1-Minute Lessons about the Festival of Passover

These lessons are shared with permission from the lecturer, Rabbi Nachman Simon.

Shabbat HaGadol – the Great Sabbath before Passover: In the Jewish calendar, Shabbat HaGadol is always marked on the Jewish Sabbath that precedes the festival of Passover. The commemorated events happened on the last day of the week that preceded the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. It began when the Israelites set aside sheep on that day for the sacrifice they were instructed to perform four days later. Although it happened on the 10th of Nissan, it is always marked on that Seventh Day. (Note: the 10th of Nissan is also the anniversary of the passing of Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron.)

How did the Israelites become slaves in Egypt?

Karpas is the name for the vegetable dipped in salt water at the beginning of the Passover seder. By rearranging the first three Hebrew letters, we get pe-rach. Rabbi Simon explains how this provides the answer.

Importance of telling the children

Connection of Passover to the Final Redemption: The reading from the Prophets for the 8th Day of Passover is Isaiah 10:32 – 12:6 (including Isaiah ch. 11). It speaks about Moshiach and the Messianic Era.

With a lunar calendar, how does Passover stay in the spring?