Evening star., 1915-03-29
Commentaries Deliverance.


The feast OF Pesach, Or the Pass
over was Instituted to commemorate
rhf defiverance of the children of
Israel from the bondage Ill which, for
rnuny generations. they had been held
in Iyvpt and their departure Tor the
promised l.uId of Canaan under ms
leadership Of the Prophet Moses TINS
aeIIyerlnt.e follow cd immediately upon
tb. slaughter hy the Angel o. lhe
ord of the tirst-born OF every fE3p
tjor household. and was the result u
this eliminating disaster. f-Ner! %"
,sh household was ordered 10 sstcr!hee
:, lamb on tn. fatal night, the Hesh
10 be eaten and the blood snieared on
M. Intel of the door, 50 that inc ue
stroviug angel might rccosilSe anu
..pass over the dwellings, OF inc lol-
lowers of Jehovah Ihe LEY ,a.,li'e, p.ians
crushed bv the blow not onlE dlio%eu
tbe ISraeIites to depart next daJ, nut
even lent them articles necessary 1or
their exodus. ..;,i ,f
The Passover il the frst lestisai -
,he Jewish ecclesiastical year, beGin
ming on the fourtecnth day OF tlic nTst
month, which is designated as Nisi',t.
IL was one of the three great les tiN.iis ii
On which, during the eAlStcieS - IL
t,mpl,. Al Jerusalem. the jewish peop,1
gathered ~ jerusalem. coming IRON 81
tine surrounding country and bringing
their offerings to the temple
During the continuance VI tIo
over festival all bread and all other
leayened articles of food are panlsheo
from the home of the orthouoX Jew
The use Of such food is absolutely lor
hidden and observant Jews Will not
permit any leaven of any description IN
their habitations during the Pesacn
festival The place of bread Is taken
by the matzoth, or unleavened cahes'
which are prepared for the purpose un-
der strict rules and rigid SUPERVISION
They are made by Jewish bakers, IN
accordance with an ancient ritua! anu
under the watchful care of orthodox
rabbis, who see that the laws concern
Ing the mixing and the baking OF the
matzoth are strictly complied with
Hence the Passover festival IS also
known as the feast Of unleavened
bread
Significance of Unleavened Bread.
Tie use of the natzoth, or unleavened
bread, has its origin in the haste with
which the Israelites were compelled to
fako their departure from Egypt. the land
OF bondage They were literally thrust
out OF Egypt their former oppressors
being 80 anxious TO hurry their going that
no time was given them to bake the bread
necessary for the journey Therefore
they were compelled to take dough which
they had pre- pared before il was leavened
and bake it while on their journey. The
rnatzoth arc composed simply of flour
and water, with no Yeast or other leaven-
ing matter, and yet are quite palatable.
The first and second evenings of the
festival-that is this evening and totnor-
row evenirg-nhat is known as the
''Seder' service is given il orthodox
Jewish households. These are occasions
for family gatherings, and the entire
household meets about the table, even the
household servants, if of the Jewish faith,
being included.
The ..Hagadah," an ancient compila-
tion of the circumstances which gave
or gin to the Pesach festival, is read by
the head of the household. The exodus
Of the Jews from Egypt is retold. and
hymns OF praise and thanksgiving to the
Aim ghty for the deliverance Of the chill
dren of Israel from slavery are chanted
by the entire gathering