The biblical holiday Passover ceased to exist when the temple was destroyed in 70 CE. It disappeared entirely and Chag Hamatzot’s name was changed to Passover. The biblical Passover The biblical holiday Passover occurred on the fourteenth day of the first month, later called Nisan. It had only one ceremony. The Israelites were required [...]
There is probably no more meaningful and enjoyable service than the Passover Seder. The word “Seder” means “order.” The Seder service is arranged and celebrated in the Jewish home by the family to teach its participants about the message of the holiday: to recall the exodus from Egyptian slavery, and recognize the need for freedom [...]
The following essay is from my book "Mysteries of Judaism." [...]
Demons and Sympathetic Magic in the Passover Seder I spoke in the past about the ancient Jews believing in demons, the power of sympathetic magic (doing something on earth that causes heaven [...]
Demons and Sympathetic Magic in the Passover Seder We saw in the prior articles that the belief in demons, the power of sympathetic magic to conjure the appearance of the messiah, the use of an intercessor to obtain God’s attention, and the belief in the effectiveness of magic numbers to help accomplish [...]
The following article appeared in my book “Mysteries of Judaism” where I showed that all the biblical holidays, without exception, were changes by the early Israelites, Pharisees, and later rabbis. I repeat it here because the holiday of Passover occurs this week. Why Was The First Passover Different From All Other Passovers? The Israelites’ [...]
The following article is from my recent book "Mysteries of Judaism" where I showed that every biblical holiday is not observed today as mandated in the Bible. Passover: A dead holiday passed on its name Unlike Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the holiday of Passover did not continue to exist in a radically modified [...]
The Origin of the Seder The Passover Rite and early Rabbinic Judaism By Baruch M. Bokser Jewish Theological Seminary Press, 2002, 188 pages This reprint of the 1984 classic by Professor Bokser explains the origin of the Passover Seder meal ritual. He notes that the Pascal sacrifice was an important part of Jewish ritual [...]
