Skip to main content
Pesah

Pesah

8.6
A Jewish festival lasting eight days that remembers when the Jewish people escaped from Egypt
  • noun
  • /ˈpeɪsɑː/
translation icon : Pesaj
  • Families gather to celebrate Pesah with a special meal called the Seder.

Examples

  • Perhaps the wine he refers to is not the wine of foolishness alluded to by many commentators, but the wine of joy, sanctification, and freedom used at Pesah, on Shabbat, and twice under the bridal canopy.

    Academic text (2001)
  • "These are the Pesah dishes."

    Fiction book (1996)
  • "Because these dishes aren't Pesah dishes."

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The date of the first physical passed, as did the induction, swearing-in ceremony, Chanukah, Purim, and Pesah.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • During Pesah, Jewish people remember the freedom of their ancestors from slavery in Egypt.

  • Many traditions and rituals are observed during Pesah, including the removal of leavened bread from the home.

Synonyms

Pesach
vsPesah
3 9.3

A Jewish spring festival that remembers the Israelites leaving Egypt and usually lasts eight days

is the same festival but given in a different transliteration form
Passover
vsPesah
1 4.9

A major Jewish festival that remembers the escape from Egypt and is celebrated with a special family meal

is the same festival but presented in an alternative transliteration
Pascha
vsPesah
1 9.8

A Jewish festival that remembers people leaving slavery in Egypt

is the same Jewish festival but the key term is the Hebrew form

An eight-day Jewish festival in spring that remembers the Israelites leaving Egypt

is the same festival but cited by a different ceremonial name
Pasch
vsPesah
  • Archaic
9.6

A Jewish festival every spring that remembers the Israelites' escape from slavery in Egypt

is the same festival but often appears in other modern forms

Surface Forms

Pesah singular
Pesahs plural

Etymology

The word Pesah comes from the Hebrew Pesach, which means 'to pass over', and it is the same idea as the English name 'Passover'. That's why Pesah is the name for the Jewish festival that remembers how the people were 'passed over' and left Egypt for freedom.