Our Passover Celebration!
HISTORY OF THE CELEBRATION
The Torah commands us to observe Passover for seven days. Many Jews in North America and in Israel follow this injunction, but some outside Israel celebrate for eight days. The additional day was added to Passover and other holidays around 700-600 B.C.E. to guard against a possible error because elaborate networks of mountaintop bonfires were used to signal holidays’ beginnings. Although today’s dependable calendar allows us to know when holidays start and end. the eight-day celebration remains ingrained in law and practice for some Jews outside Israel.
Celebrated in various ways throughout history, Passover incorporates remnants of ancient spring harvest festivals. When the Temple existed, the holiday was one of three major festivals that required pilgrimages to Jerusalem to bring sacrifices. After the destruction of the Second Temple, Passover became a more communal, home-centered holiday, with the and the as we know them mostly finalized around 500-600 C.E.
From URJ
