More about Passover Pesah, or Passover, is one of the most important and widely-observed holidays on the Jewish calendar. Passover bears several names in the Hebrew Bible. It is variously called hag ha-pesah (the Festival of the Passover offering), hag ha-matzot (the Festival of Matzah), and hag ha-aviv (the Spring Festival). In rabbinic tradition, Passover is known as zeman hayrutaynu, the season of our freedom.

Jewish tradition calls for the removal of all leavened products (hametz) from the home for the duration of the Passover holiday.

Traditional Jews are scrupulous about this precept, and thoroughly clean their homes for days and weeks in preparation for the onset of Pesah.

The highlight of the Passover observance is the seder, a colorful ceremony celebrated in Jewish homes on the first two nights of Pesah. Family and friends gather to read and chant the Haggadah, a book of prayers, songs and stories about the Exodus from Egyptian bondage. Familiar symbols on the seder plate include matzah, a shankbone (recalling the Paschal sacrifice), a hard-boiled egg (representing the hagigah, or regular festival sacrifice), a green vegetable (symbolic of spring), bitter herbs (recalling the bitterness of slavery), and haroset (a mixture of apples, nuts and honey representing the mortar used by the Israelites in their forced labor).

Four cups of wine are imbibed during the evening, and a fifth cup of wine is reserved for the prophet Elijah, an honored guest at the seder. Several customs are designed to attract and retain the interest of the children, including chanting the Four Questions, singing favorite Passover melodies, and the ritual of the Afikomen (a special hidden piece of matzah which the children search for and then hold for "ransom" until they receive a reward from the seder leader).

In Israel, Passover is a seven-day holiday, with the first and last days observed as full days of rest (yom tov), and the middle five days celebrated as hol ha-moed (intermediate days of the holiday). In the Diaspora (outside the land of Israel), Passover is an eight-day holiday, with the first two and last two days observed as full days of rest, and the middle four days as hol ha-moed.

The traditional festival greeting Jews extend to one another is hag samayah (happy holiday). Since Pesah is a special holiday with unique dietary restrictions, many Jews offer a slightly different greeting during Passover: Hag kasher v'samayah (a happy and kosher holiday).

Happy Passover! May this joyous festival help us to truly appreciate the priceless gift of freedom.