The Jewish holiday of passover begins today, March 29th at 10am (Toronto time) and runs for 8 days, ending sun-down Tuesday April 6th.
Passover commemorates the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt, where we (they) were slaves.
If you have ever seen the movie “The Ten Commandments,” you know the story of Passover, more or less.
Passover is celebrated for eight days starting on the night of a full moon in late-March or early April.
Passover usually overlaps with Easter, though occasionally Passover occurs a month after Easter.
Jewish people observe Passover to whatever extent they find comfortable, even if only to go to the ritual dinners (called a seder, pronounced SAY-der) on the first and/or second night of the holiday.
Most (though not all) Jews avoid bread and grain products to one extent or another throughout this holiday, in memory of the fact that our ancestors left Egypt in a hurry and didn’t have time to wait for their bread to rise.
You should avoid scheduling events involving food during this holiday, and should avoid scheduling travel for Jews because it may be hard for them to find suitable food away from home.
Strictly observant Jews do not work, go to school or carry out any business on the first two and last two days of Passover (first one day and last one day for some branches). This is a requirement of Jewish law.
Most Jews will work through Passover, although many may want to take time off the day before Passover, to prepare for the big family dinner. To put this in perspective: imagine if you had to work during the day of Thanksgiving, then prepare for Thanksgiving dinner after getting home from work.
My next post will explain more about the actual holiday and why we celebrate it.