Festival of Freedom: Passover

The Passover Festival which starts on 15 Nissan of the Jewish calendar, will be celebrated all around the world starting from the evening of Saturday, March 27^th, after nightfall. However, due to COVID-19, the tradition of whole families' and friends' getting together for a crowded Passover Seder, will have to be altered for the second year in a row.

Passover (Pesach) commemorates the liberation of the Jews from their 210-year-long slavery in ancient Egypt. To remember the unleavened bread that the Jews ate when they left Egypt, we don’t eat any chametz during Passover. Chametz means leavened grain, any food or drink that contains wheat, barley, rye, oats, or their products, and which were left to rise or ferment.

Instead of chametz, we eat matzah, a flat unleavened bread. Matzah is made of just two ingredients, flour and water, which are quickly mixed and baked, in exactly 18 minutes, before letting the dough rise. Eating matzah we recall our ancestors' leaving the Egyptian lands in such a hurry that they had no time to allow their dough to rise.

Passover Festival which is celebrated for 8 days in diaspora, will end on the evening of Sunday, April 4^th, after the stars come out.

Related News

19 April

Passover: Celebrating the Miracle of Freedom

Passover, which constitutes the focus of the Jewish life and has always acted as a life guide with its still up-to-date teachings, is our first festival that is spoken of clearly in the Torah. Passover´s requirements were told by God to Moshe Rabenu two weeks before the Exodus from Egypt.

23 January

The Holiday of Trees and Nature: Tu BiShvat

During the Tu BiShvat Holiday, also known as the holiday of the trees and the new year of the trees, we take care to eat fruits that grow in the Holy Land. This year we are celebrating the Tu BiShvat Holiday on Thursday, January 25th, starting on the evening of Wednesday, January 24th.

7 December

Festival of Lights and Miracles: Hanukkah

Hanukkah festival, where we light eight candles for eight nights, increasing by one candle each night, together with our family and loved ones, is starting this evening, Thursday, December 7th.

12 September

The Birthday of the Universe: Rosh Hashanah

With the Rosh Hashanah holiday, we will be celebrating on Friday, September 15th, and Saturday, September 16th this year, we are commencing the year 5784 in the Jewish calendar.

5 April

Celebrating the Miracle: Passover

This year the Passover (Pesach) Festival, the anniversary of the miracle of Exodus from Egyptian slavery, will be celebrated starting on the eve of Wednesday, April 5th.

23 September

Celebration of Changes and New Beginnings: Rosh Hashanah

With the Rosh Hashanah holiday, we will be celebrating on Monday, September 26th, and Tuesday, September 27th this year, we will be commencing the year 5783 in the Jewish calendar.

3 June

The Time Our Torah was Given: SHAVUOT

The Shavuot Holiday, the anniversary of the time our Torah was given at Mount Sinai and the festival of weeks, will start at sundown on Saturday, June 4th this year.

15 April

Passover: The Anniversary of the Miracle

This year we are starting to celebrate the Passover (Pesach) Festival, the anniversary of the miracle of Exodus from Egyptian slavery, which is always at the center of Jewish life, on the eve of Friday, April 15th.

14 January

Tu BiShvat: New Year for Trees

The 15th of Shevat on the Jewish calendar is known as Tu BiShvat, the day that marks the beginning of a ´new year´ for trees. This year we are celebrating Tu BiShvat Holiday on Monday, January 17th, starting from the evening of Sunday, January 16th.

26 November

HANUKKAH: Eight Nights, Eight Inspirations

Hanukkah festival, where we light eight candles for eight nights, increasing by one candle each night, together with our family and loved ones, is starting on the eve of Sunday, November 28th.