Passover Seder

Clockwise: "Lamb Shank" (a chicken bone actually...); Saltwater; Matzah; Parsley; Haroset and Bitter Herbs

On April 19th we took part in the celebration of Passover, or Pesach. Passover is a wonderful picture of God's deliverance, not only to His chosen people in the Exodus, but to all mankind by the sacrifice of Jesus. The first Passover was a foreshadowing of Christ's death and Resurrection, and there is much meaning to be found in the celebration itself.

Each part of the Passover meal is a symbol. The pure and spotless lamb is a picture of Christ. Matzah was the bread the Jews were instructed to make when fleeing Egypt since there was no time for their bread to rise; it is without leaven, and thus 'pure' since leaven is a picture of sin. The Karpas, (we used parsley) symbolizes new life, as well as the hyssop that was used to sprinkle the blood on the doorways in Egypt and the hyssop branch that was raised to Jesus on the cross when he asked for a drink. We dip the karpas in saltwater to show the tears of bondage in Egypt- or to sin. The Haroset (a mixture of apples, nuts, grape juice and cinnamon) represents the mortar used by the Israelites in Egypt, and the sweetness of a better world. Bitter herbs (Horseradish for us) tells us of the bitterness of slavery.

Breaking the Matzah for the Afrikoman

During the Passover feast, three pieces of matzah are placed in a special three section holder called matzah tash (we used a napkin). Three matzahs are placed in each section, representing (to we who are born-again) the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The middle matzah- the one showing God the Son- is set aside and broken. It is then hid to be found later by one of the children- who is then given a special prize. This is called the Afrikoman; it is a picture of Christ being broken, buried in the tomb and coming out again.

Josiah and Ethan closing their eyes while Dad hides the Afrikoman.

Pouring the grape juice

We drank four glasses of grape juice throughout the meal. The first glass was the Cup of Sanctification, beginning the celebration with a blessing. The second cup was the Cup of Judgement, a symbol of Jesus' blood; we removed ten drops of juice from this Cup to remind us of the ten plagues. Towards the end of the meal we drank the third cup, reminding of us of the Redemption. Though Jesus did not drink of this Cup Himself, during the last Passover that He celebrated with His disciples Jesus used the cup of Redemption to institute Communion. The final glass was the Cup of the Kingdom. Because Jesus said that He would not taste wine until we joined Him in Heaven, we did not drink this cup, but instead chose to wait until we will drink it with our Savior in His Kingdom.

The younger child asking the traditional questions

It is a tradition of Passover for the youngest child to ask four questions about why this Passover night is different from all other night. Susannah asked the questions this year (Elijah is a little young...).

Elijah did not like the parsley dipped in salt water!

We concluded our Passover with the phrase:

Lashanan Haba'ah Bi Yerushalayim!

Next Year in Jerusalem!

- Anna-Rebekah

Note: For anyone interested in learning about the Jewish feasts and how they relate to our Christian heritage, Heart of Wisdom has a great book called, A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays available at: http://homeschool-books.com/xcart/book/a-family-guide-to-the-biblical-holidays.html