History of Passover: the Jewish Pesach Holiday

Passover Seder

HISTORY OF PASSOVER For 2023, sunset tonight, April 5, marks the beginning of Passover. Exodus 12 in the Hebrew Bible tells the story of Passover from the life of Moses. Ten plagues were visited upon the Egyptian pharaoh (starring Yul Brenner in “The Ten Commandments,” but he was much better in “The King and I“)…

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History of Sukkot: Festival of Booths

Sukkot

HISTORY OF SUKKOT: FESTIVAL OF BOOTHS Tonight at sunset, September 9, begins the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, also known as the Festival of Booths or Festival of Tabernacles. We’ve talked about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but this holiday is significant because it is considered one of the three “pilgrimage” festivals in the Jewish calendar. The…

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History of Yom Kippur: Day of Atonement

Yom Kippur

HISTORY OF YOM KIPPUR The Jewish High Holy Days begin with Rosh Hashanah and continue until Yom Kippur, which starts at sundown tonight. Yom Kippur, the “Day of Atonement,” or more correctly Yom ha-Kippurim (Leviticus 16), goes back to Jewish antiquity almost 4,000 years to the time of Moses. This most solemn occasion of the Jewish…

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History of Rosh Hashanah: Jewish New Year

Rosh Hashanah

HISTORY OF ROSH HASHANAH Rosh Hashanah designates the beginning of the Jewish new year, starting tomorrow — which, according to the Jewish calendar, begins at sundown tonight. “Rosh” is Hebrew for “head,” and Rosh Hashanah refers to the head of the year on the 1st day of Tishri, the seventh month of the Jewish ecclesiastical…

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History of Chanukah: The Festival of Lights

HISTORY OF CHANUKAH Chanukah is also spelled hanukkah, meaning "dedication." It begins this year at sundown tonight, December 11 with the last candle being lit on Friday, December 18. This Jewish holiday traces its roots back more than 2,000 years. At that time the Jewish people were living under the oppressive government of the Syrian ruler…

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History of Yom Kippur

HISTORY OF YOM KIPPUR The Jewish High Holy Days begin with Rosh Hashanah and continue until Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur, which begins with sundown this evening, also known as the Day of Atonement, or more correctly Yom ha-Kippurim (Leviticus 16) goes back to Jewish antiquity almost 4,000 years to the time of Moses. This most solemn…

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History of Passover

PASSOVER This year, the evening at sunset April 8 marks the beginning of Passover. Exodus 12 in the Bible tells the story of Passover from the life of Moses. Ten plagues were visited upon the Egyptian pharaoh (starring Yul Brenner, but he was much better in "The King and I") to get his attention to…

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History of Chanukah

HISTORY OF CHANUKAH Also spelled hanukkah, means "dedication". It begins this year at sundown, December 21. This Jewish holiday traces its roots back more than 2,000 years. At that time the Jewish people were living under the oppressive government of the Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes IV, (a rather ironic name — Epiphanes means "God made…

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History of Yom Kippur

HISTORY OF YOM KIPPUR The Jewish High Holy Days begin with Rosh Hashana and continue until Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur , which begins and sundown this evening, also known as the Day of Atonement , or more correctly Yom ha-Kippurim (Leviticus 16) goes back to Jewish antiquity almost 4,000 years to the time of Moses.…

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History of Rosh Hashana

HISTORY OF ROSH HASHANA Rosh HaShana designates the beginning of the Jewish new year, starting at sundown this evening. “Rosh” is Hebrew for “head” and Rosh HaShana refers to the head of the year on the 1st day of Tishri, the seventh month. Judaism has a solar/lunar calendar system, in which the lunar reckoning predominates.…

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History of Passover

PASSOVER This year, the evening at sunset April 19 marks the beginning of Passover. Exodus 12 in the Bible tells the story of Passover from the life of Moses. Ten plagues were visited upon the Egyptian pharaoh (starring Yul Brenner, but he was much better in "The King and I") to get his attention to…

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