Years ago, I was invited to the Passover Seder at the Judah Hyam Synagogue in Delhi. The invitation was from Rabbi Ezekiel Isaac Malekar, who heads the tiny Jewish community of less than ten families in Delhi.
Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew, is the Jewish festival of freedom that marks the exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt.
It occurs in March or April. As Jewish sources tell it, the story harks back 3,400 years to the family of Jacob, who fled their home in Canaan, or ancient Israel, to escape a terrible famine. They found their way to Egypt where they were welcomed, and grew in numbers. But when a new pharaoh came to power, he feared the growing Israelite population and enslaved them.
This oppression continued for 210 years.
Moses, an Israelite infant who escaped the pharaoh's decree to kill Jewish babies and grew up half-Egyptian in the palace itself, heard God's call from a burning bush in the desert to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. He negotiated with the pharaoh for the Israelites' freedom. This led to a conflict between God, who wanted freedom for the Israelites, and pharaoh, who epitomised the cruel forces of tyranny and enslavement. God broke pharaoh's arrogance by inflicting ten plagues on Egypt.
During the night of the final plague, God "passed over" and protected the houses of the Israelites, giving the festival its name.
Denne historien er fra October 07, 2024-utgaven av The Morning Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 07, 2024-utgaven av The Morning Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Through the darkest rooms
Sunitha Krishnan's recently-launched book IAm What IAm is a fierce narrative capturing the horrid sex crimes against women and children
Jaiswal - the cherry on top
Yashasvi's rise is contrary to Indian cricket's history, especially in the longest format
Anxiety in NSFs as Min calls for meeting
A day before a meeting between recognised National Sports Federations (NSFs) and the sports ministry to discuss the nuances of the Draft National Sports Governance Bill, 2024, there is anxiety among the federations. The letter addressed to president/secretary of recognised NSFs, dated October 15, called for a \"stakeholders consultation\" at the National Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday.
Spain enter quarters
ALVARO Morata scored about 10 minutes after missing a penalty kick as Spain comfortably defeated Serbia 3-0 to secure a spot in the quarterfinals after their third consecutive victory in the Nations League.
Steph's West Indies that dared to ask 'why not?'
THERE is a nice little cafe at the entrance of the ICC Academy in Dubai, which is a walking distance from the global cricketing body's headquarters. It was the most usual place to spot international cricketers going in and out of the designated training facility for the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Chloe and South Africa in pursuit of a date with destiny
CHLOE Tryon was over the moon. After all, she had taken a stunner to dismiss Australian captain Meg Lanning at the packed Newlands Stadium in the 2023 T20 World Cup final. With a shortish ball from Marizanne Kapp on offer, Lanning had almost nailed a pull shot before Tryon sprinted from deep backward square leg to complete the catch. Such was the occasion that she roared her heart out facing the crowd who had turned the stadium into a South African party.
ISSF WC Final: Akhil clinches bronze
AKHIL Sheoran came to the fore to help India win a second medal in the ongoing ISSF World Cup Final here on Wednesday.
FPIs to get trade proceeds on settlement day; to save ₹2K cr yearly
IN a major move towards ease of doing business and treating overseas investors on par with their domestic peers, capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has mandated clearing corporations to ensure that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) get the proceeds from equity or debt sale on settlement day itself.
TRAI refuses to issue consultation paper for spectrum allocation
THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday refused to issue a new consultation paper for spectrum allocation to satellite communication players.
No decision at GoM meet on compensation cess
THE Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST compensation cess, led by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, on Wednesday held discussions regarding potential merger of compensation cess into the goods and services tax (GST). There was no decision yet, as confirmed by Chaudhary. Talking to reporters after the meeting, he said GoM would meet again in the second week of November.