Passover’s Rich Tradition

From father to son to son to son to son for over 3,500 years that’s one of the miracles of Passover. It’s a wonder! From generation to generation the story has been told over and over again in a line that has never been broken. Fathers (and Mothers and brothers and sisters) share with family members and with the next generation(s) so the story continues to be shared and its truths passed on. (Exodus 12:24-27)

I see books which sound a warning about how in today’s world 75 percent of young adults (ages 18-24) you have fallen away from their faith (or practice of their faith). This is a sad state of affairs when I compare this reality to the tradition of sharing Passover together. As I read these books I realize we’ve missed something.

We’re missing out on inspiring the next generation in their faith. We’re missing out on telling the story and passing on the faith to those who need it most. (Deut. 4:9)

What is it that makes a difference with young adults and causes the story to pass from one generation to the next? I think sometimes we get to hung up in our own traditions and in the law. We focus on doing this in exactly the format it was shared by our parents, and in doing so we forget to make sure this is relevant and enjoyable by all. Possibly it is because we did not enjoy this celebration, so we cut it short thinking it will be boring to those hearing us (which is a self-fulfilling prophecy!). Because it is our parent’s story, we fail to get into the story ourselves.

How can we affect and infect the next generation? We need to pass on our love and passion for God. In order to do this love and passion have to live in our hearts. This causes us to have an irresistible passion to share our love for God all the time (Deut. 6:5-9). This causes us to desire to make sure the next generation understands and adopts the same passion we have. We can not mess up. The faith of the next generation is too important!

There is a verse which is shared each year in the Passover Seder, “On that day tell your son, `I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’” (Exodus 13:8). This year make sure the next generation knows we have personally left Egypt … and we are bringing them out also. Moses would be pleased!