This evening is the beginning of Pesach, or Passover, the eight-day commemoration and celebration of deliverance from slavery in Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. The Seder meal is probably the longest held event in human history. Not bad for a bunch of slaves who spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness and who worshipped a God they couldn't see. The "passover" in the Exodus story is by the angel of death who left the Israelite households unscathed while destroying the firstborn sons of Eyptian families. The meal the Israelites ate was hasty enough in its preparation that the bread was unleavened. There wasn't enough time for it to rise before the slaves left their oppression behind. Every year observant Jewish households observe the Passover, repeating the questions, retelling the story. It is intended for all ages and it is a child who asks the questions at the table.
Jesus was steeped in the Passover tradtion and his last meal with the disciples was the Pesach Seder. He took two of the elements of that meal and transformed them into the commemoration of his impending death and resurrection.
It is important for us as Christians to respect the Passover celebrated by Jews as part of their living, continuing relationship with God. Our sacrament which will we call Holy Communion, the Last Supper, the Eucharist, does not supercede that Passover. It takes us in a different direction, opens us to a unique spiritual reality. But it never gives us the right to disparage or dismiss this cherished Jewish tradition.
Every year I hope that St. Paul's member Adam will offer his thoughts about Passover and he often has done so. He was born and raised a Jew, and while he is a Christian now I have encouraged him to cherish Pesach and his Jewish roots.
Any thoughts about Passover? Do you have Jewish friends who observe it. Do you "get" the connection between Pesach and Communion?
5 comments:
Ahh, the many memories of Pesach... I remember helping my mom clean the house thoroughly before Pesach... Not only are the Jewish people not allowed to eat leavened bread, they are not allowed to have any in their homes. I remember cleaning every nook and cranny of the house, looking for crumbs of bread everywhere. It was sort of a forced spring cleaning. Most Orthodox families have separate dishes and cooking implements for Pesach. It's such a holy time of year. Our family didn't partake in that particular tradition, but I had been at a number of friend's homes helping them pack their regular plates etc, and then unpack their Pesach stuff.
I remember many, many meals around our dining room table reading through the Passover story, telling the story of the freedom of the Jewish people from bondage. I remember all the ceremony, the prayer, the unique foods we don't usually eat through the year, and of course the inclusion of the children in the ceremony. The children have a key set of roles in the "service". The children are engaged by dipping their fork into their wine (yes wine!) and putting droplets on their plates as the plagues were counted. The youngest of the children was asked to read the 4 questions, which is answered by the eldest male, leading the ceremony.
Here is the central question, around which the 4 questions are based...
Why is this night different from all other nights?
1. On all other nights we eat bread or matzo (unleavened bread), while on this night we eat only matzo.
Slavery: Matzah was the bread of slaves and poor, it was cheap to produce and easy to make.
Freedom: Matzah also commemorates the fact that the bread did not have enough time to rise when the Jews hastily left Egypt.
2. On all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables and herbs, but on this night we have to eat bitter herbs.
Slavery: The salt water into which we dip the karpas (potato, onion, or other vegetable) represents the tears we cried while in Egypt. Similarly, the charoset (fruit-nut paste) into which the bitter herbs are dipped reminds us of the cement we used to create the bricks in Egypt.
Freedom: Dipping food is considered a luxury; a sign of freedom -- as opposed to the poor (and enslaved) who eat "dry" and un-dipped foods.
3. On all other nights we don't dip our vegetables in salt water, but on this night we dip them twice.
Slavery: The salt water into which we dip the karpas (potato, onion, or other vegetable) represents the tears we cried while in Egypt. Similarly, the charoset (fruit-nut paste) into which the bitter herbs are dipped reminds us of the cement we used to create the bricks in Egypt.
Freedom: Dipping food is considered a luxury; a sign of freedom -- as opposed to the poor (and enslaved) who eat "dry" and un-dipped foods.
4. On all other nights we eat while sitting upright, but on this night we eat reclining.
Freedom: We commemorate our freedom by reclining on cushions like royalty.
It's a time of remembrance and a time of reflection and celebration.
חג כשר וסמח
Chag Pesach Sameach
Happy Passover!
So fascinating! Thank you for sharing.
Massive, awesome history lesson! Thanks so much.
...very interesting, so much history, thank you for the lesson.
Thank you for sharing. I have experinced Pesach once. It was a very moving ceremony.
Post a Comment