The name Pesach, “Passover,”[61] reminds us of the way in which the Israelites enjoyed the Divine protection before they left Egypt. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, kept the Israelites as slaves, and when asked in the name of God to let them go, refused to obey. But the ten plagues which consecutively afflicted his land without causing injury to the Israelites taught [[373]]him the existence of a higher Power, to whose decrees the will of earthly rulers has to submit. It was especially the tenth plague, the slaying of the first-born, that convinced the king and his people of this truth. When the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, “he passed over the houses of the children of Israel” (Exod. xii. 27).
The Feast has a second name, viz., “feast of unleavened bread,” חג המצות, a name derived from the commandment to eat מצה “unleavened bread,” instead of the ordinary חמץ “leavened bread,” during the Festival. The purpose of this commandment is to commemorate the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt as well as the mode of their actual departure. For when the tenth plague, the slaying of the first-born, had visited the Egyptians, they were overcome with fear, and urged the Israelites at once to leave the country. The Israelites therefore left Egypt hurriedly, [[374]]and had no time for preparing the ordinary “leavened bread,” and baked for themselves unleavened cakes (מצות) of the dough which they had made.
Passover thus commemorates two distinct moments in the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, viz. (1) the special protection which the Almighty granted them in Egypt, and (2) their departure from the house of bondage.
Two distinct observances, therefore, were ordained for the Feast of Passover, viz. (1) the sacrifice of the Passover-lamb, and (2) the eating of “unleavened bread” and the abstaining from “leavened bread.”
1. The Passover-lamb.—A short time before their departure from Egypt the Israelites were commanded by the Almighty that on the tenth of the first month every family should procure a lamb, keep it four days,[62] kill it in the afternoon of the fourteenth, sprinkle of its blood on the “lintel and the two door-posts,” and “eat in the evening the meat roast in fire, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, in haste, their loins girded, their shoes on their feet and their staff in their hand” (Exod. xii. 3–11). Whatever the material benefit was which the Israelites, in the moment of starting for a long and uncertain journey, derived from the meal prepared and partaken of in this manner, there was a higher purpose in the Divine commandment; it was [[375]]demanded that the lamb should be “a passover sacrifice unto the Lord” (ibid.). The proceedings should be an expression of faith in God,[63] and of gratitude to Him for His protection. Every house should thus form a place holy unto the Lord; an altar, as it were, on which the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled.
The Passover sacrifice first observed in Egypt was afterwards ordained as a permanent institution (ibid. ver. 24). This difference, however, was observed, that the Passover-lamb, like all sacrifices, had to be brought to the Sanctuary, to “the place which the Lord chose to place his name in” (Deut. xvi. 6). All who were prevented from performing their duty on the 14th of Nisan were allowed to offer the Passover on the 14th of the second month (Iyar). By way of distinction from the sacrifice on the first date, this offering was called “the second passover” (פסח שני,[64] Num. ix. 9–14). Since the destruction of the Temple all sacrificial service has been discontinued, and in accordance with the words, “We will compensate with our lips for the bullocks” (Hos. xiv. 3), prayers and recitals from [[376]]the Bible have taken the place of sacrifices, whilst psalms and hymns are added such as used to accompany the act of offering sacrifices. The Passover sacrifice has therefore been discontinued; but the law of eating unleavened bread and bitter herbs is still observed.
2. The Unleavened Bread.—“Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall have put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel” (Exod. xii. 15). “Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters” (ibid. xiii. 7). “Seven days shall there no leaven be found in your houses” (ibid. xii. 19). The distinction between leavened and unleavened only applies to bread or any other form of food prepared out of any of the following five kinds of grain: barley, wheat, rye, oats, and spelt. Bread or cake prepared from any of these five kinds is called unleavened bread, or מצה, if the dough is baked immediately after it has been prepared, no time being left for fermentation.[65] It is not only forbidden during the [[377]]Festival to eat leavened bread, but it is not permitted to derive any benefit whatsoever from it.[66] All leaven and leavened bread must be removed before Passover comes in; and in accordance with the traditional interpretation of the precept, “Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread” (ibid. xxiii. 18), the leaven must be removed before the time in which the Passover was offered.[67]
The law forbidding חמץ “leavened bread,” to be kept in the house during Passover is frequently and most emphatically repeated in the Torah. Jews have therefore, as a rule, been very conscientious and zealous in the fulfilment of this Divine command. In accordance with this law, the following observances have been ordained:—
(1.) בדיקת חמץ “the searching for leavened bread” on the eve of the 14th of Nisan.[68] The head of the family, or his deputy, examines his residence thoroughly, and keeps the chamets, which he has found, in a safe place till the next morning. This searching, like every other performance of a religious duty, is preceded by a blessing, viz., ברוך … אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו על ביעור חמץ “Blessed art thou … who hast sanctified us by thy [[378]]commandments, and hast commanded us concerning the removal of the leavened bread.”[69]
(2.) ביעור חמץ, “the removal or the destruction of chamets.” All the chamets that is left after the first meal on the 14th of Nisan must be removed, i.e., sold or given as a present to a non-Israelite, or destroyed. In addition to the actual removal or destruction of chamets, a solemn declaration is made by the head of the family, that if any chamets should be left in his house without his knowledge, he would not claim it as his. The object of this declaration is to free the master of the house from all responsibility in case any chamets should be found on his premises, contrary to the Law.[70]