April 1, 2012
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Passover in 5 Questions
My mother grew up in a Jewish neighborhood, and I so I got to reap some of the benefits of it, like celebrating Passover, saying Kutzba, and memorizing every song to “Fiddler on the Roof.” There are many complex parts to the traditional Passover, and all of them are beautiful. As I grow older, I feel challenged to make them mine. I do not mean this to be sacrilegious—just personal, and me-ish. I focus on the four questions asked by the littlest person at the table. Yes, I leave out A LOT. It actually doesn’t include anything that is complex or takes longer than about 15 minutes to prepare and serve. And no lamb. This is just a simple pause with simple questions and symbols and remembering. What you need (prep time) is in bold print.
Passover in 5 Questions—What’s different about this night?
1. Why this bread? (Matza—whole wheat unleavened bread) Yeast represents sin—this is a time to get rid of sin—clean house, as it were. But the only true way to do that is through One without sin—Jesus. He was broken (Have three pieces, break the middle one, and hide half of it somewhere) for us (later, whoever finds the broken piece of matza gets a prize—yeah resurrection!).
2. Why Horseradish? (Refrain from calling it Arby’s horseysause) To remember the bitter slavery of Israel in Egypt, and how we were slaves to sin before Christ. STRONG stuff that burns your brain.
3. Why the double-dipping? We dip Parsley into Salt water twice to remember the salty tears of life—it isn’t easy here—we were made for Heaven. On the first Passover, they dipped the hyssop in the blood of the sacrifice lamb and put it on the doors so that the first born (have them raise their hands) wouldn’t be killed by the angel of death (who needs horror movies with stories like this?). The punishment for sin—like every single time you sin—is someone/thing dying and giving their blood (why blood? I am not sure—but that is how God made things to be). Sin is serious stuff.
We then dip the parsley into the Apple/raisin mixture which is sweet. It is to remember the mortar the slaves made in Egypt (think Pyramids). But there is a sweet hope. Jesus gave His blood—since he was perfect, it counts for everyone for always—if we accept it. This makes for a lot of very happy lambs and very happy people. And a very sweet home in heaven.
4. Why are we relaxed on the floor? Because we are free—who needs tables? TOAST to that! (ummm…sparking Grape juice?!) Yeah preview to our party in heaven!
5. Why Easter eggs? (I added this question because I think it is interesting) Boiled eggs are a part of Passover, and traditional Jewish funerals. They are a symbol of mourning and renewal: today we mourn because Jesus had to die (It is called “good” Friday for us—it didn’t feel very good for Jesus!) and have renewal because He rose from the dead (Easter!!!). What exactly that has to do with eggs, I am not sure, but the connection is there. Eggs (when there was a boy chicken and a girl chicken involved) hold new life in them—so that is another connection. You can also relate it to the three parts of God: shell (Jesus), White part (Holy Spirit), and yellow part (God the Father). And—fun fact—eggs are ridiculously strong: get all the kids to try to break one (but they HAVE to follow the rules or dirty messes will happen) by using (ONLY) their index finger and thumb, holding the egg upright—it is practically impossible to break.
Special thanks to my mom for all her work and careful study of Passover, and to this link: http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/03/the-best-easter-dinner-with-a-free-printable-start-a-christian-tradition-messianic-seder/ that will tell you everything else you need to know about Passover (or google it, silly).
Huzzah to Traditions–new and old ones! (clink, clink)
