Most Jewish families call the holiday “Passover” in English or “Pesach” (PEH-sach) in Hebrew. Both of these terms can be traced back to the first-ever Passover seder. The biblical book of Exodus describes how on the night God brings the tenth (and final) plague on the Egyptians, God instructs each Jewish family to sit and have a meal of roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and flatbread (matzah). They also smear a little blood from the lamb on their doorpost, a signal to the angel sent to deliver the final plague to pass over their house.
The Hebrew word for this ritual lamb is pesach, which later commentators liked to break down into two smaller words: peh (“a mouth”) and sach (“speaks”). Speech is crucial in the Passover story, from the Jews crying out to God (a turning point in the story) to Moses overcoming a speech disability to tell Pharaoh, “Let my people go!”
When we bring our voice to the seder table through our questions, ideas, and songs we’re showing that we are really free.
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March 30, 2026