnt egg represent temple sacrifices, the lamb shank represents the lambs sacrificed at Passover, and the green parsely and lettuce represents freedom.

Question 3

Why is Pesach important?

Answer 3

• It celebrates God’s powera nd cotnrol of history - with Passover and Exodus there would be no Jewish people.
• It celebrates the birthday of the Jewish nation.
• It celebrates with the seder meal, like a birthday party for the nation.
• It celebrates Jewish history, and how God has preserved his chosen people.

Question 4

What happens at Shauvot?

Answer 4

• Candles are lit on the first and second evening to bring in the festival.
• Many people stay up to read the Torah on the first night.
• Everyone goes to the synagogue on the first day to hear the reading of the Ten Commandments.
• People eat dairy foods, rather than meat.
• On the second day, prayers are said for those who have died.
• The Book of Ruth is read.

Question 5

Why is Shauvot important?

Answer 5

• The gift of the Torah is the most important thing in Jewish history.
• Whilst Pesach brought physical freedom, Shauvot celebrates spiritual freedom brought by the Mitzvot, and so completes Pesach.
• The dairy symbolises how the Jews did not know the laws about meat.

Question 6

Pesach

SOWA: Leviticus 23:6

Answer 6

“For seven days, you must eat the bread made without the yeast”

Question 7

SOWA : Exodus 12:19

Answer 7

“No yeast must be found in your house. And whoever eats anything with yeast made in it, must be cut off from the community of Israel”

Question 8

Pesach

SOWA: Deuteronomy 16:2

Answer 8

“Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd”

Question 9

Shauvot

SOWA: Deuteronomy

Answer 9

“Take some of the first fruits of all that you produce… and put them in a basket…. Place the basket before the Lord your God.”