Passover

While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household.  If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat.  The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.
“Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight.  They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal.  That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast.  Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal—including the head, legs, and internal organs—must be roasted over a fire.  Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning.
“These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover.  On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord!  But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.“This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord. This is a law for all time. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. On the first day of the festival, remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel.  On the first day of the festival and again on the seventh day, all the people must observe an official day for holy assembly. No work of any kind may be done on these days except in the preparation of food.
“Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent law for you; celebrate this day from generation to generation. The bread you eat must be made without yeast from the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day of that month.  During those seven days, there must be no trace of yeast in your homes. Anyone who eats anything made with yeast during this week will be cut off from the community of Israel. These regulations apply both to the foreigners living among you and to the native-born Israelites.  During those days you must not eat anything made with yeast. Wherever you live, eat only bread made without yeast.”
“Remember, these instructions are a permanent law that you and your descendants must observe forever.  When you enter the land the Lord has promised to give you, you will continue to observe this ceremony.  Then your children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’ And you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he struck the Egyptians, he spared our families.’”- Exodus 12:1 - 20, 24 - 27a (NLT)

Last night was the first night of Passover.  It was the night when the Passover Seder is celebrated, and the night during the temple days the passover lamb would have been sacrificed on.  There are hundreds of different version of the Haggadah - order of service for the passover Seder.  The different versions are due to different Rabbies through the past two millenia coming up with slightly different ways of celebrating the passover.  They all stick mostly to the above Biblical instrunctions, but much has been added.  Of course these days a lamb or goat cannot be sacrificed since the Temple no longer stands, so while a lamb bone is brought to the seder, the meat eaten is ususally chicken. 

I was able to go to the service held at Jerusalem Assembly last night.  They do a Biblical Seder as apposed to a rabbitical seder, which means all the extras are trimmed from the service.  Instead we had a lesson about the time of slavery in Egypt and the Exodus (and yes, the children were asked a lot of questions throught this time, and they even got to pain one of the doorways leading into the room).  We ate celery leaf dipped in lemon juice as a bitter herb to remember the bitter times of the Israelites in Egypt.  We also ate charoset (an apple, walnut mixture) with matzo to remember the work of making the brinks and the building the slaves had to do in Egypt.  The meal was followed up by a study on Jesus and how he fulfilled the Passover. 

The room at J.A. wating for the seder to begin

 

The children are gathering to look for the afikomen - a piece of matzo that has been hidden

Shops that used to sell breads and pastries are now selling items that do not require leavening

In spite of the restriction on leavening Pillsbury has come up with some way to have "passover kosher" cake mixes

And if you were just thinking how nice it was to have a cake during this time, do not forget to get your new passover kosher toothpaste!