The History of Passover

The history of Passover is a part of celebrating Passover.
The actual Passover story occupies the first
fifteen chapters of the book of Exodus.
That part of the history of Passover is described here.

The events begin with the arrival in Mitzrayim (Egypt) of
Jacob/Israel and his family of seventy men. After two hundred
ten years of slavery the story concludes with the redemption
of a nation - six hundred thousand men and their families.

This is done by direct Divine intervention. The forces
of nature are altered in Egypt and at the Red Sea.
That is the story of Passover (they made a movie about it!).

The history of Passover is different. It began much
earlier than the narrative in Egypt and it continues.
It has not yet ended but is happening now. We are living it.

That's why an appreciation of the history of Passover
is necessary for truly celebrating Passover.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

The seeds of the holiday originate with our forefather Abraham,
the first Jew. He was the first to recognize the Master of the Universe.
He acknowledged the Creator and Source of all activity and matter.
His sole purpose in life thereafter was to act on and publicize his
devotion to his Creator. As a reward Abraham was promised that his
children would behave as an example of recognition and service
to their Creator for all others to follow. This was the only
reward that he wanted, the only one worth having.

Abraham was also told that this would happen only as a result
of a singular event in human history. His descendants - helpless
slaves to the most powerful of nations - would all be saved.
The forces of nature and the events of human history, which always
serve the same Master, would do so visibly for the first and only time.

Abraham steadfastly displayed his trust. So did Isaac and
Jacob his son and grandson. Their upright behavior never
varied although their circumstances did.

When Jacob, now Israel, went to Egypt, he knew what to expect.
He also knew that his children would return to the land promised
their fathers. The culmination of Jewish history would see all of
mankind following his children's lead in acknowledging their Creator.

The History of Passover.
It's the History of the Jewish People

While in Egypt the Israelites maintained their customs,
kept their style of dress and distinctive names and
did not marry Egyptians or adopt their behavior.

For these reasons they were worthy of redemption.
However, the redemption was not a reward.
It had a purpose as Moses was told.

The Jews were to be recipients of the Torah. The Torah is
a blueprint, a way of life. It leads to complete and proper
recognition of the Creator with every aspect of living.
The children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob kept their traditions
while slaves in Egypt. They were then to accept and keep the
Torah, given to them by the Creator who released them from slavery
for just this purpose - keeping the Torah and being His people.

The haggada tells us flatly; had we not been saved we would still
be slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt today.

We are living our history.

It Kept Happening

The history of Passover, which is Jewish history, is also
world history. Through the ages there have been many despotic rulers
like the Pharaoh. There have been many dominant, seemingly invincible
societies like Egypt. They have displayed many philosophies and
behaviors like the Egyptians did:

• the worship of materialism
• the glorification of the human body
• idol worship in its many forms
• the dominance of race
• the supremacy of the human mind
• the inevitability of "fate" or blind chance
• most 'isms.

All of these ways of life exist for the same purpose -
to throw off the yoke of Heaven, to deny.

Each one of these societies, as the haggada describes,
tried to subjugate or destroy the Jews. They had to so
as to justify their own survival. The very existence of
the Jewish people was proof that there is a stronger Power than them.
It shows that true and ongoing survival results from submission to
the Creator, not in dominance of others. To deny this truth was
imperative and so they tried to destroy the Jewish people.

They are gone, they have vanished, but we remain.

Why We Are Here

The history of Passover teaches us that our purpose in life has not
changed. We show our devotion to the Creator just as Abraham did.
Just as he did, our highest aspiration is to be nothing but a model
of behavior that leads others to the same conclusion.
That will lead to the ultimate and eternal redemption of mankind.

Your haggada will explain how the components of the seder and
the forbidden foods as well, act as symbols. By using them,
or not using them, we try to absorb the ideals of the holiday.

Understanding the history of Passover is the key
to celebrating Passover so that we play our part.