Powerful Ideas for a Successful Passover Seder
Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover of the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of Egypt by night. Sacrifice as the Passover to the LORD your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for his Name. Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste–so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt. (Deut 16:1-3)
It is now time to approach the Pesach Table, hopefully not with the attitude that this is a ritual which must be observed, or even worse: a relic of the past. We are to approach the evening of our Passover Seder with the attitude of expectancy. What will be different about this night? What will we learn and what can we share with others during the festival?
Connecting the Passover blogs
The previous six Passover blogs have been written with the aspiration for each of us (yes, that includes the author) to grow internally in our knowledge of God, love for others, and appreciation for the festival of Passover. I hope through this series of blogs you could clearly envision the love and provisions God gives to people who seek the Lord, to celebrate His merciful acts and to honor His Name. I hope you know that God desires us to attend this celebration so we can hear of His mighty acts of love and care.
The scripture above shows it is God who invites us individually to come to His meal and to be His people. But the bible verse is not just aimed at motivating you to sit in on the meal, the desire of the passage, and of the Lord is that we will experience the evening as if we were the first generation of slaves coming forth from Egypt.
The Rabbis taught that we are to fully participate with our minds, our hearts, and our souls through the evening, asking questions like the wise son, in order to learn and benefit others. The Passover Seder is to be more than a ritual we must do every year. This celebration is to become a reality that causes us to revisit the night and remember its grand teachings.
On the night of Passover, we need to be aware that the occupants at our table are not just family and friends. God is with us also. Our God is a living and ever present God. The Bible says God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Our God is still able to do the mighty acts which were shown to us in the past. I hope the Passover experience breeds expectancy and the desire to discover how God will bring us into a land flowing with milk and honey.
The Preliminaries of the Passover Seder
The Passover Seder, by design, begins with some preliminary activities. These itemized tasks were developed through the years to clear our minds from our normal weekly activities and to help us focus on the Divine. Through the setting of the table (and desire to create something unique), the gathering of people, and the settling in, we gain a sense of composure and organization.
As routine prayers are offered, which can be recited in a mindless way, God is allowing us to gain control of our mind and begin to focus through participation. The prayers over the Passover (or Shabbat) lights, the wine and the bread are all normal and routine. The prayer for the evening service is somewhat different, but still highly ritualized to bring a sense of separation from our weekday routines.
The eating of appetizers is designed to take away our sense of hunger, and to help our minds move beyond the routine and into the story. The sweet taste of wine is given to help us appreciate the sweetness of the festival. The roughness of the green (we eat parsley) dipped in salt water (careful not to make too much of a mess with all those drips) were created to shock us into the transition from routine prayers to enactment of a historic tale. Our full participation, and of course that of the children will help to capture our souls so we can be fully involved.
The High Point of the Passover Seder
The Hagaddah teaches we have a choice in our spiritual approach to the evening. Within the Seder we meet four sons: the wise son, the wicked son, the simple son and the young son. In these four sons there is a lesson for the evening: what difference will the teachings of the Passover Seder make in our lives. Will we enter the evening with a desire to learn, as a participant, with eager ears and a desire to understand both the small and complex issues of the Passover? With the proper attitude people will become enveloped in the teachings of the Haggadah.
Each person who arrives at our table comes with different expectations and experience. Members of the family who must enjoy the meal have the obligation of sharing some of their exuberance with consumers who are more sedate. Often a few words spoken personally or a bit of encouragement can spark a new fire of desire within our family member who is most antagonistic toward the evening long observance.
The order of the maggid (or teaching portion of the evening) is designed to bring change within us. Many participants come to the table ill prepared. They go through the motions, mouth the prayers, read responsively, listen respectfully – and hopefully the Lord does something during the course of the evening: God breaks through and changes those who drag from dutiful participants to desirous learners who experience intimately our departure from the land of Egypt.
The discussions of the Seder are designed to give us a desire to share its actions and truths through the year. We have already observed the call to charity as we are to make sure that all can attend and participate in this service and its teachings. We are also called to share a spirit of understanding; for through the lesson we experience how we were once aliens and slaves who were forced to serve others and to live according to their whims. With this understanding we celebrate our freedom by caring for others who are not yet free.
The Reason for Passover
We share the saga of our history before our evening meal because Passover is a story of hope. God with mighty acts of judgment saved an enslaved people. If God can bring that generation out of slavery, God can and will free any person from enslavement to anything when they cry out and seek Him.
We share because the next generation needs to hear (and there is always a next generation and beyond). The act of sharing has kept the Jewish nation vibrant and alive for over 3,500 years: even though we were scattered across the globe and had no land to call our own for most of their history (Not only was our father a wandering Aramean, but through the years most of the Jewish people were forced to survived in lands not their own).
The story and its truths are worthy, and because of this they have endured. How interesting will your Passover evening become? If you need some help, I suggest the following resources: The Psalmatic Seder offers a different telling of the story and a selection of music that will bring freshness to the evening. A Christian Passover in the Jewish Tradition offers hits to the leader which can bring life to the Seder. There is also a section in the back of the book that will help the leader really answer hard questions which thinkers might ask.
The book Spring: Connecting with God will guide the leader to see which parts of the Seder are most important, and why the evening at times gets boring and routine. A quick read of the book will show which parts of the evening ceremonies are important and which can be quickly orchestrated.
I hope, even in this COVID world, you are planning a Seder, either virtually, or if it is safe enough, in person. We must keep sharing their truths and living their actions.
