History, Ritual and Symbolism Involved in Passover

History

Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew, is the celebration of freedom for the Jewish people.  The story of Passover can be found in the Torah's second book, Exodus. The Jews were slaves of the Pharaoh in Egypt.  They were forced to build his monuments and cities, or face death. Moses was the leader of these enslaved people.  He demanded that Pharaoh release his people from their bondage, or face the wrath of their God.  When Pharaoh refused, God brought many plagues upon the land of Egypt. Pharaoh still would not release the Jews. God then brought down the final plague on Egypt:  He killed all Egyptian first-born sons.  Moses instructed the Jews to slaughter a lamb and to mark the outside of their homes with its blood so that God would know to pass over the house, and leave the children inside unharmed.  This is how the holiday of Passover received its name.  It celebrates the "passing over" of the Jewish households, and the subsequent freedom they received.  

After the final plague, Pharaoh released the Jews.  Moses led them on the path to their Promised Land.  However, before they got far, Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his cavalry after them. When Moses and the Jews reached the Red Sea, the Egyptian cavalry was nearly upon them.  Through Moses, God parted the waters of this sea and the Jews ran through to the other side, with the Egyptian cavalry pursuing them.  Once all the Jews had crossed, the sea came crashing down on the cavalry, decimating Pharaoh's forces, and allowing the Jews safe passage to the Promised Land, and freedom.  God commanded that in order for the events in Egypt to be remember for all time, that a holiday must be observed be every Jew every year.

Ritual
(NOTE:  For the purposes of this article, the ritual described below is that of Orthodox Jews.)