JEWISH OBSERVANCE OF PASSOVER BEGINS.

Byline: Eric Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer

With the setting of the sun Monday, Jews across the Southland began celebrating the festival of Passover, which commemorates the liberation of the Hebrews from slavery in ancient Egypt.

Jewish families held ceremonial meals called Seders during which they recounted the story of how God delivered the Hebrews from an evil Pharaoh and years of bondage.

The festival derives its name from the ``passing over,'' when according to Jewish tradition, God spared the Hebrews, but punished the Egyptians by killing every first-born son.

To escape God's wrath, the Hebrews marked their doorposts with the blood of a lamb, signifying that they were children of God.

Conservative and Orthodox Jews living outside Israel celebrate Passover for eight days whereas it lasts seven days for Reform Jews. In Israel, Passover lasts seven days.

David Rosenberg, a Los Angeles Police Department sergeant who has organized what is perhaps the first law enforcement Seder in Southern California, said Passover is one of Judaism's most important holidays.

``Without the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, we as a people would have never been,'' Rosenberg said. ``It is really like the genesis of the Jewish people.''

Rosenberg is president of the Shomrim Society of Southern California that will hold the law enforcement Seder today with Los Angeles police and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department employees.

``It seems fitting to do this for Passover since it celebrates the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and here we have Jewish police officers trying to help society maintain its balance between good and evil,'' Rosenberg said.

Several synagogues also have scheduled Seders for their congregations.