The Passover is one of the most sacred and celebrated Jewish holidays. In fact, about 67 percent of all Jews celebrate Passover with a Seder meal. Although only 46 percent of Jews attend their synagogue regularly. Christ celebrated Passover with his disciples in the upper room the night before He was crucified.
This past Saturday evening we attended a Seder meal in Toledo, which was conducted by Messianic Rabbi Schneider from Adat Adonai World Outreach Center. The event was a great experience as we learned more about the meaning of Passover and how it applies to Christ. Seder is from the Hebrew word meaning "order" because there is an order to the meal. There is a Seder plate which contains parsley, salt water, horseradish, a sweet apple mixture, and an hard-boiled egg. Some Jews also include a shank of lamb.Along with the Seder plate is matzah (unleavened bread) and wine or grape juice. The story of Passover is a story of deliverance, and all of the elements of the Passover meal is the portrait of redemption.
The parsley represents life and the salt water represents the tears of life. The horseradish root reminds us that the root of life is often bitter, as it was for the sons of Israel in the land of Egypt. The sweet apple mixture is the reminder of the mortar from which the Israelites made bricks for Pharaoh. The reason for the mixture is that even the most bitter labor is sweetened by the promise of redemption. The egg is a token of grief to the Jewish people, grief over the destruction of the temple. The egg is eaten after being dipped into the salt water representing tears over the destruction of the temple.
There was much more to the Seder meal including the entire story of the Passover. The rabbi also included the account of when he became a Christian. The entire story becomes much more meanin,gful when it is shared from a Jew who is a Christian. This was a great way to celebrate Easter because Christ became the Passover lamb for all mankind so that we could have deliverance from the bondage of sin. We came away from the Seder meal rejoicing and encouraged by what we saw and heard. What a fantastic way to prepare for Easter Sunday.
To make our Easter Sunday complete we were able to spend Easter dinner and afternoon with Gail's sister, Judy. We shared many things that ranged from humorous to spiritual and everything in between. It was a joy to be able to spend some time with he,r and she brought some awesome peanut butter cookies, which we have thoroughly enjoyed.
Blessings and Encouragement,
Paul, Gail, Patsy, and Penny
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