The Jewish festival of Pesach, or Passover
My name is Hanne-Marie, and I am going to be writing about the Jewish festival of Pesach, or Passover as it’s more often referred to by non-Jews. Before I get into the that, however, I thought that I would introduce myself and my role at English Heritage, as well as to the Jewish community that I am a part of.
I work as a visitor assistant at Apsley House and the Wellington Arch, located in central London. My days are largely spent greeting and talking to our visitors, selling tickets, guidebooks and memberships, and caring for our collection of artworks. Going forward I’m also hoping to grow in my role and be able to give guided tours and talks about the locations, as I am passionate about interpretation and education, and how this offers opportunities to interact with visitors and get them excited about art and heritage.
I’m originally from Norway, but I moved to London in 2016 to attend university, studying history at the University of Greenwich. After being here about a year, I found my way to West London Synagogue, located here in London, near Marble Arch. I wanted to find a progressive Jewish community whose values matched my own, and so I was fortunate when it came to WLS.
West London Synagogue is the largest reform synagogue in the United Kingdom, and the Grade II listed building is one of the oldest synagogues in London. It was established in 1840 by Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews who no longer wished to be categorised as either German or Portuguese, but instead wanted to identify as “British Jews”. Its current building was dedicated in 1870, and has since been in continuous use. Not only is the sanctuary beautifully ornate, it also houses an incredible organ.
Pesach, or Passover, is one of the major festivals in the Jewish calendar. Though in the standard Gregorian calendar the holiday changes dates every year, in the Hebrew calendar it begins on the 15th of Nisan. The festival lasts for 7 or 8 days depending on where you celebrate and the community you practice with, but Reform Jews as myself celebrate for 7 days.
There are many traditions associated with the festival of Pesach, but before writing about that I think it important to answer the big question: what is Pesach, and why is it celebrated?
Pesach celebrates the Exodus — when G-d led the Hebrews out of Egypt and out of slavery. In the Torah the Exodus, Shemot, begins by surmising the greatness of Joseph and how the Hebrews in Egypt had prospered as the Pharaohs remembered Joseph, but as his memory passed, the new Pharaoh began to question why a people who were different from themselves were allowed to thrive in their land. He ordered the Hebrews to be treated cruelly and forced into hard labour, but as the Hebrews continued to multiply he ordered that all Hebrew baby boys be killed. This is where we come to the story of Moses, who most have a familiarity with. Moses was a Hebrew baby boy who was hidden by his mother, and then placed in a basket in the reeds to save him, where he was found by the Pharaoh’s daughter. In time Moses grows and becomes a man, and his destiny is to follow G-d, and lead the Hebrews out of Egypt, through the desert, and to land of milk and honey — the Holy Land. The story is long and so I’ll refrain from retelling it in its entirety, though if you’re interested in learning more, DreamWorks’ The Prince of Egypt is an excellent animated retelling that is beloved by many, including within the Jewish community.
At Pesach we remember this, and through that a variety of traditions have developed. It is seen as a mitzvah, a commandment ordered by the Torah to celebrate. One of the main parts of the observation of Pesach is refraining from eating chametz, or leaven, though the extent and what is considered chametz varies from community to community and person to person. For observant Jews this means removing chametz from their homes and spaces entirely along with not consuming it, while others just refrain from eating it, and others may choose to just not eat bread — or choose nothing at all. In our modern society, for many it comes down to a personal choice. Instead of eating chametz, it is typical to eat matzoh in its place — a hard cracker that is said to remind us of the fact that when the Hebrews were escaping from Egypt they didn’t have time to let their bread rise, and so only had hard, unleavened crackers to eat on their journey.
On the first night of Pesach, it is common to have a Seder, a religious meal where we eat, sing, pray and work our way through the Haggadah, a text that sets out the order of the Seder. It is also common to discuss social justice issues that the community is facing at the time, and to tell stories that relate to the themes in Exodus. A common theme of many of today’s Seders is inclusion, and this is often expressed through the Seder Plate. A Seder plate is a special plate that sits on the Seder table, holding various items to remind those attending of the Exodus. The items on a traditional Seder plate and what they represent can be found in the link above, but recently, especially in progressive Jewish communities, items have been added to represent groups who have traditionally been overlooked. An orange is often added to the Seder plate to represent the oppression faced by LGBTQ+ people, and this year one of the Rabbis of my synagogue has decided that to ours we’ll also be adding a spring flower, to remind us of all those who grab our attention when standing up for political freedom, the way spring flowers grab our attention and remind us of the coming goodness of spring and summer after a long and bleak winter.
Children are also centrally focused in the Seder, and play a special role of asking questions. The Four Questions are asked typically by the youngest member at the table, starting with Mah nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilot? Why is this night different from all other nights? It can be asked as a question, but is more often sung to a traditional tune. There are also The Four Children, the wise, the wicked, the simple and the silent. There is much debate about this in the progressive community — can you really give out specific roles to each child, or do we all possess parts of each child? This question is also brought up across Seder tables, and allows for discussion on expectations and assumptions we make about those around us. Children also get to have fun at the Seder — at the start the leader will take a piece of matzah and break it in two pieces. The smaller piece of is placed back on the table, while the larger, called the Afikomen is placed in a special pouch and hidden, and at the end of the Seder the children all search for it, with the one who finds it getting special treat or prize.
While today Pesach is generally a positive experience and fun holiday to celebrate, historically that has not always been the case. For medieval Jews in Europe, Pesach came not only with the joy of being freed from Egyptian slavery, but also with the fear of violence. Pesach often coincides with the Christian holiday of Easter, and often Jews would be blamed for the crucifixion of Jesus. Blood libel would be spread about the Jews, claiming that a Christian child would be sacrificed for the Jews to use for the wine at the Seder table, or in the baking of Matzah. Though this was untrue, it gave Christians a reason to attack Jews, and there were instances across Europe where in the wake of Pesach, members of Jewish communities would be rounded up and interrogated, tortured, and if they refused to accept the accusations and chance of Christian salvation, they would be massacred. Today we remember the blood libel and the suffering of the Jews who came before us, and risked death to celebrate the Exodus by drinking red wine at the Seder.
Personally, I am looking forward to celebrating Pesach with a Seder at my synagogue. Over 200 members of the community will gather across two Seders, one intergenerational for all, and the other for young adults, to come together and remember and to learn. With a wonderful meal, song and discussion, it is one of the most fun nights of the year.
While I could have written far more and in far greater detail, I don’t want to take up all your time. Instead, should you ever have the chance of being invited to a Seder in a Jewish home, or within a Jewish community, I would highly recommend taking the offer up. It is an incredible experience, and one that is likely to be remembered for a long time.
With that, I wish all of those reading a joyous time forward, whatever you celebrate. An Eid Mubarak to those celebrating Ramadan, Happy Easter to those who celebrate, and Chag Pesach Sameach to all my fellow Jews.
