Passover is coming: dates in 2025, the biblical description, the spiritual meaning of the Jewish Passover

Adherents of Judaism begin celebrating Passover on April 12, the so-called Jewish Easter. Unlike the Christian Easter, Passover lasts for seven or eight days, depending on the region, and has a different historical and religious significance. The celebration serves not only as a symbol of liberation from centuries—old slavery, but also as an occasion for Jews all over the world to remember that they are all one people. The duration of this ancient holiday varies from country to country. For example, it lasts seven days in Israel, and eight days outside the country. The history and traditions of the holiday are in the material of Izvestia.

Dates of the Passover holiday in 2025: when does it start, how long does it last

Passover is one of the most important holidays in Judaism, which marks the exodus of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery. In 2025, it will begin at sunset on Saturday, April 12, and last until Sunday evening, April 20. In Israel itself, Passover is celebrated for seven days. This difference is due to ancient traditions, when Jews who lived far from the Temple in Jerusalem could not find out the exact date of the beginning of the holiday in time and observed it one day longer — a custom that has survived to this day.

The date of Passover is determined according to the Jewish lunisolar calendar and falls on the 15th day of the month of Nisan. The Jewish calendar is based on lunar cycles, so the exact dates of the holidays shift annually relative to the Gregorian calendar. However, there is one important rule.: Passover should always be held after the vernal equinox.

In order to synchronize the lunar calendar with the solar year and prevent the holiday from shifting to earlier seasons, an additional thirteenth month, Adar II, is regularly added to the Jewish calendar. This happens about once every three years, and thanks to this system, Passover retains its reference to spring time.

The holiday itself begins in the evening, as in the Jewish tradition, a new day begins with sunset. The first and last nights of Passover are especially important: on these evenings, a special ritual seder dinner is held, accompanied by the reading of the Haggadah, the narrative of the exodus from Egypt.

In Israel, the seder is held only on the first night, and in the Diaspora — on the first and second. All this time, Jews abstain from leavened bread (chometz), that is, from everything that is prepared using leaven — wheat, barley, rye, oats and spelt. This is due to the fact that in the rush of exodus from Egypt, the Jews did not have time to wait for the bread dough to rise, and they took matzo— unleavened bread, with them. In memory of this, only matzo and non-sourdough foods are eaten on Passover.

Happy Passover: beautiful postcards and congratulations on the Jewish Easter

Passover in Russia: working or non-working days, where to rest

In the Russian Federation, the Jewish community celebrates Passover in accordance with traditional religious and cultural customs adapted to modern urban life. Despite the fact that Passover is not an official public holiday in Russia, it is widely celebrated in Jewish families, community centers and synagogues throughout the country.

In large Russian cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, special shelves with matzo and products suitable for consumption on holidays appear in kosher stores before Passover. Matzo is often distributed free of charge to the elderly and poor members of the community — this is organized by charitable foundations such as Shaarei Tzedek and Chesed Avraham.

In some regions of Russia, rabbis organize field seders in small towns where there is no permanent community life. Such events help Jews from remote places also feel a sense of belonging to a common heritage.

During this period, special holidays, contests, quests and performances dedicated to the exodus from Egypt are held for children. Jewish schools and Sunday school curricula pay special attention to explaining the meaning of Passover on an accessible level.

In Russia, Passover is not an official day off at the state level. This means that for most citizens, working and school days continue according to a well-established schedule, unless a person takes a vacation or time off on their own initiative.

On the eve of Passover, as well as any other Jewish holiday, you can hear the words "Hag Sameah!", which in Hebrew means "Happy holiday!". This is a universal greeting that is often pronounced in Israel and during the celebration of Passover by Jews in Russia.

According to a long-standing tradition, they wish not to forget about those who especially need help, support and care. And since the holiday is a family one, wishes of peace, kindness and well—being are added to the congratulations.

Passover — what kind of holiday do Jews have: a biblical description of the Jewish Easter

The Passover holiday is one of the oldest and most important in Judaism, its history goes back to the depths of biblical times and is closely connected with fateful events for the Jewish people. According to the Torah (the Pentateuch of Moses), Passover originated as a memory of the exodus, the mass liberation of Jews from Egyptian slavery, under the leadership of the prophet Moses.

This exodus was not just a political event, but the moment of the spiritual birth of the Jewish people as a nation that gained freedom. According to the biblical narrative, the Jews spent more than 400 years in Egypt. Initially, they came there voluntarily during the time of Joseph, one of the sons of Jacob, but over time their situation worsened: the Jews were enslaved and subjected to severe oppression.

The people cried out to God for help, and God, hearing their pleas, chose Moses to lead the people out of Egypt. Before the exodus, God sent ten plagues upon Egypt, the last of which was the death of all the firstborn in Egyptian families. In order for Jewish homes to be safe, they were told to kill a lamb and anoint the doorposts with its blood — this is where the name of the holiday comes from: "Passover" in Hebrew means "to pass by", "to jump over", that is, the Lord "passed by" Jewish homes and did not strike their firstborn.

On the night when the last execution broke out, Pharaoh released the Jewish people. The people hastily packed up and left Egypt. The celebration of Passover was enshrined in biblical law. The book "Exodus" describes in detail the order of observance of this holiday, including rituals, prohibitions and symbols.

Initially, Passover was a pilgrimage holiday: three times a year — on Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot — Jews ascended to Jerusalem to make sacrifices in the Temple. A special sacrifice on Passover was the Easter lamb, the meat of which was eaten during the festive dinner, following a strictly prescribed procedure.

After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D., temple sacrifice ceased and Jewish religious practice shifted towards home celebrations.

This is how the Passover seder appeared — an evening dinner with rituals, symbolic dishes and the reading of the Haggadah, a book about the exodus from Egypt. Each element of the meal symbolizes important aspects of Jewish history and faith: matzah commemorates a hasty exodus, bitter herbs commemorate the suffering of slavery, haroset commemorate the construction work of slaves, and four cups of wine commemorate the four promises of deliverance given by God.

Over the centuries, the Passover holiday has retained its significance, reminding the Jewish people of freedom, faith and trials. It has not lost its relevance and has become a powerful symbol of Jewish identity, the desire for liberation and spiritual independence. Modern forms of celebration include both religious and cultural elements, but the seder and Haggadah reading are still at the center.

The spiritual meaning of the Jewish holiday of Passover for Jews

The Passover holiday for the Jewish people has a deep spiritual meaning that goes far beyond the historical memory of ancient events. It is perceived not just as a tribute to the past, but as a living experience of liberation, taking place on a personal and national level.

The main idea of Passover is freedom, but not only physical, but above all internal, spiritual. Liberation from Egyptian slavery becomes in the mind of a believing Jew a symbol of liberation from any enslavement: fear, dependence, limitation, from everything that prevents you from being truly human and fulfilling your purpose in the world.

Passover reminds every Jew that freedom is not a static state, but a constant choice and effort. To be free means to be aware of your responsibility, your connection with God and with other people, to be able to distinguish between good and evil, and to follow moral principles, even if they require sacrifice or run counter to the surrounding reality.

Passover is a holiday of awakening, just as spring awakens nature, so the human soul is called to awaken from spiritual hibernation, reconsider its life, leave false paths in the past and open itself to God and the truth.

For the Jewish consciousness, Passover is not just a memory of deliverance, but an invitation to walk the path of exodus anew, this time internally. Every year he gives an opportunity to get out of his "personal Egypt" — that which binds, restricts, humiliates. It can be fear, anger, a habit of spiritual laziness, dependence, or false beliefs.

Pesach says that a person should not remain a slave to either external circumstances or his own weaknesses. He is called to freedom, to reveal his spiritual essence, to serve the lofty ideals laid down in the Torah.

Another important aspect of the spiritual meaning of Passover is the idea of renewal. Freedom is given not for the sake of freedom itself, but for the sake of growth and moving forward.

Having freed himself, a person must fill his life with meaning, a task, a mission. Therefore, Passover is not just a way out of Egypt, but the beginning of the path to Mount Sinai, to receive the Torah, to gain true, meaningful freedom as a union with the Divine will.