(Passover) The *Festival of unleavened bread (*Mazzah). Pesah is one of the three *pilgrim festivals and takes place in the spring. It begins on Nisan 15 and lasts for seven days in *Israel and eight in the *diaspora. It is a festival of freedom; the story of the *exodus is remembered at the *seder meal which is generally eaten at home.
In the days of the *Temple, the *paschal lamb was *sacrificed on Passover eve commemorating how the *Israelites killed a lamb and smeared its blood on their doorposts so that the *angel of death would ‘pass over’ their houses. At the *seder, a particular order of service is followed which is found in the *Haggadah. During the seven or eight days of the festival, no leaven (*hamez) must be kept in the house and no leaven products may be eaten. Traditionally it is believed that the *prophet Elijah, as the herald of the *messiah, would return during the Passover season and the seder looks forward to the messianic *redemption. The counting of the *omer is begun on the second night of the festival. (See also *SEDER).
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