PESACH / PASSOVER

"And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD' passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses."
(Exodus 12:26, 27)

About Pesach

The Passover Feast is known by different names in both Jewish literature and in the Bible. In Mishnah Pesachim 10:5, Passover is known as The Time of Freedom and Redemption (zeman heiruteinu-"the season of our liberation"). In the Scriptures it is known as The Festival of Pesach (Exodus 34:25) The Festival of Matzah (Exodus 23:15; 34:18) and the Festival of Spring (chag ha'aviv) (Deuteronomy 16:1).

The Jewish calendar is structured so that certain holidays always coincide with certain agricultural crops of the year. The fact that the holiday of liberation and the holiday of spring occur at the same time is not a coincidence but is done by design. In the spring the earth is experiencing a new birth with the bursting forth of new life as it comes out of the gloominess of winter. In like manner the children of Israel experienced a new life as they were unshackled from the oppressive slavery of the Egyptians. Believers in Messiah Yeshua also experienced a new life as they are unshackled from the gloom and oppressive slavery of sin.

Pesach (Passover) should mean as much, if not more, to the believer in Messiah Yeshua than it does to the Jewish people. For the Jewish people Pesach speaks not only of a time past, but many rabbis believe that it is futuristic of a time in which HaShem would once again redeem his people with an outstretched arm. The rabbis were right. Once again the outstretched arm and mighty hand redeem His people, except this time the outstretched arms and mighty hands were nailed to a cross.

The feast is considered so important that its observance is to be forever. For this reason many Messianic Jews and some non-Jewish people continue to celebrate the Passover from year to year.

Exodus 12:14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

While there is no doubt that this festival was to be celebrated by the Jewish people, the question is asked as to its relevance to the non-Jewish believers of today. Here I believe that Rav Shaul (the apostle Paul) dealt with this issue in 1Corinthians 5:6-8.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

In this passage he states therefore let us keep the feast. The feast that he was making reference to was Pesach and he was dealing with non-Jewish believers.

The celebration of Pesach today is very much like the celebration during the time of Yeshua. It begins with the removal of all leaven from the home. The first night of Pesach the family gathers together for a festive meal which has two parts; one a ceremonial meal in which very little is eaten and then a larger traditional meal. Since there is no Temple in Jerusalem and since we can no longer offer a Pesach offering, it is considered sacrilegious to eat lamb on Pesach. As a result we use only the shank bone of a lamb for the ceremonial meal.

During the Seder the participants drinks from four cups of wine. Traditionally red wine is served at the Seder instead of white. This has been problematic in the past in that blood-libel accusations were often levied against the Jewish people by those who claimed that the Jews drink the blood of Christian children at the Seder. Obviously such accusations have always been proven to be erroneous. The four cups of wine represent the four "Wills" referred to in Exodus 6:6-7 whichGod gave to Moses on Mount Sinai.

Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and Iwill rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

The four "wills" are:

1. I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.
2. I will deliver you from being slaves.
3. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm.
4. I will take you as my people.

These relate to the four cups of wine in the Seder. In Hebrew they are known as Víhotzesi, Víhitzalti, Vígoalti, and Vílokahti.

Each member of the family has a book known as a Haggadah which tells the story of Pesach and each member takes a turn reading from it. The father wears a white robe called a ìkittleî which reminds us of the garment that the priest wore while serving in the Temple. It also reminds the father that he is the priest of the household and should lead his family in worship.

During the ceremonial part of the meal the youngest member of the family asks the Ma Nishtanah "Why is this night different?" It is a fulfillment of the command:

Exodus 12:26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshiped.

Towards the end of the ceremonial meal a young person is sent out to look for the prophet Elijah, who is believed, will come to every Jewish home and announce the coming of the Messiah. Every year the young person comes back to the table without seeing Elijah. The reason is that two thousand years ago a man by the name of John came who fulfilled the calling of Elijah and announced to the world the coming of the Messiah.

There is more concerning this festival than we have room here to discuss. I would recommend that you attend a Pesach Seder in your area or if you wish call Emet HaTorah and we will schedule a time to come and share this exciting festival with you.