The Passover Seder

The festive meal called by some Passover and by others Pesach was instituted when Moses wrote, “Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family.” (Exodus 12:3) Many who read this blog are familiar with the story: each family selected a lamb, prepared it for supper, and dined in a manner fully prepared to escape 430 years of slavery to Egypt. During the night after the dinner. The angel of death passed through the land of Egypt taking the lives of firstborn males who resided in homes with clean (blood-free) doorposts.

Backyard Sheep on the road in Jordan

Following mederoic events which preceded and followed the first Pesach, the meal with all of its festivities and its history changing story, has been celebrated in Jewish homes across 3,500 years of history. The celebration of Passover has grown from a simple meal shared by a tribe of desert wanderers to an event acclaimed and esteemed around the world. Participation in Passover festivities is popular today. According to Pew Research 70% of Jews participate in the Seder dinner. Passover expanded beyond people of Jewish descent and today is honored in a truncated form by followers of Jesus.

Preparation for the Passover Seder

The power of the Passover was inbred in the fabric of the feast from its very beginning. Moses wrote, “On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips.” (Exodus 13:8-9) Passover is a family celebration. It is celebrated in the home and led by the head of the household. In today’s Jewish world there is a book called the Haggadah that helps the untrained leader to guide his family through the plan for the evening.

Explanation of each part of the Passover Seder

Through history activities have been included in the Seder to hold the interest of children. These include tasting various foods, four questions which are asked by the eldest child, a lesson on four sons, the singing of Dayenu, the finding of the Matzah and a visit by Elijah. The activities of the evening are presented in a laid back style with lots of laughter and and stories produced by both the ancient Rabbis and and members of the household who retell memorable events from past holidays.

Book telling how Passover is about our Relationship with God

Passover is a beloved event in Jewish families because it connects ancient religious tradition with today’s family. Moses said it was “like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead,” bringing to mind his words of Deuteronomy 6, “Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deut 6:4-9) Passover is to be made as purposeful, meaningful and fun as the tradition of bedtime stories when children are young.

Large group celebrating the Passover

Religious events like Passover, filled with meaning, fun, and inclusive of children, are an important element that helps faith communities to grow and continue from generation to generation. One of the things that brings me joy in life is to lead and see others lead Passover Seders that tell the stories of faith in a fun way in order to instruct the next generation. If you live in central North Carolina or in South Carolina and would enjoy a Passover Seder in your church, please contact me.

Large group celebrating the Passover

If you would like to know how to lead a Passover Seder for your group, please take a look at my book for leaders: A Christian Passover in the Jewish Tradition. This book contains preparations for the Seder, recipes, leader instructions, the words to be spoken and leader instructions. It also has a large section explaining every part of the Passover.

Kindle Passover Seder

I have also put together a kindle book that contains the service (but not the leader guide or commentary) for participants. The participant guide has been revised this year and is available for under $1 on Amazon.com.

Life in the Temple: The Mishnah

One of the sources I used as background information in my book entitled Advent Journeys is the Mishnah, a Jewish volume which has been called various things including Oral Tradition.  The Mishnah indeed contains some of the oral tradition of the teachers of Jewish law, but these collected writings also contain some writings intended to keep the Jewish tradition alive after the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans.

History records that the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and rendered uninhabitable by Titus in 70 AD.  At that time the Jews including priests and the sanhedrin were expelled from the city.  Jerusalem lay in ruins until about 130 AD when Hadrian decided to rebuild the city.  In the process it became a Roman city called Aelia Capitolina.  THe Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt also occurred during this time period.

I am sure that after the destruction of the Temple on Tisha B'Av there were hopes that worship would be restored within seventy years as it was after the Temple fell to Nebuchadnezzar on the same day.  Hopes remained alive until Hadrian completed Aelia Capitolina with a temple to Jupiter on the site of the altar.  At that time members of the Sanhedrin realized all Jewish practices and tradition would be forgotten if not written down.  Rabbi Judah the Prince is credited with finalizing the writing of the Mishnah.

The Mishnah is actually six books of collected writings organized into what is sometimes called tractates.  These tractates are called and contain the following: Zera'im (Seeds) dealing with prayer; Mo'ed (Festival), pertaining to the Sabbath and the Festivals; Nashim (Women) concerning marriage and divorce; Nezikin (Damages) about civil and criminal law; Kodashim (Holy things), including sacrifices, the Temple, and dietary law; Tohorot (Purities) contains laws of purity and impurity.

Of great interest is that the Mishnah, written approximately 150 AD, contains relevant Jewish tradition and culture from the time of Jesus and the New Testament.  The Mishnah contains details of the construction of the Temple, the daily activities of the Priests, and much more.

It is interesting to note at this point that our faith and practices are fragile.  They will only endure for a generation if we fail to pass them on to our children.  A journal (such as this blog and my books) can hold the information and our passions for many generations.  The Advent project which produced both Advent Journeys  and Advent traditions for my family was intended to do both.

Book Ideas

   I talk to many people who ask, "where do you get your ideas for books?"
   The answer is fairly simple, from two sources: ideas come out of my heritage and also out of my curiosity.  There could be some other areas from which I have drawn ideas, but those are the starting point thus far for my books (which I have written including Advent Journeys, Spring; Connecting with God, and A Christian Passover in the Jewish Tradition.
     My most recent book began with a family tradition: Advent.  When my children were young, in order to teach them the faith (in a rather Jewish way) I came up with weekly themes, daily scripture readings and connected activities (soon to be listed at our website) which would be fun and hold interest from day to day.  Such as on Shepherds week we read Luke 2 and send Christmas cards announcing the birth of Jesus ... just as the angels announced Christ's birth long ago.
   My family followed this tradition (changing as my daughters grew older) for more than twenty-five years.  I put this tradition in writing as pamphlets for others, but when I decided to put it in book form, it did not seem to be interesting enough.   So I asked myself, what would make it interesting enough: And Advent Journeys was born.
   With this idea I could have written the standard Biblical exegesis book and described the Bible passages in my own words, related how the birth of Jesus tied into Old Testament prophecy, or told about theology or tradition ... but my curiosity led me another way.  I thought "I wonder what the trip was like from Nazareth to Bethlehem."  Simple question, or so I thought!
   There are three or four roads from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  People most often describe the road from Nazareth trough Jezreel Valley down the Jordan River and up the wadi of the Good Samaritan to Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  Many travelers took that road, especially Pharisees who wanted to avoid contact with the Samaritans.  But this road is longer and more difficult than the other two.
   An easier route is south through Megeddo Pass to the via maris then up the Beit Horon pass to Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  This route is much easier than the road through the Jordan Valley, also avoids contact with the Samaritans, and is almost never in consideration as the road Joseph and Mary traveled.  This road is also longer than the third option:
   I feel Joseph and Mary traveled almost due south, between the two other routes on the shortest route possible.  I found this route on the internet listed today as Israel route 60, in one place listed as the Joseph and Mary Highway.  I feel this route is most likely because as an adult Jesus still traveled this road on the way home (as evidenced in John 4).  So I followed this highway.
   The first problem of the route today is that it journeys through the West Bank, an area which is described as risky.  The second problem is some parts of route 60 are worse than risky and have been bulldozed in order to contain violent areas.  In spite of difficulties my curiosity told me to travel the route and see what the road was like.
   Fortunately I was able to travel the route without getting shot at or putting my life in danger through the internet. Google Maps, Facebook pages, Wikipedia information and other sources were consulted, along with books and 19th century journals (when the land was safer) to learn about the route.  And it was interesting.  Thus came into being week 2 of my latest book Advent Journeys.

Passover's Rich Tradition

From father to son to son to son to son for over 3,500 years that's one of the miracles of Passover. It's a wonder! From generation to generation the story has been told over and over again in a line that has never been broken. Fathers (and Mothers and brothers and sisters) share with family members and with the next generation(s) so the story continues to be shared and its truths passed on. (Exodus 12:24-27)

I see books which sound a warning about how in today's world 75 percent of young adults (ages 18-24) you have fallen away from their faith (or practice of their faith). This is a sad state of affairs when I compare this reality to the tradition of sharing Passover together. As I read these books I realize we've missed something.

We're missing out on inspiring the next generation in their faith.  We're missing out on telling the story and passing on the faith to those who need it most. (Deut. 4:9)

What is it that makes a difference with young adults and causes the story to pass from one generation to the next? I think sometimes we get to hung up in our own traditions and in the law.  We focus on doing this in exactly the format it was shared by our parents, and in doing so we forget to make sure this is relevant and enjoyable by all. Possibly it is because we did not enjoy this celebration, so we cut it short thinking it will be boring to those hearing us (which is a self-fulfilling prophecy!).  Because it is our parent’s story, we fail to get into the story ourselves.

How can we affect and infect the next generation? We need to pass on our love and passion for God.  In order to do this love and passion have to live in our hearts.  This causes us to have an irresistible passion to share our love for God all the time (Deut. 6:5-9).  This causes us to desire to make sure the next generation understands and adopts the same passion we have.  We can not mess up.  The faith of the next generation is too important!

There is a verse which is shared each year in the Passover Seder, "On that day tell your son, `I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’" (Exodus 13:8).  This year make sure the next generation knows we have personally left Egypt ... and we are bringing them out also.  Moses would be pleased!