Passover Offerings

Learn about Passover, the festival of freedom, which commemorates the Israelites' liberation from slavery in Egypt.



Passover Basics
In 2006, Passover begins at sundown on Wednesday, April 12, and lasts till sundown on Thursday, April 20.

Passover Primer
Meaning, symbolism, customs, and other holiday basics.

The Matzah Mitzvah
Why we don't eat unleavened bread all the time.
By Rodger Kamenetz

The Seder: Rituals & Meaning

Video: The Real Meaning of Passover
Most Jews think Passover's message is found in 'Let my people go,' but freedom's only part of the holiday's true message. By Rabbi David Wolpe

Hurricane-Ravaged Jews Prepare for Passover on Gulf Coast
Residents of the Gulf Coast have lived through an epic of almost biblical proportions. By Ansley Roan (RNS)

The Courage to Be Free
Let the Passover seder be a time to listen to the stories of our Jewish journeys across the generations. By Rabbi Brad Hirschfield

Beliefnet's Virtual Talmud Bloggers on the Meaning of Passover in the 21st Century.

The Passover Perplex
Once we sit down to the seder, how do we get everyone on the same page? By Alice Chasan

Bring Back Passover!
Has Passover become such a burden that fewer families each year celebrate it at home? By Bat Sheva Marcus

The Waldman Family Haggadah
A Reform, contemporary, non-sexist guide to the Passover seder that has become a family treasure.

The Real Invitation of the Seder
If we open the Passover seder, and our minds, to a widest range of questions, we'll fulfill the goal of the Haggadah's creators. By Rabbi Brad Hirschfield

Interactive Seder Plate
What it all means and how to do it.

Spicing Up the Seder
With more than 3,000 different haggadahs on the market, Jews have many options for making the Passover ritual meal less routine.

Make Your Own Seder
Is this your first time conducting your own seder? Here are questions to ask yourself to help you prepare.

Why Read the Song of Songs at Passover?
By Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Miriam's Goblet
In a new tradition, many Jews are adding a cup of water in memory of Miriam next to Elijah's cup.

A Celebration of Possibility
How do we react to the suffering of Iraqis? Passover gives us guidance.
By Rabbi David Wolpe

Everyone Gets 'Exodized'
Rabbi Irwin Kula on how to celebrate Passover in wartime.

Dayenu! Beliefnet's Haggadah Guide
Beliefnet compares Haggadah editions, traditional and modern.

Passover Renaissance
Everyone's having a seder, and everyone's is different.
By J.J. Goldberg

All Who Are Hungry
"All who are hungry come enter and eat," the seder beckons. After enslavement to anorexia, I am ready to heed those words.
By Ilana Kurshan

Passover Hypocrisy
Jews should heed the words they say at the seder--or stop saying them.
By Michael Lerner



Interfaith

A Kiwi on the Seder Plate
After 15 years as an onlooker, the family decided it was time for me to move to the head of the Seder table. By Jim Keen

Seder in the Himalayas
In the land of exiled Tibetans yearning for freedom, a seder gathers Jews and non-Jews from around the globe to mark Passover. By Rodger Kamenetz

"I Have a Story About Slavery"
An interfaith Passover seder recounts the old story...and some new ones.
By Johanna Skilling

The Seder That Wasn't
Jesus' Last Supper as recorded in the New Testament was not a seder as Jews know it today. So do interfaith seders make sense?

The First Question
Mute at the seder, a young girl asks it at Easter lunch the next day.
By Arthur Magida

Family

Teaching Tales: Elijah's Favorite Seder
A Jewish tale about where the true meaning of Passover is found.

My Parents' Seder
Political idealogues can interpret the seder however they want, but at an early age, I learned what the seder is really about.
By Arthur Hertzberg

Don't Be Afraid of the Big Questions
By Rabbi Sandy Sasso

Exploring the Exodus

The Incomplete Festival
Most Jews don't understand that the Exodus we celebrate at Passover is only a prelude to the main event at Mt. Sinai. By David Klinghoffer

The Deepest Truth About God
How the Exodus teaches us about ethical passion.
By Shai Held

Did the Exodus Really Happen?
An excerpt from "Unearthing the Bible"

Rediscovering the Rapture
A review of Avivah Zornberg's new work

Discussions

  • How can I keep Kosher l'Pesach?
  • What foods aren't kosher for Passover?
  • Is Egg Matzoh OK?
  • More Jewish food questions

    Links

    Seder for the Children of Abraham, Hagar and Sarah
    Seder prepared by the Shalom Center as a tool for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.

    Listen to More Passover Music
  • Reggae Passover
  • Celebrate Passover

    Passover Links
    A guide to Passover on the web.
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