The Korban Pesach (Passover Offering) and the Chag Hamatsot (pilgrimage festival of unleavened bread) are among the most important holidays in the Torah. The Chagim (pilgrimage festivals) are second only to Shabbat in the order of essential holiday observances. Much of the religious calendar centers on these holidays. This article will describe proper observance of the holiday from a traditional Karaite viewpoint and a more modern view.
Commandments for a Chag
There are several commandments given specifically for the Chagim, the pilgrimage holidays. Shemot (Exodus) 23:17 states:
“17: Three times in the year all of your males shall appear before your Lord YHVH.”
This commandment is repeated in Shemot (Exodus) 34:23-24. The passage includes the promise that the land of Israel will be safe so long as the Israelites appear before Hashem three times a year. Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:15-17 clarifies that “before Me” (before Hashem) means at the “place where Hashem shall choose.” This is a reference to the Temple in Jerusalem. It is further specified in verses 16 and 17 that those appearing before Hashem should not appear empty handed:
17 “Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of YHVH your divine Lord which He has given you.”
Pilgrimage festivals (Chagim) thus include two primary commandments as a category, before any other specific holiday requirements are spelled out. First, that all Israelite men should appear before Hashem. Second, that they should give generously to Hashem’s priests from the blessings, the plenty, that Hashem has given them. The more prosperous the individual, the greater the obligation. The tithe is connected to the Chagim, essentially, Israelites should give 10% of their crop to the Cohanim (priests). Devarim 14:24-25 further clarifies that if a man lives so far from Jerusalem that his goods would spoil, he can convert his offering into currency and offer than in lieu of the actual goods or crops. This applies to the “second tithe” which is to be eaten by the individuals themselves. The principle could be applied more broadly, however, in modern times since most Israelites today (Jews) do not have oxen, goats, sheep, fruit, or produce to offer. The use of the word “Chag” to identify a holiday as a pilgrimage festival includes these commandments for the holiday before any additional commandments are given.
Commandments for the Chag Hamatsot (Pesach)
The following are the specific commandments relating to the Pesach offering and the Chag Hamatsot. These fall into three categories: The holiday dates, the Korban Pesach (Passover offering), and the unleavened bread. The fourth category of commandments relates to the pilgrimage festival and has been addressed above.
Holiday Dates
- To select a yearling lamb by the 10th of Aviv. (Shemot – Exodus 12:3)
- To hold a holiday on the 15th day of the month of Aviv. Work for the preparation of food may be done, but not other work. (Shemot – Exodus 12:16)
- A holiday of rest shall be observed on the Seventh Day (Shevi’iy Atseret). (Shemot – Exodus 12:16)
- The story of the Exodus from Egypt is to be told (for the benefit of the children) each year. (Shemot – Exodus 12:27 & 13:8)
Korban Pesach (Passover Offering)
- To eat of the Pesach offering (the yearling lamb) on the evening of the 15th of Aviv. It may not be eaten raw, it is to be eaten with loins girded, shoes on your feet, and staff in hand, and it must be eaten in a hurry. Nothing is to remain until sunrise, all remnants must be burned. (Shemot – Exodus 12:8)
- Nothing of the offering can leave the house, nor can any bone be broken (Shemot – Exodus 12:46)
- Blood from the offering is to be spread on lintel above door and on the side posts like the first Pesach – Passover (Shemot – Exodus 12:7)
- Participation in the holiday is mandatory for all Israelites. Servants who are circumcised may participate. Foreigners and hired foreign servants, are to be excluded from eating the offering; the yearling lamb. (Shemot – Exodus 12:43-45)
Unleavened Bread
- No hametz (leavened bread) is to be eaten for the seven days of the holiday. (Shemot – Exodus 12:15)
- Unleavened bread is to be eaten each of the seven days. (Shemot – Exodus 12:18)
- All leavening starters, that is dough with yeast cultures (se’or), must be removed from all houses. (Shemot – Exodus 12:15 & 12:19)
- No hametz shall be seen with any Israelite and no se’or is to be found within all Israelite lands. (Shemot – Exodus 13:7)
The commandments center on the holiday and the Pesach offering. The holiday dates are specified in detail. There are then the commandments not to eat leavened bread, to keep it out of sight, and to eat unleavened bread during the seven days. It is the tradition of the Jews that the Korban Pesach (Passover Offering) is not made when the Temple is not in operation. This is confirmed by ancient sources like the Elephantine Papyrus (see below). For this reason many Jews omit lamb from their Passover Seders. Karaite Jews do eat lamb, even though it is not regarded as the Korban Pesach (Passover Offering).
The Story of the Chag Hamatsot
The story that underlies the holiday begins with the Book of Shemot (Exodus) which tells the story of the Israelites as slaves in Egypt and how Hashem (G-d) saved Moshe from death at the hands of the Egyptians and later sent the brothers Moshe and Aharon as emissaries to Pharoah. Through the ten plagues the Egyptians are punished and Hashem demonstrates His power over nature and the universe and that the Egyptians and their false deities are powerless to stop Him. The eighth plague is fire and ice that falls on the Egyptians (a phenomenon called volcanic hail) which arrived in Egypt at the ripening of the barley harvest. It is based upon this ripening that the New Year is established. When the barley is ripe before the new moon at the end of the Twelfth Biblical Month, the New Year begins at the next new moon. If the barley is not ripe, then a Thirteenth Month is added to the calendar so as to correct the lunar calendar for the solar year. The addition of the extra month ensures that the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMatsot) always occurs in the spring (Learn more about the Jewish Calendar). Either way the First Month (also called Aviv) begins and it is on the fifteenth day of the First Month (which commences at sunset as the fourteenth day ends) that the Pesach Offering is made. This coincides with the night that Hashem killed the firstborn of Egypt. The Israelites painted lamb blood on their doorposts so their firstborn would be spared.
Shemot chapters 11–12 describe the events that this holiday are based upon and set forth the rules of the holiday. By the tenth day of the First Month each Israelite household is required to procure a yearling lamb, or in combination with other households, and have it ready for the Pesach Offering. The slaughter takes place at dusk just before sunset. Josephus reported that Israelites in Jerusalem gathered ten men to a slaughter. The meat is then cooked and eaten. Nothing is permitted to remain until sunrise, so all organs, entrails, and bones not eaten must be burned. This burning takes place regardless of whether the holiday coincides with Shabbat.
The Torah goes on to prohibit the consumption of leavened bread and any and all hametz. Hametz includes leavened bread and vinegar which are specifically labelled as hametz in the scriptures. This implies that other fermentation processes and the resulting food and drink should be avoided. This includes cheese, alcoholic beverages, pickles (pickled in vinegar), sour cream, soy sauce, and any other fermented, pickled, or leavened food. This must all be put out of sight for the seven days of the Chag (the fifteenth through the twenty-first of the First Month – Aviv). Vinegar is referred to as “hometz-wine” (hometz-yayin) in the Torah (Bemidbar – Numbers 6:3). Note that there were no vowels written in ancient Hebrew so hametz and hometz (both words are spelled identically chaf, mem, tsadei sofit (final tsadei) so this is the same word, essentially, and the same concept. On several occasions in the Kethuvim vinegar is referred to as “hometz” in Tehilim (Psalm) 69:22. It is called hometz twice in Mishlei (Proverbs) 10:26 and 25:20. The Book of Ruth also calls vinegar hometz (Ruth 2:14).
Se’or is a leavening agent, typically wet dough that has been colonized by yeast. Se’or must be destroyed. Cheese rennets and anything that can cause a leavening effect on food could also be argued to be se’ors. Today, most bread is made with baking soda rather than with yeast. Baking soda does not leaven bread like yeast does. Yeast is a microscopic fungus that lives in the air and when cultivated, can cause though the biological process of consumption and waste, bread to rise when baked. Baking soda accomplishes the same effect through a chemical process. Thus, baking sodas should, at the very least, be put out of sight and not used during the Chag. Karaite tradition goes so far as to include carbonated drinks, sodas, as they can likewise raise bread through a chemical process. Although, some believe this interpretation goes it a bit too far. Cleaning agents not intended for human consumption can be excluded from the prohibition.
Then there is the question of grains and flour that can become hamets. If you have flour in your home and it becomes wet, it will cultivate yeast and begin to leaven. As a safeguard against having unintentional hametz in one’s home all grains and flours should be put away and kept out of the home and out of sight. That said, the Torah makes no restriction on the consumption of grains during the holiday. Avoiding the consumption of grains that can become hametz is a tradition. It is best to be cautious about what can become hametz. It is true that this is merely a safeguard, fences around fences as we say in Judaism, but better to go a little farther than the minimum commanded by Torah than to unintentionally violate a commandment. Like Sephardic Jews, Karaites eat rice and lentils during the Chag Hamatsot. When wetted and left out for a time, lentils begin to rot. They do not begin to leaven. Click here for more information on Karaite practices and customs concerning the Chag Hamatsot.
In addition to the prohibition against eating hamets, Israelites are commended affirmatively to eat unleavened bread (matsa) every day of the seven days. Thus, at least some unleavened bread must be consumed each day. Click here to learn about Karaite matsa recipes. The first day of the Chag is a day like Shabbat, a day of rest, except for the work necessary to prepare food; unless this holiday coincides with Shabbat. Obviously, the work required to prepare the slaughter for consumption and to burn its unconsumed remains, are permitted. The seventh day of the Chag (Shevi’iy Atseret), the twenty-first day of the First Month, is also a Moed (date or holiday) which is likewise a day of rest except for the work necessary to prepare food, unless this day coincides with Shabbat. The commanded prohibitions conclude at sunset on the seventh day, the twenty-first day of the First Month. In Karaite tradition, we wait until it is completely dark before eating hamets so as to be certain the holiday has passed.
Finally, it is considered important to be ritually clean during the Chag. Details of ritual cleanliness is discussed in greater depth in this article. Indeed, Bemidbar (Numbers) 9:9-13 describes men who were unclean from the dead during the Chag Hamatsot such that Moshe received further instructions from Hashem that a second Chag Hamatsot can be observed from the fifteenth day of the Second Month for those who were unclean from the dead at the time of the proper observance. In Karaite tradition a connection is drawn between ritual cleanliness and holiness. The Torah requires that one be both ritually clean and holy before entering the Temple, for example. It is necessary to attempt to remain clean during the seven days of the holiday. The practice, along with the abstention from alcohol, are of ancient origin. These prohibitions are included in the Elephantine Papyrus a letter from a Hananiyah to a Jewish garrison in Egypt containing orders for that garrison to observe the Chag and how to do so. Ritual cleanliness and the abstention from leavened bread and alcohol are referenced in this letter.
Matza
Karaite tradition involves baking matzah at home. While commercially bought matza can suffice, it is preferable also to make your own. Karaite matza is made with whole coriander seeds as it said in Torah that the manna eaten by the Israelites in the desert tasted like coriander (Shemot 16:31). Click for recipe.
The Elephantine Papyrus
These instructions are given at a time when the Zadokite priests still led services at the Temple. Yekhezkel (Ezekiel) identified the Zadokite priests as the legitimate priests on several occasions, because they retained their loyalty to Hashem during the Babylonian Captivity. The letter thus carries more authority than any later Jewish institution could possibly have. Note that in the fifth year of the reign of Darias the Persian, the Temple had not yet finished being rebuilt and had not yet been reconsecrated. By its omission, the Elephantine Papyrus seems to confirm that the Korban Pesach (Passover Offering) was not made when the Temple was not in proper operation. The Papyrus is from the fifth year of the reign of Darias the Persian, when the Temple was reconsecrated in the sixth year (third day of the twelfth month – Adar) of the reign of Darias (Ezra 6:15).
The Seder
The Pesach Seder is a tradition based upon the events of the exodus from Egypt. The Karaite Haggadah (liturgy for the Seder) is taken almost directly from the scripture. Click here to buy a Karaite Haggadah, a book that provides the service and the blessings for the seder. Lamb is consumed at the seder in remembrance of the Korban Pesach (Passover Offering) even though it is our tradition that no offerings may be made in the absence of the Temple. If the offering could be made the blood from the offering would be painted onto the doorposts of homes in remembrance of the night Egypt’s firstborn died. A maror (bitter herbs) is made with a salad and a bitter dressing to remind us of the bitterness of slavery. Karaites do not consume wine during the seder, as alcoholic drinks are prohibited, but we do drink an iced crushed grape drink instead (or alternatively, a juice created by soaking raisins overnight and squeezing them into juice). It is a night for celebration, songs, and happiness as we commemorate the day Hashem liberated our ancestors and proved that He was supreme over the natural world and over the imagined powers created by mankind. In Karaite custom a seat is left open for the Prophet Eliyahu whose return is anticipated in the future, although not everyone believes he will return.
Karaite Jews have a special blessing for the Chag Hamtsot. The Hamotsi blessing is typically said over bread. The word “oniy” is inserted between the words “lechem” and “min.” Oniy means the “slaves” or the “afflicted”, essentially making the blessing for Matsa a blessing over the bread of affliction. The blessing thus goes:
“Baruch attah YHVH (Adonai) eloheinu melech ha’olam, hamotsi lechem oniy min ha’arets.”
To add additional excitement to the event, the meal can be consumed with shoes on, in preparation for the coming departure. Some Jews stay up late and also to go out for a walk to reenact the events described in the book of Shemot (Exodus). These are not traditional practices, but they are original to the first Exodus.
Counting the Omer
During the Chag there is a Shabbat and it is following that Shabbat that we observe the counting of the Omer. The first Omer (a measurement) of grain is brought to the priests on that day. Thereafter, we count seven weeks, 49 days, each week punctuated by a Shabbat until on the 50th day (always a Sunday) we observe the second Chag of the year: the Chag HaShavuot (pilgrimage festival of weeks). The third and final Chag of the year is the Chag HaSukkot (the pilgrimage festival of booths – small wooden structures) which commences on the fifteenth day of the Seventh Month. A pilgrimage festival originally meant a pilgrimage to Jerusalem wherein all Israelite males were required to appear at the Temple “before Hashem.” In the absence of the Temple, this pilgrimage no longer takes place, but we still include the phrase “next year in Jerusalem” in our liturgy for the holiday. Learn more about the Jewish Calendar here.
Ethiopian Traditions
The Ethiopian Jews (Bete Yisrael) are descended from the Jewish traders who lived in the Aksum Empire. As early as the reign of King Solomon there were Jews traveling the Red Sea and trading with the civilizations that thrived there. In the 4th Century CE, King Ezana, ruler of Aksum, converted his kingdom to Christianity. The Jews who refused to convert were forced out into the remote highlands of Ethiopia. By the 7th Century CE, Aksum had declined in power. That and the rise of Islam essentially isolated the empire from the near-east. Jews in Arabia and the Middle East were soon cutoff from those in the Byzantine Empire let alone their brethren in Ethiopia. In the 19th Century, western explorers and travelers discovered the Ethiopian Jewish communities and contact was restored. Curiously, the customs, calendar, and traditions were fairly similar given the length of isolation. Beta Yisrael follows a more Torah centered form of Judaism similar to Karaism.
Bete Yisrael, for example, regard Aviv was the first month of the year, not the Seventh Month as many Jews do. They read the story of Passover directly from the Torah rather than use a Haggadah (Passover book). Item #8 in this article about Jewish customs from around the world. Karaite Hagadot essentially quote the Torah, although they also include poems and songs. Like Karaites, they regard as hamets anything that is leavened, not just things leavened from specific grains. They do not eat cheeses or yogurts during the Chag Hamatsot, for example. This would seem to confirm, at least, that from Late Antiquity, most Jews observed the Chag Hamastot the way that Karaites continue to do today.
One area of disagreement is that Bete Yisrael still practices the Korban Pesach (Passover Offering). Their spiritual leaders, the Kahan or Keis, wash themselves (to attain spiritual cleanliness) and then slaughter the yearling lamb. This calls into question whether these communities suspended their offerings upon the destruction of the Temple. It is also possible that the custom was continued because Bete Yisrael for many years believed they were the last Jews remaining. Whatever the case, they continued to perform the offering even after the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.
Another area of difference, is that Bete Yisrael count the Omer from the day following the end of the Chag Hamatsot regardless of what day of the week that happens to be.
Rabbinical Customs
The Rabbinical Seder is based upon the Greek Symposium, an ordered dinner dedicated to the worship of Dionysus. This was incorporated into Jewish custom during the Byzantine Era, along with the fall new year. This ordered dinner complete with the four sons and their questions and the seat left open for the reincarnation of Dionysius has nothing to do with Jewish tradition and should not be observed this way. The Greek would typically hold an orgy after their symposium, so this is definitely not behavior to emulate. Reclining to the left on a couch is likewise a Roman custom with no Jewish origin.
In Rabbinical custom a plate is prepared with several items on it, one of which is a lamb bone. This plate is likewise a tradition that is not part of Karaite custom. Some Rabbinical groups, especially Ashkenazim (European Jews) also have other restrictions such as not eating lentils even though lentils do not leaven. Horseradish is often used as a bitter herb, typically including vinegar. Cheeses and yogurts are also allowed to be eaten. Outside of Israel Rabbinical custom ads an eighth day to the holiday as well. While there is no reason one could not abstain from bread for an eighth day, there is no authority under Torah that is permitted to require the extension of holidays or to alter their nature and purpose. The Rabbis have created a concept of a wine that is “Kosher for Pesach” which includes alcohol.
The Talmudic tradition also holds that the Omer is counted from the second day of the Chag Hamatsot regardless of on what day it lands. Thus, they incorrectly observe Shavuot on any day of the week other than Shabbat according to the incorrect calculation. Learn more about the Jewish Calendar.
Onion Wars
The Persian Jews have an amusing custom of using green onions (scallions) as whips to reenact the oppression of Egyptian task masters. Family members whip each other with the green onions in symbolic oppression that gets silly very quickly, especially with young children present. Add this to your seder meal for extra fun! This is included as item #10 on this list of Pesach customs from Jewish communities around the world.
Holiday Greetings
Generally, one greets another on a Chag by saying Chag Sameach! Essentially, happy festival. It is not appropriate to say this on a holiday that is not a Chag, for example Yom Teru’ah. We say Mo’ed Shalom or “peaceful date” for other holidays. Chag Pesach Sameach is also incorrect as Pesach references the first night only and misnames the holiday. Chag Hamatsot Sameach is correct. Shabbat is the most important holiday in the Torah, during or near Shabbat it is critical to say Shabbat Shalom before wishing any other good holiday. Thus one would say: “Shabbat Shalom ve’Chag Sameach” or “Shabbat Shalom ve’Moed Shalom!” Chag Sameach works for Shavuot and Sukkot as these are also Chagim. They can also be styled as “Chag Shavuot Sameach” or “Chag Sukkot Sameach” in order to be more specific. As Purim is not a Torah holiday, it is Karaite practice simply to say “Purim Shalom!” Mo’ed Shalom is also sometimes used for Purim.
Silver Trumpets 