Passover JOY

 “Rabbi Jem!  I need you to taste test the kugel!”  I called from the kitchen.

“My pleasure,” he grinned, and planted a big kiss on my cheek.  I love my taste-tester/rabbi.  (He’s also my husband.)  He assured me that all of the kugels tasted wonderful.  I baked two applesauce, 2 cinnamon raisin, and one coconut kugels.  Oh, and one sugar free raisin kugel for those of us who don’t eat sugar.  That’s a lot of kugel, but with a guest list of 91 for our Passover seder, it takes a whole lot of kugel.

We celebrate the Feasts and Festivals commanded in Leviticus 23, and I've been very busy this week preparing for one of my favorite holidays.   Monday, April 19 at sundown marked the beginning of Passover, and tomorrow we will celebrate the Passover seder with friends, family and our congregation at Ma’gen Da’vid Messianic Synagogue.

The seder is all about remembering. It reminds us of the faithfulness of G-d to Israel in bringing them out of Egypt, and is a beautiful ceremony that celebrates and illustrates our L-rd and Savior Yeshua (Jesus Christ). The “Last Supper” Yeshua held with his talmadim (disciples) was a Passover seder , held in the Upper Room the night before Yeshua was crucified (see Luke 22).  He went through it with His disciples, showing them that the seder was a fore-shadow of Himself as the fulfillment of G-d’s divine plan of salvation.

The rich imagery of the seder is a beautiful, tactile means of understanding the sacrifice of Yeshua in the following ways: the seder reminds us of the tyranny the Israelites were released from, and is a picture of the bondage of sin Yeshua released “us” from as believers. We eat bitter herbs to remind us of the terrible life we had before Yeshua. The salty water reminds us of the tears we shed in that old life. We remember the plagues and pestilence G-d brought on the Egyptians, and the miracles He worked to save them. Yeshua worked miracles during His life on earth, and is still working miracles for us even now.

We see the lamb shank bone and remember that each family was instructed to choose a perfect lamb. Yeshua was described as “a Lamb without blemish or spot” (I Peter 1:19). We remember that each Israelite family killed the lamb, but were instructed not to break its’ bones. We were then reminded that Yeshua’s bones were not broken when He was crucified.

The Israelites applied the blood of the lamb to the doorpost and lentils of their homes so that the death angel would pass over them. Together, we see that the shape of the application was the Hebrew letter “dallet” which looks like a door, and means “door or path”. Yeshua’s blood made for us the door of salvation. What a glorious picture!

Together, we drink the four cups of wine while remembering that Yeshua’s blood sanctifies us, redeems us, protects us from G-d’s judgment, and makes us part of His family – which is cause for great joy.

The most beautiful picture of all is the matzah: the unleavened bread, with its’ piercings and stripes. We will hold in our hands the reminder of Yeshua who was without sin (leaven), was pierced for our sins, and took stripes for our healing.

As we eat the sweet charoset (apples, nuts and honey) we will be reminded of how sweet our lives are with Yeshua, our Messiah. We will sing, we will praise G-d, and we will thank Him for His Word, for our beautiful Messiah Yeshua, and for the reminders in the Passover celebration.

Each year, remembering the provision of G-d for Israel reminds us that He will meet our needs as well. If He could deliver the millions of Israelites from plagues and pestilence, He can and will protect us today.

Passover is a reminder of G-d’s faithfulness to his people. This year, as always before, I will leave the seder full of joy and praise to Adonai, humming the tunes we sang, and thinking  how blessed I am to be called His child.

For even Yeshua, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. (I Corinthians 5:7b)

I'll have pics from our seder next week.

I'm sharing this on Spiritual Sundays