RABBI KOLKO Passover means rebirth, hope

The various names for the festival of Passover provide insight into its larger significance and meaning.
The name Passover, of course, is taken from the Exodus story. During the tenth and final plague inflicted on Pharaoh to break his will, God passed over (pasach) the Israelites and struck down only the Egyptian firstborn.
The central meaning of Passover is liberation, and therefore it is also called "zeman heiruteinu" -- the season of our liberation.
Another name for Passover is "hag ha-aviv" -- the holiday of spring.
Seasonal holidays: The Jewish calendar is set so that certain holidays always occur in a particular season of the year. Thus, the holiday of liberation is also the holiday of spring, not simply by coincidence but by design. After the bleakness of winter when everything is covered with layers of snow, spring marks the rebirth of the Earth with the bursting forth of green life.
Similarly, a people shackled in oppressive slavery, doomed to a slow process of degradation or even extinction, bursts forth out of Egypt into a new life's journey leading to a land flowing with milk and honey.
The watchwords of both spring and Pesach are rebirth and hope. Thus, the spirit of renewed optimism aroused by the sights and smells of spring are reinforced in a Jewish context by Passover with its trumpeting of the possibilities of liberation.
Holds hope: Passover reminds us annually that no matter how terrible our situation, we must not lose hope. Passover holds out the possibility of renewal, proclaiming that such change is as intrinsic to human nature as are blossoming trees to the natural world.
Another name for Passover is "hag ha-matzot" -- the holiday of the unleavened bread. The matzoh evokes images of that night when the Israelites ate the sacrificial lamb in fearful and eager anticipation of the future. Around them arose the wails of Egyptians mourning the deaths of their firstborn.
Suddenly, the word came forth from Moses to hurry. The Israelites had no time to let the dough rise for bread, so they carried with them this matzoh as their only provision. Matzoh is a symbol of liberation meant to trigger in our minds the whole story, which began in slavery and ended in freedom. It also reminds us of the faith of the Israelites in God's redemptive power.
Our wishes: Sherri and Zachary join me in wishing all of our friends a "Chag Kasher Vesameach" -- a Happy and Kosher Pesach.
XRabbi Simeon Kolko is the rabbi at Ohev Tzedek-Shaarei Torah Congregation in Youngstown.