Passover: What you need to know about the Jewish holiday - explainer

Springtime is here, and with that comes the annual Jewish holiday of Passover.

One of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals (shalosh regalim), this weeklong holiday is home to such famous religious traditions such as the Seder and remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt; eating matzah while eschewing leavened products such as bread; and more.

But what is the story of Passover? What are its various traditions and rules? And just what dates will it be taking place this year? 

Here is everything you need to know about the Passover festival. 

The history and meaning of Passover

Here is a common question about Passover: What is it celebrating? 

To understand this, and the history, it's important to note that one can first read about Passover in the Bible.

Described as the Festival of Matzot in the Book of Leviticus, the holiday is specifically described as beginning on the dusk of the fourteenth day of the first month, held traditionally to be the month of Nissan. This begins a week-long festival of unleavened bread, the first and last days of which will be days of no work (a yom tov).

The holiday was also marked by the Passover sacrifice, and its importance was reaffirmed in both the Book of Kings 2 and Book of Chronicles 2, where Judah's king Josiah restored the celebration of Passover after an ancient text was found.

Aside from being a springtime festival, Passover is also a pilgrimage holiday. This is when Jews were all required to come to Jerusalem, making offerings at the Temple on what is now the Temple Mount. This included the famous Paschal lamb sacrifice, which is no longer done since the destruction of the Temple.

One of the most important parts of the holiday though is its connection to the story of the Exodus. The holiday’s commemorates when God “passed over” the homes of the Jews of Egypt during His slaughter of the Egyptian firstborns. It also recalls how the Jews left their lives of slavery, going to the desert for 40 years. It is why one of the most important requirements of Passover is to remember the story of the Exodus.

What is the Passover Seder?

The Passover Seder is one of the most recognizable parts of the holiday. It’s a long feast, held on the first night of the holiday – and also on the second night outside of Israel – organized into several sections, each with its own rules, as organized in a book known as a Haggadah. 

In addition, there are the required four cups of wine that must be drunk during the Seder, each one at different points, which are drunk while reclining to the left.

Here is a brief breakdown of the Seder order:

Also at the Seder is a large Seder plate, which traditionally contains the following: 

• Maror
• Hazeret (romaine lettuce usually)
• An egg
• Zeroa (usually a shankbone, meant to symbolize the Paschal sacrifice)
• Parsley
• Haroset
• Passover food

With such a wide variety of dietary restrictions, there are also a large number of traditional foods eaten on Passover.

The most iconic is, of course, matzah. These are basically bread that never rose, giving it a cracker-like consistency. They must be made of one of the five grains considered hametz on Passover – commonly understood to be wheat, barley, oat, rye, and spelt – and not from any other grain such as rice or corn. 

Matzah itself is incorporated into much of the food eaten on Passover, such as the French toast-like matzah brei, dumplings known as matzah balls, matzah kugel, and in baking as matzah meal. There are even dessert variations, such as chocolate-covered matzah. 

Haroset is also a major culinary staple. While the exact ingredients vary, it commonly consists of fruit such as apples. dates. or berries; different nuts such as walnuts, chestnuts, or almonds; honey; different spices such as cinnamon, cloves, or pepper; and sometimes wine. 

Other foods that often show up during the holiday have to do with the different ingredients used as a substitute for flour. The most common of these is potato-based foods, such as potato noodles or potato bread substitute. 

It should be noted that there are two other dietary restrictions for the Passover holiday, though these are customs and not Halacha.

The first, and most well-known, is the prohibition of eating kitniyot, which bans eating legumes as well as certain grains like rice and corn. This is a prohibition exclusive to Ashkenazi Jews, and the exact reason behind it is the subject of considerable debate. Sephardi Jews, however, eat kitniyot on Passover. 

The second one is called gebrochts, which is the prohibition against eating matzah that has come into contact with water or some other liquid. This custom is mainly observed by Ashkenazi hassidic Jews. 

Passover 2024 dates

These are the dates and times for the Passover holiday. Keep in mind that in Israel, there are only two days of “yom tov,” the first and the last days, whereas in the Diaspora there are four, two at the beginning and two at the end.

Passover must begin on the 15th of the month of Nissan, which in 2024 begins on the evening of April 22, 2024. 

The last day of Passover this year is on April 29, or April 30 in the Diaspora.