Passover (Pesach): the festival of freedom פֶּסַח

The Book of Exodus tells how the Israelites, enslaved in Egypt, were freed after ten plagues; on the night of the last plague they ate the Passover lamb with matzah and bitter herbs, and left in such haste that their dough had no time to rise. The Torah commands remembering this every year: eating matzah, removing chametz, and above all telling the story to one’s children.

The Seder night turns the memory into an experience. The Talmud teaches that “in every generation a person must see himself as if he had come out of Egypt” (Pesachim 116b). The symbols on the table – matzah, bitter herbs, salt water, four cups of wine – allow children and adults alike to ask, answer and relive the passage from slavery to freedom.

Passover is also the first of the three pilgrimage festivals and the spring festival (Chag HaAviv). On the second night the counting of the Omer begins, the 49 days that lead to Shavuot.

• Kitniyot: Ashkenazim do not eat legumes, rice and corn on Passover; most Sephardim eat them after careful checking.
• The Seder plate: Ashkenazim follow the arrangement of the Arizal or the Gra; many Sephardi families lift the plate over the heads of those present while singing Bivhilu Yatzanu Mimitzrayim.
• Matzah: many Sephardim use soft, hand-made matzot; Chassidim use only handmade shmurah matzah and avoid soaked matzah (gebrokts).
• On the night after Passover, North African communities celebrate the Mimouna with sweets, mufleta and open houses.

Dates follow the Diaspora schedule. Jewish days begin at sundown: a holiday starts in the evening before its first day and ends at nightfall.

Israel and the Diaspora

In Israel Passover lasts seven days with one Seder; in the Diaspora it lasts eight days and two Seders are held on the first two nights.

Candle-lighting times

Candle-lighting and havdalah times for Shabbat and Yom Tov in 94 cities, computed for your location: Shabbat & holiday candle-lighting times

Jewish holidays 2026

• Friday Night Kiddush קידוש ליל שבת
• Shabbat Candle Blessing הדלקת נרות שבת
• Birkat HaMazon (Grace after Meals) ברכת המזון
• Havdalah הבדלה

• Chag Pesach Sameach (חג פסח שמח) – “Happy Passover”.
• Chag Kasher VeSameach (חג כשר ושמח) – “A kosher and happy festival” – the typical Passover wish.
• Chag Sameach (חג שמח) – “Happy holiday” – for any festival.

When is Passover in 2027?

In 2027, Passover begins at sundown on Wednesday, April 21, 2027 and ends at nightfall on Thursday, April 29, 2027. In Israel it ends one day earlier, at nightfall on Wednesday, April 28, 2027.

Why is matzah eaten on Passover?

Because the Israelites left Egypt in such haste that their dough could not rise (Exodus 12:39). Matzah is both the “bread of affliction” of slavery and the bread of freedom.

What goes on the Seder plate?

A roasted bone (zeroa), a roasted or hard-boiled egg, maror and chazeret (bitter herbs, usually romaine and horseradish), charoset, and karpas (celery, parsley or potato) – with three matzot and salt water nearby.

Is Passover the same as Easter?

No. Easter is a Christian holiday; Passover commemorates the Exodus and is kept according to the Hebrew calendar. The two often fall close together because both are tied to spring and the full moon.

Why are there two Seders outside Israel?

In ancient times the Diaspora could not know in time on which day the new month had been declared in Jerusalem, so the festival days were doubled. The custom remained after the calendar was fixed.

• Exodus 12:17

  וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם אֶת־הַמַּצּוֹת כִּי בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה הוֹצֵאתִי אֶת־צִבְאוֹתֵיכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם אֶת־הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם חֻקַּת עוֹלָם

  “You shall guard the matzot, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of Egypt.”

• Exodus 13:8

  וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה יְהוָה לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם

  “You shall tell your child on that day” – the mitzvah of telling the story at the Seder (the Haggadah).

• Exodus 12:15

  שִׁבְעַת יָמִים מַצּוֹת תֹּאכֵלוּ אַךְ בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן תַּשְׁבִּיתוּ שְּׂאֹר מִבָּתֵּיכֶם כִּי כָּל־אֹכֵל חָמֵץ וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל מִיּוֹם הָרִאשֹׁן עַד־יוֹם הַשְּׁבִעִי

  Seven days of eating matzah and removing all leaven (chametz) from the home.

• Mishna Pesachim 10:1–5

  The order of the Seder: four cups, the Four Questions, and Rabban Gamliel’s three essentials – Pesach, matzah and maror.

• Talmud Bavli, Pesachim 116b

  “In every generation a person must see himself as if he had come out of Egypt.”

• Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 429–494

  The laws of chametz, the search and sale, matzah baking, the Seder and the counting of the Omer.

Hebrew verses: Westminster Leningrad Codex (public domain) via the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible. The explanations on this page are our own, not translations.

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For learning and general information only. Customs differ between communities; for halachic questions ask your rabbi.