Gail-Friends: seder

Showing posts with label seder. Show all posts

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Thankful Thursday - Passover Seder 5777

Greetings and blessings to you, sweet Gail-Friends. I'm so thankful for our wonderful Passover week and for our seder this past weekend. I promised you photos, so here we go:

The photo above is of the front door of our synagogue. The red drape is symbolic of the blood of the lamb applied to the doors of the Jews before they left Egypt. The shape of the blood on the doorposts forms the Hebrew letter dalet and tells us the blood of the lamb (Yeshua our Messiah) is the door of salvation. (To learn more about Passover and the seder, click on this LINK.)

photo from 119 ministries, which I recommend to learn more about the Jewish roots of Christianity

This is the seder plate at the head table, with the lamb shank bone, which represents the lamb sacrificed for sin -- our Messiah Yeshua.

The seder plates were very creative, with a circular napkin on which the plagues were written. A part of the seder is to dip one's finger in wine and shake it onto the napkin while saying, "Frogs, frogs, frogs, etc. for each of the ten plagues. The children always enjoy that part.

Rabbi Jem and three of our young men sat at the head table and did the readings for the seder service.

We reflected on the matzah, with its stripes and piercings, which represent the stripes and piercings Yeshua endured during his crucifixion.

The four questions were asked by one of the children:

Rabbi Jem explained the affikomen, which represents Yeshua's death, burial and resurrection.

This young man found the affikomen and bargained with Rabbi Jem for a redemption price of $10.00. He said, "OY! Gone are the days when I could give a dollar!" He's always joking, and we all love his sense of humor.

As always, a place was set for Elijah, in hopes that he will appear to herald the second coming of our Messiah Yeshua.

The children all went to the door to see if Elijah was coming, but there was no one there. We long for his soon appearing and pray, "Come, Yeshua, and come soon!"

After the seder service, we danced to celebrate the joy of having Messiah Yeshua as our savior, and for the blessings of being His people.

We had an abundance of good food and drink during our feast just prior to the seder, and enjoyed fellowship with mishpocha (family). We were delighted to have nine guests who had never experienced a Passover seder.

The decorations were beautiful, all thanks to a team of our creative young women and their families. They did a fabulous job.

The tables were beautifully decorated, and there were items in the middle that represented the plagues. Notice the tiny frog on the wine glass.

Passover week was a joy and a blessing as we remembered the freedom given us by Adonai and the redeeming sacrifice of our Messiah.

To read more about past celebrations, hear our traditional music, and get some good Jewish recipes, click on this LINK.

I'd love to hear about your Passover seder.

Thankful Thursday is my day to focus on and be thankful for all the good things in my life.

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Sunday, March 31, 2013

Passover Seder Memories

Our seder turned out to be a great success and a wonderful blessing. It was our first seder in our new synagogue location.

Altogether, forty people attended the seder. Most are members of the synagogue, but we had a few visitors.We were blessed to have a family attend with their eight children, and she is expecting another baby. They are such a beautiful and loving group.

I love it when a person attends who has never experienced a seder. Their eyes always light up when they see the Messiah depicted in the matza. The stripes and holes are pictures of his stripes and piercings on the cross. That realization is awesome.

The whole seder shows us G-d's provision and protection through the blood. If not for His blood, we would be faced with eternal death. But through Him we can have eternal life. Thank You, Adonai, for Your love.

We sang and danced and rejoiced in the love of our Father. I love it when we sing Deyanu....It Would Have Been Enough.


The children look outside for Elijah

I love it when the children look for Elijah. One year, there was actually someone coming toward the door, and they yelled, "He's here!" Rabbi Jem rushed out to see, but it wasn't Elijah. Too bad, right? I am ready for Elijah...and Yeshua to return.

Gideon, our youngest Torah scholar

Gideon, our littlest guest was really cute. While Rabbi was teaching about the Israelites leaving Egypt, he put his backpack on, picked up a flag and began walking around the room. He is a very serious little boy and seems to understand so much more than one would think. I didn't get a picture of it, sadly.

The beauty of the Passover seder never fails to renew my confidence in the loving care of our Heavenly Father. Every year, we are reminded of the power of Hashem. We remember His guidance, His provision, and most of all the power of the blood to save. His blood will never lose it's power.

Learn more about Passover, by clicking on Passover in the subject index on the left of my blog.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Passover Seder Joy

Since my last post, I've been very busy in preparations for the seder at our synagogue. Now that the seder has been held and Passover week is over, things have settled down enough for me to write. As promised, today, I will explain some things about the Jewish Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) seder, specifically the elements placed on the seder plate.

The Hebrew word "seder" means "order". Each person in attendance has a haggadah (booklet) which has the readings and scriptures for the seder. Our haggadah is for a Messianic service and therefore includes readings from both the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Scriptures. Hopefully, you will one day have the privilege of attending a Passover seder, so I've decided not to spoil your fun by explaining every detail. Suffice it to say that it involves music, dancing, singing, and of course, eating and drinking!

The main focus of the seder is the seder plate, which has a variety of items which are symbolic and beautiful in their interpretation. The photograph above shows a seder plate. I will explain each element below:

The parsley (karpas in Hebrew), represents the hyssop which was used to apply the blood of the Passover lamb to the doorposts and lentils of each of the Israelites' homes. The karpas is dipped in salt water and eaten. The salt water represents the tears shed that night in Egypt, and also the Red Sea through which the Hebrews escaped.

Matzah has been explained in my last post here.

The horseradish (maror in Hebrew, for bitter herbs) are eaten on a piece of matzah. This represents the sorrow, persecution and suffering of the people under Pharoah. Just as the bitter herbs bring tears to our eyes, so did the suffering of our people bring tears to their eyes. This also represents the sorrow of our lives before we accept Yeshua.

Next the bitter herbs are eaten along with charoset, which a Hebrew word also. Charoset is a sweet mixture of chopped apples, nuts, and honey. The charoset represents mortar used to make clay bricks by our people while slaves in Egypt. Eating the bitter with the sweet represents the bitterness of Yeshua's death, and the sweetness of his sacrifice to set us free.

The lamb shank bone represents the Passover lamb (Pesach sey), which is the symbol of our L-rd and Savior Yeshua. The lamb had to be spotlessly perfect. Yeshua was also sinless and perfect in obedience to the Torah and the Father; therefore he could be the Passover lamb for the whole world.

Some seders include a boiled egg. We do not because of its association with mystical religious rites of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Babylonians. The egg is one of the symbols of the fertility goddess Ishtar (aka Easter). Father G-d told us not to participate in occult practice or worship any other gods before Him. It must make him sad that people honor Ishtar (Easter) instead of Him on Passover.

There is more, so much more, involved in the Passover seder. To tell it all would be to write a haggadah! So, my desire here is just to whet your appetite for more. You would be so blessed to attend a Messianic Passover seder, and I hope you will next year!

In Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23, G-d commanded that Passover be observed forever. Yeshua obeyed that commandment. You may read about it in Luke 22, Matthew 26, and John 13. He observed the seder just prior to going to the cross. Knowing this, you will see what is called the last supper in a whole new light. The entire seder is a picture of our salvation from sin through Yeshua. His death, burial and resurrection are portrayed clearly and beautifully in the Passover seder. My prayer and hope is that you will be blessed to attend a Messianic seder, and that you, too, will honor G-d by observing the commandment to keep Passover.

Shalom to you and yours.

I'm sharing over at Spiritual Sundays
and Faith Filled Fridays

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Lotsa Matzah!

Matzah (unleavened bread)

During Passover, we eat lots of Matzah! Matzah is unleavened bread, much like a soda cracker and pretty tasteless by itself, really. Why? Well, let me tell you:

In the 12th Chapter of Shemot (Exodus), Hashem commands us to eat unleavened bread during Passover:

¹⁴And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the L-RD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
¹⁵Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
¹⁶And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
¹⁷And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.
¹⁸In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
¹⁹Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eats that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
²⁰Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

So, during Pesach, we eat lots of matzah! Every time, we pick it up, we see a picture of Yeshua our Messiah. He is the Bread of Life. That bread represents His body. Leaven represents sin. The absence of leaven in the bread represents His sinless life. The brown markings are like stripes, picturing the stripes he took from the beatings. The holes in the matzah are a picture of the piercings of his body on the cross. What a beautiful, tactile symbol of G-d's sacrifice for us.

For seven days we are reminded of the Messiah, His marvelous grace, and His blood shed our sins.

In my next post, I will explain the Passover seder. You'll see so much more of our Messiah in its' elements.

Chag Sameach! ( Happy Holiday)

I'm linking up to Faith filled Fridays

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Passover 2011

Every year while preparing for our Passover seder, I say the same thing: "Next year, we having it catered!" I figure it must be like childbirth....you forget the pain and only remember the joy! We had lots and lots of joy this year. With 83 people, our joy was greatly multiplied. The many children, including our 1 1/2 year old grandson, made it really fun this year, too.

"Rabbi Jem and I are so tired, we are taking TWO Shabbats this week," I told our Hadassah* group. We did just that. After the seder on Friday evening, we rested for two whole days afterward.

Peeling & chopping apples

Hall preparations

We did a potluck this year for the Passover meal, which turned out very well. The ladies and I had spent several days before the event making kugel* and charoset*. Rabbi Jem and men from the congregation had spent several days preparing the hall, getting the hagaddahs ready and other chores.

Dance team praising Adonai

At the seder, we sang the traditional songs, Dayenu and Eliyahu, but this year, added a new song, "Hallelujah, Our Passover Lamb" which I love. We'll definitely use it next year. Our dance team did two dances. The first, Hear Now, adjured us to pay heed to G-ds commandment to observe the feasts and festivals. The second, Step by Step voiced our promise to follow Him and obey.

Children ready to open the door

Each year, a place is set at the head table for the prophet Elijah, who is foretold to return prior to the second coming of Yeshua. This year, at the appointed time during the service, Rabbi Jem told the children to go to the door, open it, and look for Elijah. When little Hannah opened the door, she shouted, "He's here!" All the children started jumping up and down, shouting, "He's here! He's here!" I was standing at the door, too, and sadly reported that it wasn't Elijah, but one of the members of the congregation who'd stepped outside for a minute. We all had a good laugh on that one!

As in years before, we remembered, we praised Adonai for His faithfulness to the Israelites and to us. We recognized Yeshua in the matzah, the 4 cups of wine, and in many other ways in the readings. The seder is both serious and humorous at times, just like our lives.

At the end of the evening, our bodies were tired but our hearts were filled with joy. Our faith and our hearts were renewed, refreshed and energized. With joyful and hopeful hearts, we ended the seder with the traditional and enthusiastic, "Next Year In Jerusalem!"

*Hadassah is a women's service organization in the synagogue
* Kugel is noodle pudding - a dessert without leaven, traditional Jewish cuisine
*Charoset is chopped apples, nuts, honey & grape juice, part of the seder plate, and symbolizes the mortar the Israelites used to make bricks in Egypt.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

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

Monday, April 5, 2010

Passover Joy!

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My husband, Messianic Rabbi Jem Golden and I celebrate the Feasts and Festivals commanded in Leviticus 23. March 29 at sundown marked the beginning of Passover, and we celebrated two seders this year – one with a group of believers at Patrick Air Force Base, and one with our congregation at Ma’gen Da’vid Messianic Synagogue.

The seder is all about remembering. It reminds us of the faithfulness of God to Israel in bringing them out of

Egypt

, and is a beautiful ceremony that celebrates and illustrates our Lord 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 God’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 ate 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 remembered the plagues and pestilence God 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 saw the lamb shank bone and remembered 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 remembered 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 saw 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 drank the four cups of wine while remembering that Yeshua’s blood sanctifies us, redeems us, protects us from God’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 held 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 ate the sweet charoset (apples, nuts & honey) we were reminded of how sweet our lives are with Yeshua, our Messiah. We sang, we praised God, and we thanked Him for His Word, for our beautiful Messiah Yeshua, and for the reminders in the Passover celebration.

Remembering the provision of God for Israel reminded us that He will meet our needs as well. If He could deliver the Israelites from plagues and pestilence, He can and will protect us today. Passover is a reminder of God’s faithfulness to his people. This year, as before, I left the seder full of joy and praise to Adonai, humming the tunes we sang, and thinking about how blessed I am to be called His child.

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