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PESACH

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:29 pm
by Dr. Goodword

• Pesach •

Pronunciation: pay-sahk • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun, proper

Meaning: Passover, a Jewish holiday beginning on the 14th of Nisan at sundown and continuing for eight days, which runs from sundown March 25 to sundown April 2 in 2013 by the Gregorian Calendar. It commemorates the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt.

Notes: The highlight of the celebration of Pesach is the Seder, a special supper held on the first night or the first two nights of Pesach. All of the food has meaning: only unleavened matzo (flat bread) is eaten and green vegetables are dipped in a vinegar or salty water to symbolize the suffering of the Jews crossing the desert. Children recite passages and answer questions to show that they have learned the significance of Pesach, which they will pass on to their children.

In Play: The Haggadah is the story of the Exodus from Egypt, which everyone at the Seder table reads. The story of the Exodus is told four ways, each emphasizing a different aspect of the Exodus and its importance for the Jewish people. According to the synoptic gospels, the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Last Supper that Jesus attended was a traditional Seder. The Book of John places it the day before the Seder, on the day of the slaughter of the sacrificial lamb.

Word History: Today's Good Word is the Hebrew Pesah "Passover" from the verb pasah "to pass over". Pasha "Passover, Easter" is the Aramaic variant of the same Semitic root. These words are the origin of the term for "Easter" in most European languages: French Pâques, Spanish Pascua, Portuguese Páscoa, Italian Pasqua, Swedish Påsk, and Russian Paskha. Those of us here at The Lexiteria and alphaDictionary hope the homes of all our Jewish friends are filled with peace and love during this Pesach season.

Re: PESACH

Posted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 12:00 pm
by LukeJavan8
To piggyback on the Doc: a very Happy Pesach to all
Jewish members of the Agora and their families.

Re: PESACH

Posted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 12:19 pm
by Perry Lassiter
As a member of BAR I have access to this article that discusses various views of Pesach and seder in more detail. Hope this link will take you there free.
http://members.bib-arch.org/publication ... ign=E3L326

Re: PESACH

Posted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 11:37 pm
by Philip Hudson
Pesach, Easter and Naw Rúz, the Iranian New Year, are all close together in time this year. All of these celebrations stress remembrance of blessings and hope for the future.

Easter Dating

Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 7:45 pm
by Slava
For those interested in how the date of Easter is calculated,here is a nice piece from The Economist of all places.

Re: PESACH

Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 12:22 pm
by LukeJavan8
The article about the re-arrangement of Europe
found on the same place is good, too.