Semiotics & Passover Celebration

According to Leeds-Hurwitz in Semiotics and Communication: Signs, Codes, Cultures (1993), one of the practices that separates humans from other animal life is the ability to not only recognize and use symbols, but to create them as well. Loosely defined, semiotics is the "study of signs," and how those signs are interrelated in the code systems and cultures where they are found (Leeds-Hurwitz, 1993, p. 22). One area where signs and symbols are used profusely is in religious and cultural rituals and celebrations. This paper will describe a religious celebration, in this case the seder at Passover, and then analyze the signs and how they relate to each other within that celebration.

Passover, otherwise known as Pesach, , is one of the most sacred celebrations of the Jewish faith. Just before the celebration, homes are ritualistically cleaned and special foods that are kosher for Passover sought out and prepared. Care is taken to remove all bread products that have yeast, or rise, in them. Lasting eight days (seven in Israel), Passover commemorates the liberation of Jews from enslavement in Egypt. It takes place in the spring, on the 15th of the Hebrew month Nissan, which is typically sometime in April. Seder occurs on the first night or two of Passover, depending on the custom of those holding it ("What is Passover," 2004).

Seder itself is the ritual meal central to the Passover celebration, and while the meal may vary from region to region, there

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while Moses contended with the Pharaoh for their freedom. That evening, when the Angel of Death passed through Egypt killing the first-born, he "passed over" all those homes that were painted with the blood of the sacrificial lamb and spared the first-born in those homes (Shemot/Exodus 12:12). Now, the connotations for the term "Passover" may be seen as polysemic in nature (there are multiple meanings), and include "freedom," because of the escape from Egypt, as well as "redemption," since the Jews were redeemed and saved both from Egypt and the Angel of Death ("What is Passover," 2004). Actions There are several actions during the seder that also signify something other than their original meaning. For example, during the Dayenu Prayer, we whipped each other with the chives every time the term "Dayenu," was said. This is to symbolize the enslavement of the Jews so that we do not forget that we were saved, or "redeemed," from that enslavement. In this case, the chives are the object, while the act of whipping with the chives has become the signifier, and the enslavement of the Jews is the signified (Leeds-Hurwitz, 1993). Another act is the asking of the Four Questions by the youngest member of the feast. These are ritual

Category: Psychology - S