Remembering the Passover

Year: 1961
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
Occasion: Passover Seder

I was just nineteen years old at the time, but experiencing a Seder meal with Orthodox Jewish friends and a great-aunt had a life long impact on me. I really didn't know what a Seder meal was all about, but I knew it was extremely important to our friends. They had been getting ready for weeks.

The women had been cleaning their homes from top to bottom. By weeks end, there was not a crumb in sight except for the small pile left for the children to find while conducting a thorough search of the rooms. Then dad used a long turkey feather to brush those crumbs into a wooden spoon. After all crumbs were found, he burned them. The house was now kosher for Passover. All leaven was gone.

The women had also unpacked and washed their Passover dishes and tableware. Their everyday dishes were put away for the week. All was ready except for the cooking and Seder plate preparation. A lamb shank needed to be roasted as did an egg. Parsley and bitter herbs were washed, apples and nuts were diced then mixed with honey, cinnamon and other spices. Matzah and wine, kosher for Passover, were purchased along with all the food for the celebration meal. Finally, the table was set with gleaming plates, sparkling wine glasses, snow-white linens, and flickering candles. On each dinner plate was a beautiful illustrated Haggadah (order of service) and most importantly, the family Seder plate as a center piece.

It was finally time for the guests to arrive, and the remembrance of the Exodus out of Egypt to begin. I had no idea what to expect.
 
We all slowly made our way to the table and watched the mother light the evening candle and pray a prayer of blessing. "Baruch atah Adonai elohaynu melech..." Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe...

As I am trying to take it all in, the youngest child suddenly pipes up, "Why is this night different from all other nights?" The answer to that question sped up my introduction into Jewish culture, faith, and tradition. I suddenly found myself on a fast learning curve. As the child's questions continued along with the answers, the entire story unfolded before my eyes. It recounted the days of slavery and bondage in Egypt, the ten plagues, the smearing of lamb's  blood on the door posts to ward off the Angel of Death, and the parting of the Red Sea.

Woven into the story was the singing of ancient songs. It was while listening to the songs I didn't know, in a language I didn't understand, that I noticed the tears being shed. The older men at the table, with skull caps covering their heads and full beards covering their faces, were weeping openly while singing about the "yam" or sea. The emotion of being led out of Egypt was as real to them that night as it had been to the Hebrew people as they fled through the parted waters two thousand years earlier. Then, within minutes, the tears of sorrow turned to tears of joy. God had redeemed his people. Light of the promised land shone in their eyes as they clapped their hands and sang songs of rejoicing.

That unashamed emotion deeply touched me. Even though I had gone to church all my life, attending Easter and Christmas services as well as Sunday school and Vacation Bible school, I had never ever seen any emotion shown. I had never seen tears shed over Christ's death on the cross. I had never seen joy and awe at the telling of the Christmas story or over the pronouncement, "He is risen." If the emotions were felt, they weren't shown. The only joy I had seen was over Christmas presents and Easter baskets. I had much to learn.

Since then I have learn so much about God's work and faithfulness in the life of his chosen people over the course of history as well as with his people today. I have also learned it is OK to laugh, cry, raise my hands, and dance in the presence of the Lord. I can also shout "Amen, Alleluia," and "Praise the Lord" when so moved, but I can also commune in silence.

I have also learned about remembering. A member is a part of something bigger. For example there are members of a body (arms and legs) and members of organizations. When "re" is added to the word, it means to become a member again. The weeping men at the Passover meal were not merely thinking about God's mighty work in Egypt, they were living it, becoming members of that mass of people fleeing for their lives, becoming one with them. Remembering.

As Maunday Thursday, Good Friday and Easter approach, I really want to remember.


In Christ,
Jan