Theresa Villiers Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet has issued the following Passover message.
“I would like to send my best wishes to everyone who will be celebrating Passover this week. Happy Passover and Chag Pesach Sameach to all my Jewish constituents!"
"Sadly, Covid rules mean that celebrations will be drastically reduced for a second year running. However, people will be able to meet outside in groups of six from the 29th March. I am pleased that our gradual recovery from the Covid outbreak means that people can spend some time with their friends and families at this important time in the Jewish calendar, albeit only in small groups outside”.
"I hope the celebrations will still be joyful even if they can't take place on the scale that they normally would."
The word Passover is derived from 'pesach' in Hebrew which means to 'jump over,' or 'skip over.' It refers to the Biblical tenth plague, during which the angel of death skipped over the homes of the Jewish people in Egypt and spared them from the destruction which killed the first born male children of Egyptians.
Starting on the evening of Saturday 27th March, Passover lasts eight days from the 15th day of Nisan, the first month of the ecclesiastical year in the Hebrew calendar.