15 Days until Easter

15 Days until Easter

The Passover Meal is a story and experienced as a service.  It’s known as the Seder, Hebrew for order.  Passover is the most beloved of the Jewish holidays.  I did not grow up practicing Jewish traditions, but as an adult I’ve had a desire to have a better understanding of scripture by researching and studying Jewish history and traditions. In order to make meaning of the changes Jesus brought to the Passover meal, I want to reflect on the traditional Seder meal that has been passed down for thousands of years.  Through the years, the meal has changed some and new things have been added, but for the most part, the main elements of the meal have remained the same since the time of the Israelite Exodus from Egypt. Through the meal, they symbolically live through the Exodus.  In the days of Jesus, they reclined at the table, which sat low to the ground. Those eating the meal would be on the floor reclining to the left, dining similarly to how we’d picnic.  The service has an order that is followed as they remember and connect with the night they were delivered in the Exodus by God. 

The leader (normally the father) of the seder blesses each glass of wine, “Blessed are You our God, Ruler of the world, Creator of the fruit of the vine.”  The leader sits on a pillow to represent that those who are free from slavery can sit comfortably at the table and recline.  Then everyone at the table recites the kiddush (sanctification of the wine) together and then drink the first of four cups. After the first cup of wine, everyone washes their hands.  They pour water over the right hand three times and then over the left and then dry their hands.  That is how the priests did it when entering the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.  Not only is the handwashing done to sanitize the hands before handling the food, it’s also done to symbolically cleanse themselves of the materialistic world as they handle spiritual truths. Next, the karpas (which means greens) is taken as an appetizer.  Parsley or another piece of green, which symbolizes rebirth, represents both the time in Egypt that they multiplied in number, but also alludes to the back-breaking work that they suffered in slavery.  It is a picture of the bittersweet reality that both joy and sorrow can occur simultaneously.  The greens are then dipped in saltwater, which symbolizes the tears shed during their time in captivity.  Next, they take the middle matzah (which is unleavened bread much like a wafer) from the stack of three and break it, putting the smaller half back between the top and bottom matzah.  They break the remaining piece into five parts, then wrap them in a cloth and hide them.  Matzah is known as the poor man’s bread.  The low and broken state of the poor man allows him to open his soul to growth and freedom.  Then, the second glass of wine is poured and the story of Exodus is retold in an interactive way involving the children.  Using the Haggadah, narratives are told from the Torah.  It’s a time for questions and games and songs as they explore the origins of the Jewish people. Then, everyone recites from the Book of Psalms and then drinks the second cup.

The next part of the service begins by washing hands again, but this time with a blessing, “Blessed be You, Lord our God, King of the World, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the washing of our hands”.   Throughout the night the focus is to transcend and purify.  Then, all three matzahs are picked up and blessed, “Blessed be You, Lord our God, King of the World, Who brings bread out of the earth”.  They place the bottom matzah down and recite the blessing over the top and middle matzah, breaking them into pieces for themselves and everyone else in the room and then pass them around the table.  They eat from the matzah that was whole and the one that was broken, representing both the humility from the broken and the freedom from the whole.  Then they grab the bitter herb (typically horseradish), which represents the bitterness of slavery, and dips it into the charoset, a paste made of apples, nuts and wine.  The charoset is reminiscent of the clay the Jewish slaves worked with in Egypt.  It also offers the sweetness that represents the enthusiasm that pushed them to flee on the night of the Exodus.  All together, they recite the blessing and then eat the dipped herb, “Blessed be You, Lord our God, King of the World, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning eating bitter herbs”.  Two pieces of the remaining matzah are broken off and a small amount of bitter herb is placed between the two pieces of matzah, then it’s dipped in the charoset and the excess is shaken off.  To start the holiday meal, a hard-boiled egg is dipped in salt water.  The egg is a sign of mourning to remember the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem.  After eating the egg, the full and festive meal that has been simmering and broiling in the kitchen is devoured and enjoyed.

After the meal is eaten, the fun of finding the hidden matzah pieces that were wrapped in napkins takes place.  Once the pieces are found, they are eaten in place of the Pesach lamb that was brought to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and eaten on a full stomach.

The third cup of wine is then poured and a prayer is read.  The blessing over the wine is recited and then everyone drinks.  After the third cup, a fourth cup of wine is poured along with a cup that is set up on the table.  The cup at the table is poured for the Prophet, Elijah.  Children open the door to invite Elijah, recite from Exodus, then sing a song of prayer, Dayenu.  The song represents 15 gifts from God; five of the stanzas are on leaving slavery, five on miracles of God and five on being with God. Then Psalms of praise are sung, a blessing over the wine is recited and they drink the last cup of wine.

The last sip of wine brings reflection of the Passover service.  For thousands of years, they’ve celebrated the Exodus in Egypt.  The night that death passed over those who were obedient to God’s instruction to apply blood from the Passover lamb to the door frame of their homes has been honored ever since.  God initiated a celebratory meal of roasted lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs.  And as commanded by God, the Passover meal is still observed with focus on God’s power and love and divine role in redemption.

It’s important for me to reflect back on the Passover meal, spending the time to understand the traditions so that I fully grasp how Jesus changed the story.  The the story of Passover didn’t end.  Jesus came and fulfilled the law.  The blood of the Passover lamb brought redemption for the Israelites.  The blood of the Lamb of God brought redemption for the souls of man.