Paul W. Manuel: The Passover seder

PASSOVER INTRODUCTION
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Dr. Paul Manuel—1996

(When Dr. Paul and Linda lived in Madison they annually invited friends to celebrate the Passover seder with them.
This is how Paul would introduce the service.)

God told His people to observe the Passover, and their obeying this command is one way they demonstrate their devotion to Him, as this rabbinic story illustrates. Why is the Exodus from Egypt mentioned in connection with every commandment?

...The matter can be compared to a king, whose friend's son was taken prisoner after the father's death. For the sake of his friend, the king ransomed the young man, though not as a son but as a slave, so that if he should disobey the king at any time, the king could say, "You are my slave." When the lad returned, the king said, "Put on my sandals for me and take my clothes to the bath house," but the young man protested. Then the king took out the bill of sale and said, "You are my slave."

So it was when God redeemed the children of Abraham, His friend, He redeemed them not as children but as slaves. If He imposed decrees upon them and they did not obey, He could say, "You are my slaves." When they went into the desert, He gave them some light and some heavy commands (e.g., Sabbath, sexual purity, fringes, phylacteries), but they began to protest. Then God said, "You are My slaves. I redeemed You on the condition that I would command and you would obey." (Montefiore 1974:117-118)

God's people have been observing the Passover annually for thousands of years, not only as a means of demonstrating their devotion to Him but also as a review of His care for them.

The Passover seder (service) we use today is a traditional one that dates back hundreds of years. We can trace most aspects of the seder at least to the late Second Temple Period, when Jesus ministered, and the major elements we can even trace to the exodus from Egypt that the Passover commemorates. We need two things to conduct the seder: certain symbols of the exodus and the story of the exodus.

The symbols remind us about Israel's experience in Egypt, and they appear on the seder plate. Exod 12:8 lists the three major elements:

[The Israelites] are to eat the meat [of the Passover sacrifice] roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.

The matzah (unleavened bread), also called the "bread of poverty," is a reminder that Israel was poor in Egypt and that the people had to leave quickly, before their bread could rise.

Exod 12:39b The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.

The maror (bitter herbs = romaine lettuce) symbolizes the bitterness of Israel's bondage.

Exod 1: 14a IThe Egyptians made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields....

The zeroa' (shankbone) is in lieu of the Passover sacrifice, which was discontinued after the destruction of the temple.

Num 9:11 They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

In addition to these three elements, some others have also become part of the traditional service.

The haroset (a fruit, nut, and spice mixture that offsets the bitter herbs) resembles the mortar Israelite slaves used to make bricks.

The betzah (egg) symbolizes a special festival offering made in the temple.

Num 28:19 Present to the LORD an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.... 24 In this way prepare the food for the offering made by fire every day for seven days as an aroma pleasing to the LORD; it is to be prepared in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

The karpas (parsley) is for dipping in salt water and stands for the tears Israel shed in Egypt.

For those who really enjoy tears, there is also hazeret (horseradish).

Because this is a joyful celebration, and because the "fruit of the vine" is a symbol of joy, participants will partake liberally (in the best sense of that word) of several glasses during the seder.¹

These are the symbols of the exodus. We will refer to each of these elements again in the course of the service. Although we no longer partake of the Passover sacrifice, which was discontinued after the destruction of the temple, there will be considerably more to eat than you see on the seder plate. Participants will not go away hungry. One common difference between the two great faiths is in the form and placement of grace at mealtime. In Christianity, grace is usually a brief prayer before the meal. In Judaism, grace is a brief blessing before the meal and an extended prayer after the meal.

The story of the exodus uses a haggadah ("telling"; e.g., Glatzer 1979),² a book that contains an account of the events,³ some rabbinic commentary, and a few songs that relate to the Passover (see the Appendix). The liturgy also includes several blessings. In Judaism, a person takes every opportunity to bless God. Most begin with a standard introductory formula ("Blessed art Thou, O Lord. King of the universe who...") to which one then adds the particular reason for the blessing. When you hear a blessing, the proper response is "Amen."

Rabban Gamaliel (grandson of Paul's teacher)⁴ said, "In every generation a man must regard himself as if he himself came out of Egypt." (m Pesah 10:5c). I encourage you to use the seder to recall your heritage; to view yourself, as Paul describes it, as one who has been "grafted in" to a practice that God established at the time of the exodus, that Jesus affirmed in his life on earth, and that early believers continued to observe.⁵

Exod 12:14 This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance.

Luke 22:7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover." 14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."

1 Cor 5:8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

By viewing yourself as part of this tradition, you will enhance your appreciation of the progress of redemption, beginning with the initial physical deliverance from slavery in Egypt, to the subsequent spiritual deliverance from slavery to sin, to the eventual final deliverance the messiah will accomplish in the future, when he establishes God's kingdom and again celebrates this festival with his disciples.

Appendix: Seder Songs

Some of these songs we will do in Hebrew, but the transliterated lyrics include a translation for those who have not yet studied the sacred tongue.