B"H
Tuesday, Adar2 19, 5782 / March 22, 2022
The holiday of Pesach (Passover) is in three weeks. The first Seder will be Friday night, April 15th. The second Seder will be, Saturday night, April 16th. In Israel only one Seder is performed.
Q. How many names does the Pesach holiday have?
A. Fournames: 1) Chag HaMatzot (Holiday of Matzot); during the holiday we are prohibited to eat bread, only Matzot.
2)Chag Ha-Pesach (Holiday of Passover); This name reminds us of the miracle in which G-d passed over the Jewish homes in Egypt, at the time of the plague of the first-born.
“Pesach”can be made into two words; Pe (mouth) Sach (to speak). This name reminds us that, although the mitzvah of remembering the Exodus from Egypt applies "each day of our life" (Deut. 16:3), it teaches us that, on the night of the holiday, it is not enough to only remember the Exodus, butwe mustspeak about it. It is a mitzvah to tell the story of the Exodus and "speak" about it at length, as the Hagadah says,“the more one elaborates on the story of the Exodus, the more that person is praiseworthy.”
3) Chag Ha-Aviv (Holiday of Spring); The Passover holiday must be celebrated in the spring. This is the reason why every few years (as this year) we have an extra month before Pesach in order that Pesach will be celebrated in the spring.
4) Z'man Cheiruteinu (Season of our Freedom). Pesach is the holiday when we gained our freedom from the Egyptian enslavement.
Q. Pesach begins on the 15th day in Nissan, the day in which the Jewish people came out of Egypt. What other events, many years before the Exodus, happened on the 15th of Nissan?
A. 1) The story of the three angels disguised as men, who visited Abraham (Genesis 18), took place on the 15th of Nissan. 2) Yitzchak (Isaac) was born on the 15th day in Nissan. 3) G-d’s covenant with Abraham, in which He informed him about the future exile of his descendants and their subsequent liberation, took place on the 15th of Nissan, over four hundred years earlier.
Q. The first two nights of Pesach (in Israel one night), we perform the Seder. Why is it called, “Seder”?
A. Seder in Hebrew means, “order.” These nights are different from all other nights of the year. As there is a specific order. Unlike other holiday nights when right after the Kiddush we wash for the meal, on the Seder nights, after the Kiddush, we wash our hands for the dipping of the vegetable in salt- water; then we break the middle matzah, then the four questions are asked, we recite the Hagadah, etc. etc. Thus, it is called Seder – as there is a specific order to this celebration.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY