The following has been taken from a post written a few years ago to share with Tookshire readers how a Seder is held within our household. Typepad's editing features kerplunked on me halfway through,...if I have time later I'll come back to make things "prettier" but I do hope you enjoy the read.
Prior to the Seder meal, the household is to be cleansed of all traces of leaven. Just as we are warned to do, individually, before the partaking of the Lord's Supper (I Corinthians 11:28) in today's church services; the Passover demands us to purge ourselves (the house of God - Hebrews 3:6; I Corinthians 6:19-20) from all known sin we harbor so that we are ready to be in the presence of the Lord. Paul spoke concerning these things when, in I Corinthians 11:28, he said, "But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup."
After these things, Franklin (the father) will call to God requesting His presence before the Seder. Our family will be dining around the living room's coffee table. The roasted lamb bone, bitter herb, parsley, clay and egg will be placed on a special plate in the center of our table. Everyone's personal plate will have a portion of these items, with the exception, of course, of the roasted lamb bone. A smaller plate, holding the linen-wrapped matzah will be set to the side. A small pillow will be placed to the left of the head of table (where Franklin will sit). The Cup of Elijah (a large wine cup different in appearance to the others) will also be set. According to Malachi, Elijah will herald the news of the coming Messiah, who is expected to come during Passover. For this purpose, many households (including ours) will even set a place for Elijah at their table to the left of the father (or head). (The left spot is reserved for the guest of honor.) To the immediate right of the father (or head) sits the youngest. (John 13:23, as context)
Our family Seder will begin with Franklin explaining to the children why we as believers are celebrating Passover. I do not know what he will actually prepare to say, but it usually involves Genesis 12:1-3 and John 4:21-26. I will follow, according to the Festival of Lights, by lighting two white candles and saying a traditional blessing:
“Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sent Thy Son, Thine Only Son, Y’shua the Messiah, to be the light of the world and our Paschal Lamb, that through Him we might live. Amen.”
Following which, Numbers 6:24-26 will be read:
“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”
Leaning upon the pillow, Franklin will pour the first cup (Sanctification), hold it up and announce that this night is set aside, different from all other nights. A blessing will then be recited, scripture read and the cup, drunk by all.
He will then announce time for the washing of hands, with a traditional blessing:
“Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Thy commandments and commanded us to wash the hands.”
Washing, more than for sanitary purposes, was an act of purification for any who would prepare to handle food. Franklin will explain that it was the custom that the salve/servant - the lowest in importance - would wash the ands of the participants. However, the Bible tells us that Jesus chose to take this role. We will read John 13:3-12, "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, 'Lord, are you washing my feet?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.' Peter said to Him, 'You shall never wash my feet!' Jesus answered him, 'If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.' Simon Peter said to Him, 'Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, 'He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but it is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.' For he knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, "You are not all clean." I have understood that Jesus cleaned the feet to demonstrate that He was the suffering servant of the Lord mentioned in Isaiah...thereby the one capable of cleansing them. Franklin will wash/dry our hands, beginning to his left.
The parsley and saltwater will be explained to the children (provided here), followed by a blessing. The parsley is then dipped into the saltwater and eaten by all.
The explanations of the bread are given (provided here), The middle portion is removed at this time and lifted up while the following is spoken:
“This is the bread of affliction which our foregathers ate in the land of Egypt. All who are hungry – let them come and eat. All who are needy – let them come and celebrate the Passover with us. Now we are here; next year may we be in the land of Israel. Now we are slaves; next year may we be free men.”
The bread is broken and the larger piece, wrapped in a white linen napkin, is hidden while the smaller one is returned to the cover.
The second cup (Judgment) is poured.
At this point, the youngest (in our home, it is Maxwell) asks four questions based on Exodus 12:26-27. The answers, given by the father (as outlined in the Haggadah), explain the Seder contents.
- On all other nights we may eat either leavened or unleavened bread; why on this night why do we eat only unleavened bread? [The bread is uncovered] We eat matzah because when the children of Israel were told by Pharaoh that they could leave Egypt, they had no time to bake bread with leaven, so they baked it without leaven.
- On all other nights we eat herbs of any kind; why on this night do we eat only bitter herbs? At the Seder, we eat bitter herbs to remind us of the bitterness the children of Israel experienced by the Egyptian taskmasters.
- On all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once; why on this night do we dip them twice? At the Seder we dip food twice; the parsley in salt water, as we have already explained, and the matzah into the bitter herbs, as we shall explain later.
- On all other nights we eat our meals sitting or reclining; why on this night do we eat in reclining? As a sign of freedom, we lean to the left when we partake of the cup. In ancient times, slaves ate hurriedly, standing while royalty and the wealthy in Egypt, and other empires dined on couches. To show that Israel was now free, they too reclined while eating.
Another blessing is spoken ...
“Blessed is God Who gave the Torah to His people, Israel. Blessed is He.”
and the story of the four sons is told:
The Torah, four times, tells the father that he should teach his son the story of the Passover.
- Deuteronomy 6:20... Traditionally this is used as the answer to a wise son...one who includes himself in the story of Passover, who is asking what this means to "us." Tell him all the laws of the Passover to the last detail about the Afikomen.
- Exodus 12:26-27, 13:8... Traditionally this is used as the answer to a rebellious son...one who excludes himself, who is asking what this means to you.
- Exodus 13:14... Traditionally this is used as the answer to a simple son...one who is only asking what the Passover itself means.
- Exodus 13:8... Traditionally this is used as the answer to a son who does not know how to ask...one that must be led.
The second cup is then lifted and announced that the promise given to them is also given to us...then the cup is put down again, and the story of the ten plagues is told. As the plagues are recited, Franklin will dip his finger in the cup, removing a drop each time. This is done in sorrow for the Egyptians. We are then reminded that the children of Israel, and through their example we likewise, are not to rejoice when our enemy falls. (Proverbs 4:17)
Another blessing is said, followed by a portion of the service called Dayeinu, which is Hebrew for "it would have been enough." Without typing out the whole piece, it is a declaration of thanks to God for all that He has done...that if He had only delivered them from Egypt that it would have been enough; and, if He had only brought them out but not put judgment upon Egypt that it would have been enough...etc. Customarily there was a piece in their giving thanks for the Temple so sacrifices could be offered. I am not certain what is spoken in the current orthodox Jewish services as a replacement. Now that we have Messiah, the Dayeinu includes declarations of the same manner, for example: if He had only given us the Holy Spirit and not bestowed us with the fruit of the Spirit it would have been enough. We are recognizing just how abundantly and freely and complete His giving is versus what we could have had much less than we deserve. Some read one (or a collection of the Psalms 113 through 118. (Which I've heard are the Psalms the Levites chant as lambs were sacrificed.)
An explanation is given for the lamb bone as the Passover offering during the Temple days, followed again by the telling of the Matzah, and the bitter herbs. We are reminded that we must look upon ourselves as if we personally came out of Egypt because it was not just captive Israel who was redeemed, but with them, through them, we were brought out from bondage and that we were crucified with Jesus and therefore putting aside our "old man." (Romans 6:6-11)
The cup is again lifted. We are then reminded to worship God in light of these wonders. With the cup down, Psalm 136 is read in unison (some families sing this...we, however, are not singers). The cup is raised; a final blessing spoken...
“Blessed art Thou, O Lord Our God, Ruler of the Universe, Creator of the fruit of the Vine”
...and finally we drink of the second cup...not forgetting to lean to the left.
Hands are washed again, this time as a ceremonial cleansing. The upper matzah and the remainder of the middle matzah are broken and handed out while the following blessings are spoken:
“Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth.”
“Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who made us holy with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the eating of matzah.”
Each dips their matzah into the horseradish and clay (haroset/apple mix) as a reminder of the sweetness of God's redemption in the midst of their/our bitter times.
At this time, informal/personal prayers will be offered in thanksgiving.
The family meal is begun by eating the egg. Jesus would have most likely had roasted lamb with bitter herbs and matzah. In my studies, I have heard it said that at this point, in ancient practice, that a sandwich of matzah, herbs and lamb would here be made. Astoundingly...the symbols of all the combined elements for the sandwich are yet another strong shadow of Messiah himself. The sandwich is to be then dipped into the charoset...this is called a sop. I have been taught that this was a bit of a valentine...something one would give to someone held with great affection. Interesting to note that this is also what Jesus was giving to Judas (John 13:21-28). Interesting still, if you'll remember...the choroset stood for the work which one does in bondage...and the work Judas was about to do. If tradition was kept, all the disciples would have received the sop which may be why there was still confusion as to who was to be the betrayer. (John 13:21-27) In either case, we know that this portion of the ceremony occurs before the meal proper...and that Judas was not present when Messiah instituted the communion after dinner.
Just as our American Thanksgiving has evolved diverse regional "mainstay dishes" today's Seder hosts a variety of alternate foods. Grace is given after the meal and the Seder, in the form of additional responsive reading from the Haggadah is continued. Following which, the third cup (Redemption) is filled, and the Afikoman sought after and found.
Franklin will explain that the Afikoman is the substitute for the ceremonial Passover lamb...which in biblical times was the final food of the Seder meal. In fact, Afikoman is also known as "dessert" because it comes at the close of the meal. A small bit of Afikoman is broken off and eaten by all present. It will also be pointed out, as I have already mentioned, that the Afikoman was used by our Lord in what we now call Communion. Tying himself to the lamb, He establishes that it is He who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) Franklin will break off pieces of the bread, passing it to everyone at the table while he recites I Corinthians 11:23-24 and John 6:35a, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you; that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat, this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance for Me." "And Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger." He will of course pause for us to examine our hearts before we eat.
Raising the cup, Franklin will recite I Corinthians 11:25, "In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." Then he will give a blessing, and direct us to drink the cup as a reminder of His work on the cross.
From here, he either may choose a declaration from the Haggadah or choose to make his own declaration, confirming the meaning and purpose of Passover to us.
The fourth cup is filled. Maxwell (our son) will open the front door (to reinforce the idea of Revelations 3:20), and everyone stands. Our son will read Malachi 4:4-6a, "I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers." Our eldest daughter, Epiphany, will read Mark 9:11-13, "And they asked Him, "Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?" Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him."' Our middle child, Olivia, will then read Matthew 11:12-15, "And then from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it all by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Franklin will then tell them to close the door. Elijah and the Messiah have already come and we await His return, let us Praise the Lord our God, Our Redeemer. As the Messiah refused to drink of this cup (Matthew 26:29), out of respect we also abstain. One of the other Hallels ("praise") will be read, provided in the Haggadah format of responsive reading. (Psalm 113 to Psalm 118) Franklin will have picked out which one before Passover begins.
The fourth cup is raised, and we say the traditional blessing. "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the Vine." The children will take turns reading Psalm 118:22-26, Matthew 21:42 and Acts 4:11. This will be followed by a praise song (most likely from the Psalms...Franklin will pick it out).
Franklin will then close with a reading from Mark 14:26-28, "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, 'All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.' But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.'"
At the completion of the Passover Seder, we pray the Lord to have compassion upon all His people, to strengthen Jerusalem among other blessings. We ask Him to restore all of Israel to His people, and to bring them the knowledge and love of the everlasting Redeemer. We ask that He come quickly, and by His good grace, to strengthen us for those final days. We offer thanks for sustaining us thus far. We confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that He will be our God and that we will be His people.
My husband will close saying, "As we were worthy to celebrate it this year, so may we perform it in the future years!" To which we all will cry out (tradition provides, but our own meaning), "Next Year in Jerusalem!" (Revelation 3:11-13; 21:1-3)
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