The Passover, a major Jewish holiday also known as Pesach, is a week-long festival celebrating the Biblical story of the Israelites' escape from slavery in Egypt.
Although it has deeply religious connotations, the festival also marks the arrival of spring and the beginning of the agricultural season.
Families gather for festive meals called seders, during which they retell the story of the exodus and partake in symbolic foods for the occasion. Additionally, the holiday encourages reflection on liberation, redemption, and renewal.
Why is the Passover celebrated?
The Passover gets its name from the Biblical story from the book of Exodus in the Old Testament, which recounts the freeing of Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
It tells of how the prophet Moses was chosen by God to lead his people from slavery. Each time the pharaoh, King Ramses II, rejects Moses's appeal to free his people, God sends a plague on Egypt, inflicting it with everything from lice to boils and cattle disease.
The 10th plague, in which God killed every firstborn in Egypt, was the deadliest. To escape the coming catastrophe, God instructed Israelites to mark their doors with lamb's blood so the angel of death would pass over their homes.
It's after this untold grief spreads across Egypt, that the pharaoh allowed Moses to lead his people to freedom.
How is it celebrated?
While a joyous time for family gatherings, the Passover is still a deeply religious festival. Traditions include the Passover seder, a ritual that blends food, song and storytelling.
Usually held on the first night, the Passover seder is set around a dinner table where families gather to eat, pray, drink, sing religious hymns and read the Haggadah, a Jewish text that sets the order of the seder and tells the story of the Passover.
A seder plate is usually placed on the table, which consists of up to six food items each symbolising the journey of the Israelites.
The items include bitter herbs, which represents the bitterness of enslavement; charoset or a sweet, brown mixture representing the mortar and bricks used to build Egyptian structures; vegetables for hope and renewal; a lamb shank to represent the lamb's blood used to mark the doors; and matzo or unleavened bread.
There are varying accounts of why the sixth item, an egg, is included in the seder plate, but many believe it to represent the circle of life — of birth, reproduction and death.
During Passover, Jewish people also only eat unleavened bread. It is believed that in their hasty escape from Egypt, the Israelites did not have time to let their bread rise and therefore only took unleavened bread for sustenance on their journey.
When does the Passover holiday fall this year?
The book of Exodus prescribes that Passover be celebrated "from the evening of the 14th day of the first month" of spring. In the Hebrew calendar, that falls on the 14th day of Nisan, or the month of spring, which changes every year on the Gregorian calendar.
This year, it begins on the evening of April 22 and goes on until April 30.
How to greet someone on Passover?
"Happy Passover" and "Happy Pesach" are the most popular greetings for Passover. "Pesach" is Hebrew for “Passover”. Other popular greetings are “chag sameach", which translates to “happy festival”, or "chag Pesach samech", to make it more Passover specific.
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Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
You may remember …
Robbie Keane (Atletico de Kolkata) The Irish striker is, along with his former Spurs teammate Dimitar Berbatov, the headline figure in this season’s ISL, having joined defending champions ATK. His grand entrance after arrival from Major League Soccer in the US will be delayed by three games, though, due to a knee injury.
Dimitar Berbatov (Kerala Blasters) Word has it that Rene Meulensteen, the Kerala manager, plans to deploy his Bulgarian star in central midfield. The idea of Berbatov as an all-action, box-to-box midfielder, might jar with Spurs and Manchester United supporters, who more likely recall an always-languid, often-lazy striker.
Wes Brown (Kerala Blasters) Revived his playing career last season to help out at Blackburn Rovers, where he was also a coach. Since then, the 23-cap England centre back, who is now 38, has been reunited with the former Manchester United assistant coach Meulensteen, after signing for Kerala.
Andre Bikey (Jamshedpur) The Cameroonian defender is onto the 17th club of a career has taken him to Spain, Portugal, Russia, the UK, Greece, and now India. He is still only 32, so there is plenty of time to add to that tally, too. Scored goals against Liverpool and Chelsea during his time with Reading in England.
Emiliano Alfaro (Pune City) The Uruguayan striker has played for Liverpool – the Montevideo one, rather than the better-known side in England – and Lazio in Italy. He was prolific for a season at Al Wasl in the Arabian Gulf League in 2012/13. He returned for one season with Fujairah, whom he left to join Pune.
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Volvo ES90 Specs
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