Festivals 3 - Pesach

Pesach (Passover)

The festival of Pesach is an opportunity to remember that God freed the Jews from slavery in Egypt and took them to the promised land. This emphasises the covenant (agreement) between God and the Jews.  It was also at this time that the Jews received the Torah.  It is the Passover story more than any other that shows the importance of following God's instructions without question, and preparations for the festival are more rigorous than any other.  For Jews today, it shows that God is on their side and their problems are only temporary.

To find out more, read through:

• The Revision Site's Pesach page

• Judaism 101's Pesach page

This has come up a couple of times [1997 Q2 and 2000 Q1].  Compare the questions:

(a)    Describe how and why Jews celebrate Pesach.    [8]

(b)    Why might the celebration of Pesach be important to Jewish children?    [7]

(c)       'Celebrating Festivals is the best part of being a Jew!'

Do you agree?  Give reasons to support your answer and show that you have thought about different points of view.  You must refer to Judaism in your answer.  [5]

(a)    Describe how and explain why Jews have a special meal at Pesach (Passover).    [8]

(b)    Explain how celebrating Pesach (Passover) might strengthen the faith of a Jewish community.    [7]

(c)    'At Pesach (Passover), looking forward to the future is just as important as remembering the past.'

Do you agree?  Give reasons to support your answer and show that you have thought about different points of view.   [5]

Notice how the 2000 (a) question focuses on a specific part of Pesach - the Seder meal.   Again it is HOW and WHY - so you should explain what happens, and then say what it means.  

The earlier (b) question focuses on the importance to children, while last year it asked about the Jewish community.  Read the question carefully - you can often include many of the same points whatever is asked, as long as you word your answer in line with the question.

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