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Passover
 
Reading Comprehension

This is a reading comprehension lesson to test your ability to understand information written in English. Read the information below and then answer the 5 test questions.
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PassoverHoliday: Passover

Passover, or Pesach (from: פֶּסַח in Hebrew, Yiddish), Tiberian: [pɛsaħ], Modern Hebrew: /ˈpesaχ/ Pesah, Pesakh, Yiddish: Peysekh, Paysakh, Paysokh) is an important Biblically-derived Jewish festival. The Jewish people celebrate Passover as a commemoration of their liberation over 3,300 years ago by God from slavery in ancient Egypt that was ruled by the Pharaohs, and their birth as a nation under the leadership of Moses. It commemorates the story of the Exodus as described in the Hebrew Bible especially in the Book of Exodus, in which the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt.

Passover commences on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Nisan and lasts for either seven days (in Israel) or eight days (in the diaspora). In Judaism, a day commences at dusk and lasts until the following dusk, thus the first day of Passover only begins after dusk of the 14th of Nisan and ends at dusk of the 15th day of the month of Nisan. The rituals unique to the Passover celebrations commence with the Passover Seder when the 15th of Nisan has begun. In the Northern Hemisphere Passover takes place in spring as the Torah prescribes it: "in the month of [the] spring" (בחדש האביב Exodus 23:15). It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays.

In the narrative of the Exodus, the Bible tells that God helped the Children of Israel escape from their slavery in Egypt by inflicting ten plagues upon the ancient Egyptians before the Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves; the tenth and worst of the plagues was the death of the Egyptian first-born.

The Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a slaughtered spring lamb and, upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord knew to pass over the first-born in these homes, hence the name of the holiday. There is some debate over where the term is actually derived from. When the Pharaoh freed the Israelites, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread dough to rise (leaven). In commemoration, for the duration of Passover no leavened bread is eaten, for which reason it is called "The Festival of the Unleavened Bread". Thus Matzo (flat unleavened bread) is eaten during Passover and it is a symbol of the holiday.

Historically, together with Shavuot ("Pentecost") and Sukkot ("Tabernacles"), Passover is one of the three pilgrimage festivals (Shalosh Regalim) during which the entire population of the kingdom of Judah made a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Samaritans still make this pilgrimage to Mount Gerizim, but only men participate in public worship.

Source: Wikipedia: Passover
From YOUR Teacher: Passover

Passover is a very important Jewish holiday. The story of this holiday is really interesting and the food served during the Passover meal is different than the food eaten during the regular days of the year.
Test: Reading Comprehension Passover

Read the information above. In the test questions below choose which is the best answer for each question. There are 5 questions. Good luck.
1.  Passover, or Pesach is which of the following?

a.  an important Christian festival
b.  an important Muslim festival
c.  an important Islamic festival
d.  an important Jewish festival
2.  Passover commemorates which of the following?

a.  the story of the Exodus
b.  the story of the Hebrew
c.  the story of the Tiberian
d.  the story of the Moses
3.  Passover commences on the 15th of which Hebrew month?

a.  Exodus
b.  Nisan
c.  Tiberian
d.  Moses
4.  Passover celebrations commence with which of the following?

a.  the Passover Exodus
b.  the Passover Bible
c.  the Passover Seder
d.  the Passover Festival
5.  Matzo is what type of food?

a.  unleavened bread
b.  bread dough
c.  bread with yeast
d.  unleavened bagels
 
 
 
 
 
 
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