Why English-Speaking Jews Call It “Passover” Rather Than “Pesah”

It is a curious fact that, when referring to their holidays, Jewish speakers of English commonly use a native English term only for one of them—namely, Passover. One almost never hears Jews speak among themselves of Sukkot (or Sukkes, if they prefer the Ashkenazi pronunciation) as the holiday of Tabernacles or Booths, or of Shavuot (or Shavues) as Pentecost. Yom Kippur is Yom Kippur, not the Day of Atonement, and Rosh Hashanah is Rosh Hashanah, never New Year’s Day. We say “Purim,” “Hanukkah,” and “Simḥat Torah” (or “Simkhes Torah”), not “the Feast of Esther,” “the Feast of Lights,” or “the Rejoicing of the Law.” Passover is the exception.

Of course, English-speaking Jews also commonly call Passover by its Hebrew name of Pesaḥ, and as a rule of thumb, the more observant they are, the more likely they are to do so. But even coming from a ḥaredi Jew, “Passover” would not seem very odd, while “Tabernacles” or “Booths” would seem so even from a Reform Jew. And were one to try explaining this by saying, “But Tabernacles or Booths sounds ridiculous, whereas Passover sounds perfectly natural,” one would be begging the question. It sounds natural because we’re used to it. Suppose we were suddenly required to call Passover “Skipover”: would that sound any less outlandish than Booths?

A second explanation makes more sense—namely, that “Passover” and “Pesaḥ” have the same initial consonants, so that the English term has struck Jews as a better match for the Hebrew one than have the English terms for the other holidays. This may be some truth in this. Yet even if there is, it is only part of the story—and the weightier part has more to do with the history of Christian Bible translation than with Jews.