Question: Why are there 8 days to Passover?

Answer: I assume that the question ‘why are there 8 days to Passover’ is asked because the Torah only mentions 7 days.

Indeed, in Israel today they keep only 7 days of Passover. The reason for why us Jews in the Diaspora keep an extra day, has much to do with the way in which the Calendar and dates were calculated during the latter part of the Second Temple (about 2000 years ago). The new month was decided by the Main Court of Justice in Jerusalem – who, every month would examine witnesses who wish to attest to having seen a ‘new moon’ (ie: when the moon was beginning to wax again after having wained for the past 15 days…) This would happen every month. The minute that the Courts would pronounce a new month, riders would be dispatched to any community where Jewish people lived (areas such as Iraq, Yemen and North Africa etc,). However, because distant areas in the Diaspora sometimes did not receive message as to whether the new moon was decided on day 29 of the previous month or day 30 of the previous month, those places would keep an extra day (just in case, the moon was pronounced on day 30, and not the expected day 29).

Nowadays, we have a fixed calendar (which was set also during that period of time) – and it has been with us through the destruction of the Second Temple (Year 70 C.E.), when these courts ceased to be effective, until this very day – and although we really know which is the first day of the month (and in Israel they only keep 7 days!!), still we hold onto this part of our heritage, as we do to so many other seemingly peripheral by-laws, because they contain such a rich history and glory-filled culture, and because through keeping them we get close to G-d – after all, one of the Torah’s commandments is to abide by the rules laid down for us by the Rabbis of these Courts of Justice (the Sanhedrin.)

All the best,
S. Kimche