February 24, 2010

What It Is:\nPassover, or Pesach, celebrates the Jewish exodus out of Egypt, aided by the Ten Plagues. The word “Passover” refers to the fact that the homes of Jews were passed over during the 10th plague, which caused the death of all Egyptian first-born males.\n\nAccording to the 2000-01 National Jewish Population Survey, 79 percent of Jews attend a Passover seder, making it the most commonly observed holiday among Jews.\n\n“Passover is one of the pinnacles of the Jewish year,” said Valley Beth Shalom’s Rabbi Paul Steinberg, author of the award-winning book “Celebrating the Jewish Year.” “It was the really definitive event of Jewishhood and led to our freedom and the responsibilities that come with freedom.”