Celebrating Passover

We started new traditions when we began learning about the Biblical feasts and Bible history during our Year 1 Tapestry of Grace studies. Back in 2011.

It’s become an annual tradition, along with our celebrating Hanukkah every December.

We enjoy the Seder ceremony and have a lovely lamb or brisket or roast poultry dinner.

Sometimes, Passover coincides with Easter and the holidays are combined for us, but other times, we celebrate the feasts on their designated days. The Jewish calendar is lunar while the Gregorian calendar is solar.

We added crafts and learning activities the next few years as the kids grew older and understood more.

We are not Jewish. We do our best to be very respectful of the culture and religion.

We are learning and enjoying the history of Judaism and Jesus leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection.

I really like the site Hebrew 4 Christians with their prayers and instructions for the Jewish feasts.

Our entire church celebrated a Seder one year.

Each family or group at a table decorated how they wished.

We used our best china, olive wood candlesticks from Israel, and my Lenten cross candle holder.

Some years, we go more casual and simple, and other years we try to make it a fancier occasion.

Over the years, I have purchased a Messianic Seder plate and Kiddush cup with matching candlesticks. I plan to add to our collection with a matzah tray and cover soon.

What is Passover?

Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew, is an eight-day spring holiday that celebrates the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt.

The main ritual of Passover is the seder, a planned meal held on the first evening of the holiday. The seder is designed to provoke the Four Questions from children and to provide an opportunity for telling the story of how the Israelites were redeemed from slavery and given the gift of the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible).

A number of symbolic foods are laid out on the seder table, including karpas (parsley with salt water or vinegar – represents the hyssop used to apply blood over the door lintels), beitzah (an egg usually roasted, but we often hard boil ours), matzah (unleavened bread), the maror (bitter herb) with salt water (tears), charoset (apples with wine and honey – a favorite! – symbolizing mortar for bricks), and the lamb shankbone, which commemorates the Paschal sacrifice that was offered in the Temple. Sometimes an orange is included to show sweet welcome to strangers.

The four cups of wine at Passover are an integral part of the Passover celebration.

These four cups of wine represent the four promises the Lord makes to His people in Exodus 6:6-7.

The Cup of Sanctification: “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

The Cup of Deliverance: “I will rescue you from their bondage.”

The Cup of Redemption: “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm.”

The Cup of Praise: “I will take you as My people.”

The ministry of Messiah speaks to each of these four promises:

Messiah sanctifies us – “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth” (John 17:19).

Messiah delivers us – “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

Messiah redeems us – “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

Messiah is our joy – “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

The Cup of Elijah is a fifth cup of wine, left undrunk, as we open the door to invite the prophet in. Read more about this tradition here. Should we include this in a Messianic or Christian seder? Perhaps this could represent hope and the will of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Miriam’s Cup represents the strong history of women and holds water, serving as a symbol of Miriam’s Well, which was the source of water for the Israelites in the desert. Putting a Miriam’s Cup on your table is a way of making your seder more inclusive. Read more about this new tradition here.