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Passover

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In Jesus' time, the '''Jewish Passover''' ({{he icon}}: פֶּסַח, ''Pesach'') brought the faithful of [[Moses]] together to Jerusalem for the purpose of offering and consuming the paschal lamb. This commemorated the [[Exodus]] which liberated the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery.<ref group="note">The Jewish Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of [[w:Nisan|Nisan]] in the Jewish calendar, which is in spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and is celebrated for seven or eight days.</ref>
Today the '''[[Pascha|Christian Passover]]''' ({{el icon}} Πάσχα, ''Pascha'') unites [[Jesus Christ|Christ's]] disciples in communion with their Lord, the true [[Lamb of God]]. It associates them with His death and resurrection [[Resurrection]] which have freed them from [[sin]] and [[death]].
There is an obvious continuity from one festival to the other, but the perspective has been changed in passing from the old to the new covenant through the intermediary of [[Jesus]]' Passover.
==The Israelite Passover==
===The Early Passover - Nomadic and Domestic===
At the outset, the Passover was a family festival. It was celebrated at night, at the full moon of the vernal equinox, the 14th of the month of Abib or of the corn (called Nisan after the exile). A young animal, born that year, was offered to Yahweh in order to draw down divine blessings upon the flocks. The victim was a lamb or kid, male, without blemish;<ref>Exodus 12:3-6.</ref> not a bone of him must be broken.<ref>12:46; Numbers 9:12.</ref> His [[Blood in the Bible|blood ]] was placed, as a sign of preservation, on the entrance of each dwelling.<ref>Exodus 12:7,22.</ref> His flesh was eaten during the course of a rapid meal, taken in the manner of guests about to go on a journey.<ref>12:8-11.</ref> These nomadic and domestic traits suggest a very ancient origin for the Passover: it could have been the sacrifice which the Israelites asked of Pharoah to celebrate in the desert.<ref>3:18; 5:1 ff.</ref> It thus goes back beyond [[Moses ]] and the departure from Egypt. But it is the [[Exodus ]] which gave it its definitive meaning.
===Passover and Exodus===
The great springtime of [[Israel ]] occurred when God liberated His people from the Egyptian yoke by a series of providential interventions, the most striking of which is expressed in the tenth plague: the killing of the first-born of the Egyptians.<ref>Exodus 11:5; 12:12,29 ff.</ref> To this event, tradition later joined the offering of the first-born of the flock and the redeeming of the first-born Israelite.<ref>13:1f.,11-15; Numbers 3:13; 8:17.</ref> But this parallel comparison remains secondary. What matters is that the Passover coincides with the deliverance of the Israelites: it became the memorial of the [[Exodus]], the greatest event of their history. It recalled that [[God]] had struck Egypt and spared His faithful.<ref>12:26f.; 13:8 ff.</ref> From now on such will be the meaning of the Passover and the new meaning of its name.
''Pasch'' is the equivalent of the Greek ''[[Pascha]]'', derived from the [[Aramaic]] ''Pasha'' and the Hebrew ''Pesah''. The origin of this name is disputed. Some give it a foreign etymology, Assyrian (''pasahu'', to appease) or Egyptian (''pa-sh'', the remembrance; ''pe-sah'', the blow); but none of these hypotheses is compelling. The Bible associates ''pesah'' with the verb ''pasah,'' which mean either to limp, or perform a ritual dance around a sacrifice,<ref>1 Kings 18:21,26.</ref> or figuratively, "to jump", "to pass", "to spare". The Passover is the ''Passage'' of Yahweh who ''passed over'' the Israelite houses while He struck those of the Egyptians.<ref>Exodus 12:13,23,27; Isaiah 31:5.</ref>
Thus, the Passover has evolved through the centuries. Some qualifications, some modifications took place. The most important was the innovation of Deuteronomy which transformed the old family celebration into a feast of the temple.<ref>Deuteronomy 16:1-8.</ref> Perhaps this legislation saw a beginning of realization under Hezekiah.<ref>2 Chronicles 30; Isaiah 30:29.</ref> In any case, it is established as a fact under Josiah.<ref>2 Kings 23:21 ff.; 2 Chronicles 35.</ref> The Passover thus takes its place within the general centralization of worship. Its rite is adapted: [[Blood in the Bible|blood]] is poured out over the altar<ref>2 Chronicles 35:11.</ref> and priests and Levites and the principal ministers in the ceremony.
After the exile, the Passover became the festival ''par excellence''; its omission entailed a veritable [[excommunication ]] for the Jews.<ref>Numbers 9:13.</ref> All the circumcised, and they alone, must take part in it;<ref>Exodus 12:43-49.</ref> in case of necessity, it can be put off for a month.<ref>Numbers 9:9-13; 2 Chronicles 30:2 ff.</ref> These qualifications of priestly legislation fixed a jurisprudence henceforth unchangeable. Outside the holy city, the Passover was doubtless celebrated here and there in family style, as was certainly the case with the Jewish colony at Elephantine in Egypt, according to a document of the year 419. But the sacrificing of the lamb was progressively eliminated from these private celebrations, which from now on were eclipsed by the solemnity in Jerusalem.
The Passover became one of the great [[Pilgrimage|pilgrimages]], one of the culminating points of the liturgical year. By means of the recall of the deliverance from Egypt, the feast sustained the hope of the liberation to come. There was here a risk of awakening nationalism: it was frequently at the time of the Passover that political movements came to the fore<ref>Luke 13:1 ff.</ref> or religious passions were inflamed.<ref>Acts 12:1-4.</ref> In the Roman period, the administration took care to maintain order during the paschal festivities, and each year at that time the procurator went up to [[Jerusalem]]. But religious faith could also see beyond this agitation and keep itself free from compromise. The Passover was a feast of hope, since, as it was currently said, it was during this night that the [[Messiah]] would come.
==The Passover of Jesus==
==The Christian Passover==
===The Sunday Passover===
Crucified on the eve of a [[Sabbath ]] day,<ref>Mark 15:42; John 19:31.</ref> Jesus arose on the day after this same Sabbath; the first day of the week.<ref>Mark 16:2.</ref> It is also on the first day that the apostles find their arisen Lord in the course of a meal which is a new version ofthe supper.<ref>Luke 24:30,42; Mark 16:14; John 20:19-26; 21:1-14; Acts 1:4.</ref> And so, on the first day of the week the assembled Christians are going to join together for the breaking of the bread.<ref>Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2.</ref> This day would soon receive a new name: the [[Lord's Day|Day of the Lord]], ''Dies Domini'', [[Sunday]].<ref>[[Book of Revelation|Apocalypse]] 1:10.</ref> It recalls to Christians the resurrection [[Resurrection]] of [[Christ]], unites them to Him in His [[Eucharist]], turns them toward the hope of His parousia.<ref>1 Corinthians 11:26.</ref>
===The Annual Passover===
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