Passover, "Pesch"

Passover may bring to mind the movie classic, "The Ten Commandments."  Charlton Heston, as Moses, utters the famous line, "Let my people go!"  Yul Brenner, as Pharaoh Ramses II isn't so quick to comply.  God had greater ideas then Ramses.  Forced finally to release the Jewish people from slavery, the Pharaoh heeds Moses' command, "Let my people go!"  The Jews exodus from Egypt goes down in history as a famous story in the Jewish Torah and the Christian Bible.

This year on March 30, the Jewish people commemorate their ancestral release from Egyptian slavery in an 8 day festival known as "Pesch" or Passover.  Pesch is a Hebrew word meaning the angel of death "passed over" and spared the Jewish firstborn sons of certain death.  This "passing over" becomes one focal point in a central meal known as The Passover Seder.  During this particular Seder, the meal can be divided in two parts.  The first consists of edible bits such as flat unleaven bread and bitter herbs that remind the Jews of purification of their souls while experiencing the humility of slavery.  The second part consists of food such as savory meats, vegetables, potatoes, wine and dessert to rejoice in Moses' command being granted.   His people are liberated from slavery and able to leave Egypt under God's protection.  Through-out the Seder, the Exodus is read from a Jewish text called the "Haggadah".  If the entire version is read, the Seder starting at sundown lasts until midnight.