What are the social effects of passover on Jews lives?

Question

and are there any special serivces in the synagogue? do Jews celebrate Passover with their family? and what are the spiritual affects?

Answer 1

Others have given great answers already with the exception of one...who is trying to impose Christian doctrine into a very important Jewish holy observance.

While I have shared most of my seder meals with non-Jews present, it is only commanded in Torah for the people who are members of the eternal covenant, Israel (Jewish faith). If you are of the “New” Testament or Covenant of faith, this holy observance is not commanded of you to observe as the core meaning is incompatible with the Christian religion. Jews are required by direct commandment in the Torah to keep the Passover observance for an eternal memorial. Passover ( Pesach in Hebrew) is the celebration of the deliverance of the eternal covenant nation Israel, the Hebrews, from the yolk of idolatry, superstition, and physical slavery in Egypt. It was a reaffirmation of their identity as a nation dedicated to God through Torah and our memorial reaffirms this for each generation. . The events we retell at Passover were demonstration to Egypt that their deities were false and their man/god Pharoah impotent to God's power.

It is a very important part of Judaism and many central aspects of our identity as an eternal covenant nation are embedded in it's observance. It has absolutely nothing to do with any form of Christian doctrine. Jesus is completely insignificant to it. Inserting Jesus into the Passover in fact INVALIDATES it as honoring the direct commandment in Torah.

Christians may wish to rethink their claim of Jesus as the Paschal lamb if they read in the Torah what the lamb represents and why the covenant people, Israel is commanded for eternity to remember it.

6:6 'Therefore say to the Israelites [in My name], 'I am God. I will take you away from your forced labor in Egypt and free you from their slavery. I will liberate you with a demonstration of My power, and with great acts of judgment.

The Israelites had been subjugated to hundreds of years enslaved in a culture that dwelled on death, false animal and man gods and superstition. God was going to break both the physical and spiritual bonds of enslavement to the Israelites.

Through each one of the plagues God demonstrated to both the Egyptians and to Israel that the God of Israel was more powerful than the false gods of Egypt.

After one of the plagues Pharaoh said to Moses:

8:21 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. 'Go!' he said. '[You have permission to] sacrifice to your God here in [our] land.'

8:22 'That would hardly be suitable,' replied Moses. 'What we will sacrifice to God our Lord is sacred to the Egyptians. Could we sacrifice the sacred animal of the Egyptians before their very eyes and not have them stone us?

This is a direct reference to the LAMB representing their false god to the Egyptians. Israel was still enslaved in fear to do something like that in front of the Egyptians!

8:23 What we must do is make a three day journey into the desert. There we will be able to sacrifice to God our Lord, just as He told us.

8:23 What we must do is make a three day journey into the desert. There we will be able to sacrifice to God our Lord, just as He told us.

8:24 'I will let you leave,' said Pharaoh, 'as long as you do not go too far away. You can sacrifice to God your Lord in the desert. But pray for me!'

8:25 Moses answered, 'When I leave your presence, I will pray to God. Tomorrow, the creatures will go away from Pharaoh, his servants, and his people. But let Pharaoh never again deceive us, refusing to let the people sacrifice to God.'

Well, we know Pharaoh went back on his word again so God then killed much of the Egyptian livestock ( representatives of their false gods by the way) and spared those of the Israelites. Then boils and then hail and they were still not convinced of the power of God over their gods.

But God wasn’t done with his demonstration to fully convince the Egyptians and those of Israel who still may have had doubts and fears.

10:2 You will then be able to confide to your children and grandchildren how I made fools of the Egyptians, and how I performed miraculous signs among them. You will then fully realize that I am God.'

Pharaoh was still obstinate so locusts and darkness came..and then finally after Pharoah said Moses would see his face no more came the ultimate show of power and strength that also gave Israel the opportunity to demonstrate to Egypt and to God their loyalty. Finally, their bonds of enslavement of both mind and spirit were now shattered.

11:4 Moses said [to Pharaoh] in God's name, 'Around midnight, I will go out in the midst of Egypt.

11:5 Every first-born in Egypt will die, from the first-born of Pharaoh sitting on his throne, to the first-born of the slave girl behind the millstones. Every first-born animal [will also die].

11:7 But among the Israelites, a dog will not even whine because of man or beast. You will then realize that God is making a miraculous distinction between Egypt and Israel.

11:8 'All your officials here will come and bow down to me. They will say, 'Leave! You and all your followers!' Only then will I leave.' He left Pharaoh in great anger.

ONLY when Egypt is convinced of God’s power over their false gods will Israel depart with their freedom intact!

Now the command to the Passover sacrifice begins and read carefully to understand what the sacrifice represented. I will not type everything here I hope you will read ALL of Exodus yourself to gain a fuller understanding.

12:5 You must have a flawless young animal, a one-year-old male. You can take it from the sheep or from the goats.

So it could be a sheep or a goat. Egypt had deities as represented from BOTH animals. How convenient…Israel is to kill representatives of Egyptian deities in their presence and to dip hyssop, an herb used to purify the holy Egyptian temples and DIP it in the VERY LIFE ESSENCE (that’s what they believed blood to be) of their deity in their presence as an act of defiance and mark their doors with it in allegiance to the God of Israel who will demonstrate His power over their false gods. Then they were to roast and eat their false Egyptian god representation in the presence of the Egyptians without any recourse done to them, thus demonstrating the impotence of their man/god Pharaoh and their other false gods. In fact, they were “passed over” by the angel of death who instead punished the Egyptians for their idolatry and enslavement of mind and body. Pharoah had done this to God’s “first-born” ( You shall tell Pharaoh, 'Thus says the Lord, Israel is my son, my firstborn. Ex 4:22)

12:12 I will pass through Egypt on that night, and I will kill every first-born in Egypt, man and beast. I will perform acts of judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I [alone] am God.

That is a very important passage there..NOTE..God will enact judgment against the false gods..plural now..of Egypt. That was the purpose of the Passover sacrifice.

12:13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are staying. I will see the blood and pass you by (pasach). There will not be any deadly plague among you when I strike Egypt.

12:27 You must answer, 'It is the Passover service to God. He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians, sparing our homes.'

The Passover sacrifice, be it a sheep or a goat, was NEVER a sin sacrifice. The sacrifice serves to demonstrate the people’s courage, as they take the Egyptians’ object of worship and slaughter and eat it in the service of the God of Israel.

Torah is clear that the sacrifice and eating of the lamb at Pesach was the killing and eating of the false god of Egypt to show allegiance to the real God. The continuation of the Paschal lamb sacrifice is an eternal remembrance of that deliverance from idolatry and slavery. This is why no uncircumcised male or Gentile could partake of the Paschal lamb. In the days of the Temple it was also clear it never represented a sin sacrifice to the Jewish people at any time because they are entirely different methods for sacrificing a lamb for a sin sacrifice and the lamb for the Passover. So, it should be clear after reading the Exodus from Torah , Jesus has nothing to do with the Passover lamb. If you insist on equating Jesus with the Pascal lamb, in truth you would be equating him to a false god of Egypt. I sincerely doubt that is the intent as Christians view Jesus as a sin offering.

If Christians wish to honor and observe the Passover for the meanings that are commanded in the Torah, you are welcome to attend any synagogue's community seder. Without the Temple we no longer make the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb and eat it so that command (no gentile may eat of it) is not broken. Now, we have a bone representing the lamb on the plate. I have had non-Jewish friends attend many seders at my home in the past and they find that learning the Torah meaning is very powerful in its messages.

One of those messages illustrates a distinction between Judaism and Christianity in focus, and also it was a distinction between Judaism and the religions of ancient Egypt. Both Christianity and the ancient Egyptian religions focus on the afterlife. This life is presented only for the purpose of securing a reward in death. Judaism is a world-affirming faith. Pesach reminds us of this.

I think that was part of the hard lesson of coming out of slavery from Egypt. The bonds of idolatry and superstition that enslaved the mind were broken when Israel came to the recognition that all those man/gods and animal gods were powerless over this life. (continued below)

Answer 2

YES THERE WAS AN EFFECT ON THE JEWS LIVES CONCERNING THE PASSOVER AND A GOOD BOOK TO READ ON THE SUBJECT IS THE NEW TESTAMENT . IT CAN BE A REAL EYE OPENER ON THE SUBJECT. GOOD READING TO YOU. HOPE THIS WILL HELP.

Answer 3

Michelle has indeed given you a great answer.  Pesach (Passover) is a time for family and friends to get together to celebrate and remember our survival and freedom.

We include even the smallest children; they ask the questions that are a part of our rituals (ie:  Why is this night different from all other nights) and hide the afikomen (a matzah that is separated out and hidden for the children to find).  Only if the afikomen has been found can the seder end (some children have been known to ask for a few extra items in order to allow the adults to leave the table!).  It's a great time with family, friends, food, and singing.

Let me also add my dismay about the first poster.  The answer is completely incorrect from a Jewish perspective.  I am disappointed, because when I answer questions about other beliefs, I do it from THAT religion's perspective.  To do otherwise is intellectually dishonest.

Answer 4

As an actual Jew (why are non-Jews answering for Jews, whatever their spirituality?)...

We don't go to special services.  We have a seder night, which is a meal with an order (seder means order in hebrew).  We use a hagadah which has common usual parts but can vary otherwise.  We go throught the seder plate with it's symbols & retell the Passover story with emphasis on God's help, & some blessings.  The meal is with family & friends.  It's done twice on two nights for those outside of Israel.

Some common pieces:

+ We pour a drop of wine for each plague to symbolize our tears of sorrow that anyone (Eygptians) had to suffer for us to gain our freedom.

+ The youngest child reads the four questions about how tonight is different than any other night.  The theme of the difference is freedom & celebrating our having it & committing to helping others in the world have it.

+ The four children - we talk about how to tell the story to your different types of children, wise, simple, detached, & you'd think I'd remember the fourth.  It's about different levels of understanding the story & ways of relating to it.

+ We talk about elijah & his good works & our needing to help the downtrodden.

Then it's quite late & we start a big meal.  Then the next night we do it all again.  But if you have another set of inlaws or other friends, you can mix & match & get everyone in.  Then for the rest of the week you don't eat leaved foods such as bread & eat matza instead.  For more religous, a lot of work goes into making sure the house is bread crumb free before it starts.

It's a very fun holiday with a lot of meaning on many, many levels.  I've never been to two that were the same expereince.  Sometimes we have philosphical & religous discussions.  Sometimes the kids are into it & we keep it simple to keep their interest.  It's a time with family.  Time with a story that's riveting & that's part of our history, & part of a way of shift in the world at the time, with new ideas about what God is, & about freedoms.  

Often the community & synoguages will put on seders for people who want to do it that way, & mid-week events to get together.

Answer 5

As a "Spiritual Jew" Passover is a time when we renew our covenant with God. This is the covenant we made at Baptism to live His ways and by His Laws. Passover is a solemn occasion which is followed by the "Night to be Much Remembered" (remembering the exodus from Egypt) and the "Days of Unleavened Bread" (days where leaven is taken out of our homes as leaven represents sin).

These are spiritually charging days.

Hope this answers your question!

Answer 6

Kindly disregard the FIRST answer. She is NOT Jewish and she is answering as a Christian. Shame on her for trying to lie about religion and make out that she is Jewish and represents Judaism.

Jews don't get baptised. We don't need to, we don't believe in 'original sin'. We believe that all humans are born pure and innocent.

Michelle has given you a great answer. I just wanted to echo her remarks about the first answer, whom I will now be emailing to register my utter disgust.

Answer 7

Please ignore the previous answerer.  She's giving you a veiled, Christian interpretation of a Jewish holiday that has no bearing on Jews or Jewish practices.

The most important aspects of Passover observance actually take place in the home.  Before the holiday even starts, religious Jews clean our houses top to bottom to remove all traces of leavened bread - cracker crumbs in pockets, runaway cookies in the playroom, cooking residue in the oven or microwave.  This may have been a parroting of, or a precursor to, the pagan (and now secular) annual spring cleaning.  

The most important commandment in reference to Passover is to remember our having been slaves, and G-d's rescuing us from Egypt (nothing to do with the covenant).  This is done during the festive meal called a Seder.  There are symbolic foods to eat, a prayer service, a Talmud study session, drinking, and singing, all put together with a delicious meal in the middle.  For Jews who live outside of Israel, these actually take place the first two nights of Passover in a row.  Usually families get together to have a big Seder, but it's not required, and most synagogues also hold their own Seders for people who are not able to go home to them.

Like all Jewish holidays, Passover also has a component in synagogue - there are special services held.  But there are services held every day of the week, and the Passover services are not significantly different from those held on other holidays or the Sabbath.  Some of the prayers differ, but there are no special synagogue rituals associated with Passover the way that there are with many other holidays.

For way more info, try here:

http://www.jewfaq.org/holidaya.htm

Answer 8

Michelle R gave the answer. I would like to add check out aish.com for more on the meaning of Passover and for mp3 downloads about the holiday.