Photo by Alex Shute on Unsplash
Passover 2023 will be celebrated from April 5 to April 13.
The dates are based on the Hebrew calendar, from the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan (or Nisan) through the 22nd day.
In many Reform Jewish communities, Passover is celebrated for seven days, not eight. In more traditional Jewish communities—including both Orthodox and Conservative communities—Passover is celebrated for eight days.
In Hebrew, this festival is known as Pesach (which means “to pass over”) because Jewish homes were passed over to spare them from death that first Passover eve.
On the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan in the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE), the last of the 10 plagues afflicted the Egyptians, killing all their firstborn. However, the children of Israel were spared; the plague “passed over” their homes because they were instructed to mark their doorposts with lamb’s blood. After that, 600,000 left Egypt on that day and began the trek to Mount Sinai.
