Passover is once again on the horizon–Halleluyah!

PASSOVER IS ON THE HORIZON AGAIN! This year (2023), it starts late afternoon on April 4. (Some suggest it begins on the evening of April 5. See explanation at the end of this article.)

FOR THOSE WHO ARE NEW TO THE IDEA OF PASSOVER:  First of all, we must understand that, like ALL of ADONAI's Moedim/Appointed Times/Commanded Festivals, Passover applies to ALL believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and His Divine Messiah, Yeshua - who, by the way, has so far fulfilled the first FOUR of the SEVEN - Halleluyah! Please click here to check out our article of explanation about God's Festivals.

Passover/Unleavened Bread/Hag HaMatzot celebrates the deliverance of the slaves from Egypt. It is the story of redemption by the killing of the Passover Lamb, the blood of which was applied to the doorposts while the Israelites were still in Egypt, shortly before their Exodus.

Obedience to the command to take a lamb into their homes for a few days and then kill it for the purpose of spreading its blood on the doorposts ensured that their firstborn would be spared the Tenth Curse against Pharoah who refused to let God's enslaved Chosen People leave Egypt.

When the Angel of Death passed through the land and saw the blood, he "passed over" those houses and spared the first born within (Exodus 12:1-13).

Passover not only serves as a reminder of the events leading up to the Exodus from Egypt; but it is also the story of redemption through Messiah Yeshua, whose shed blood on the cross freed Believers from the slavery of earthly bondage to “the world!”

Yeshua fulfilled the festival of Passover when he was crucified. Like the lambs at the first Passover in Egypt, he was our substitute, our redemption. We have the chance for eternal life through our belief in Yeshua's divine blood shed on our behalf ... and always following YHWH's Torah to help us to lower our tendency to sin and do our best to NOT sin anymore!

It is important to remember that Passover marks the beginning of a seven-day period during which the eating of leavened Bread is forbidden, as LEAVEN is a symbol of sin during Passover. (I Corinthians 5:6-8; see also Exodus 23:14-16; Romans 6:4 and II Corinthians 5:21). That is why we must follow the command to "rid our homes of leaven":

Exodus 13: 3 "...Remember this day, on which you left Egypt, the abode of slavery; because YHWH, by the strength of his hand, has brought you out of this place. Do not eat hametz." (CJB)

Exodus 12: 18 From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day, you are to eat matzah. 19 During those seven days, no leaven is to be found in your houses. Whoever eats food with hametz in it is to be cut off from the community of Isra'el - it doesn't matter whether he is a foreigner or a citizen of the land. 20 Eat nothing with hametz in it. Wherever you live, eat matzah." (CJB)

(NOTE: Some people insist you are to clean out your “yeast” before Passover, but this is not true. There is no way to get rid of all yeast, because yeast spores are everywhere, including in every breath we take. For an indepth explanation, check out our article entitled, Yeast or Leaven.)

EXPLANATION OF "OUR" CALENDAR:

Please note we use the calendar based on the actual sun, moon, and stars; not the traditional Jewish calendar which is based on an "average moon", and rabbinical additions and changes. Click here for a basic explanation as to why.

By the way, in case anyone is interested, we offer a free downloadable haggadah (liturgy) for Pesach/Passover on our website. Just click on our Articles and Studies page, and scroll down until you see "Free calendars, Siddurs & Pesach Seder", and choose one of the final two link.