The word Haggadah (plural, Haggadot) comes from Ex.13.8: “And you shall tell (l’higadeta) your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the L-rd did for me when I came out of Egypt’ ”. L’higadeta is the root of the word of l’haggid, which means, “to tell” and is also the root of the word Haggadah. Thus when we say we are giving a Haggadah, we are saying that we are giving a way “to tell” to our children of the events of the Exodus (and its deeper meaning as well). All the foods, songs, prayers, and play are solely to help them grow in wonder and love for this feast. For this reason we welcome you to modify our words to fit your style and to please engage the children in all aspects of what is going on. You’re building their memories and faith as you do.The order of the Pesach Haggadah
Kadesh: This is first blessing we say on the wine called the Kiddush but because this is Pesach we begin with a special additional blessing. These blessings do change based upon when Pesach falls during the week. If you will be keeping this feast always on Holy Thursday then you’ll always use the weekday blessing. If you abide the Hebrew Calendar the day will change from year to year.
- Kadesh ---------- Recite the Kiddush (wine)
- Urechatz ---------- Washing the hands.
- Karpas ---------- Eating of the parsley.
- Yachatz ---------- Breaking the Middle Matzah.
- Maggid ---------- Recital of Haggadah.
- Rachtzah ---------- Washing the Hands [for the Matzah].
- Matzo ---------- Blessing over, and Eating of, Matzah.
- Maror ---------- Blessing over, and Eating of, Maror.
- Korech ---------- Eating combination of Matzah and Maror.
- Shulchan Orech ---- Set Table - [Festive meal].
- Tzafun ---------- Eating the Hidden Afikomen.
- Beirach ---------- Birkat Hamazon [Blessing after Meal].
- Hallel ---------- Recital of Psalms of Praise.
- Nirtzah ---------- The Seder is accepted favorably
Urechatz: We wash our hands at the onset of the feast even though we will not eat for quite some time, that is much more than parsley dipped into salt water. You can pass the pitcher around the table for each person to wash their own hands or have one person go around and wash each person’s hands. We do the latter.
This hand washing, by the way, was not at this time the one that Yeshua did as He washed the disciples’ feet because when Peter said He should not wash his feet Yeshua responded: “He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not everyone of you”. Also He told His disciples about the same unclean soul: “He who ate My Bread has lifted his heel against Me” yet here we have yet to eat any bread nor have we been washed even once.
Lastly, we do not say the traditional blessing at this time and this in turn can prompt many questions from the children from the start.
Karpas: This is were we dip the parsley into salt water (and sometimes vinegar) and a special blessing said. See the Hak’arah for details.
Yachatz: This is where we break the middle Matzah which represents Yeshua at His sacrifice. The larger half is called the “Afikomen” and it is wrapped in a napkin and traditionally hidden away for the children to retrieve at the Seder’s end.
Maggid: This is the telling of the exodus and is heart of the ancient Seder. It turns the Seder table into a podium from which we teach both our children and ourselves about the wonders of G-d’s miracles during the time of the exodus and then we, over time, connect this to the sacrifice.
The Four Questions: these are the four questions usually asked by the youngest child although we have our youngest start and the older ones join in after the first question is asked. Also this is a song but the Haggadah we wrote it into sentences because we don’t know how to get the music for the net. But for those who know the tune, the first phase is the first part of the song unchanged. After that they all break up in much the same way. Here, for example, is the first verse:Rabbi Gamliel:Shebb’chol hallaylot anu och’lin chametz unmatzah hallailah hazzeh kullo Matzah?
This is what it would look like for the song: Shebb’chol hallaylot, anu och’lin, chametz unmatzah, chametz unmatzah, hallailah hazzeh, hallailah hazzeh, kullo Matzah, hallailah hazzeh, hallailah hazzeh, kullo Matzah?
Some when sung, there are a lot of words per phrase and this can be challenging for small folks to sing so we require anyone who wants to sing their part to practice ahead of time, get help from their elders or they can recite the part instead.
The four questions serve to bring the children into the Seder and to get them to ask questions in general about what they are about to experience in the feast. The four questions and hopefully any more our children ask here are answered in the body of the Meggid or in the body of the Last Supper.
Avadim Hayinu: This portion begins “We were slaves” and we weave our history starting from our debasement and ending with His glory. Thus remembering our low and humble origins helps us to identify with others who are oppressed and to therefore seek for justice. Thus Jews made up a large majority of “whites” who supported the civil rights movement because the Jews relived their slavery once each year. Imagine the transformation our world would take if all G-d’s children did the same.
The Five sages: this is a well-known passage in Haggadah that takes us though the process where the rabbis discovered the truths. What is interesting is that the discussion views are all pulled from Torah (we include for all Biblical quotes the forwarding addresses) from a very Jewish point of view yet even then, (as we found in so many of the other feast) its end has meaning to us. What the rabbis discover at B'nei Berak that night is that the Passover will be valuable to G-d’s children even after HaMoshiach comes, that is “during the Messianic age” which we in our church are in right now! What is the value? We believe the value is in remembering that we were once slaves and not just slaves of sin. Thus this reinforces our insistence that even under HaMoshiach, there is a value in remembering the ancient feast above and beyond what this feast prefigured. From Vatican II we learn:
115. "According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of SCRIPTURE: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. The profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of SCRIPTURE in the Church. "Thus to fully understand we must engage both the literal origins of the feast and it spiritual significance that lies beneath it to understand the full richness of the meaning. Yes, the Sacrifice and resurrection are literal events, but they had not yet literally happened until after the feast. Thus we too remember these events, in depth in a separate feast. In this way, our Passover Feast retains it ancient meaning yet also contains it’s spiritual understanding through the very words our L-rd and Savior spoke that night of His Last Supper, to lay a seed of what is very soon to come in the Feast of HaOmer. The four sons:
These depict the four types of believers, well one of four is a non-believer. The first is the wise son that represents Saint John who sought wisdom through simple questions he asked. The second is the wicked son, Judas, who saw no place for believers in the feast called by G-d. The third is the simpleton, either a new believer or one not yet acquainted in the feast but curious none-the-less, he represents to us Peter who accepted all Yeshua said by faith even though his understanding was imperfect. It was therefore on this faith Yeshua founded his Church. The last son is the one who doesn’t even know to ask and he represents the one not yet saved, but who is seeking for truth, he represents most of the disciples that were there but didn’t understand much of what was to happen, not even enough to ask questions.
Thus we tell of these sons because they represent no only those that made up the original twelve but because they make up those of our feast and those of our body in Christ both in our Church and outside in the larger Catholic Church of HaMoshiach’s return. Therefore at this feast we are called to ask ourselves what type of believer are we? Have we studied both the Word and the teaching of our Church well enough to ask questions at what we see but do not fully understand? Are we too busy for G-d, too busy to go any further from mass and basic sacraments to bother to work on our faith? Are we curious but not sure what to ask or whom? Or are we just so ignorant that we are blind to the fact that we should be seeking truth rather then being spoon-fed. This is the function of the four sons because most of us are all of them at least once in our lives.
Now we return to the Meggid once we have learned to ask questions like the children, the sages and both the wise and the one with simple faith. The story now answers many of the questions we unearthed so far about why we celebrate. Yet in this story’s telling we reach one of the most poignant passages that commands compassion and love even for those that abuse us:
The Ten Plagues: The power of this section in the Meggid depends on how it’s done. Most traditional Seders we’ve seen just name the plagues but we frown on this and feel a short explanation is needed for the children. We give possible ones that can be said but at our house each child is given a set of passages to read on these plagues and they are expected to describe them themselves in a single sentence.
After we diverge again from the traditional Seder to finish the story to the Red Sea. This is because they depend on the second part of the Seder to finish but we use this portion for the Last Supper. Besides the story fits better here.
The Rabbinical Insights:
This, like the late evening argument by the five sages, is an example of the kinds of ideas the rabbis argue out in Talmud. In this case each rabbi increases the plagues inflicted by G-d upon the Egyptians by graduations based on their perceptions from the Word and by adding their conclusions to their neighbors. In this way ten plagues plus the Red Sea are multiplied to equal 300 hundred plagues in total with 250 dealt at them upon the Sea alone. Interesting as this is, we suspect if anything their views show the pitfalls of “reading too much into” the scripture. There is really no sin to doing this so long as you do no harm or demand others to think like you, but in some ways they do some harm here. The spirit behind removing the wine for each plague is to show compassion upon those who do us harm. After all those who G-d is now is punishing are great grandchildren of those who gave our people their land during the great drought. Thus in their zeal to punish the Egyptians they forgot the Spirit of the feast. Herein lies then the value of this traditional oratory. It can help us adults see exactly where the rabbis went wrong. It was not in their zeal, but in their nit picky demands that may have graced the target but missed the bull’s-eye! This said those with impatient little children might want to skip past this lesson to Dayenu, “that very long song”.
Dayenu
This is a wonderful break on the tension that came before and the tune is very popular and can even be found on many Passover sites you might visit on the net. We don’t have all the Hebrew words for this but we get over this hurtle by singing all but Dayenu in English instead. We follow this song with the recitation of the traditional prayer but we do not end there because of the sad irony of the words. If it was enough then why did HaShem have to send His only Son to die for our sins? And if His coming was enough, then why do we need a Church leadership, the papacy and the Magisterium? And if all this too should have been enough then why does G-d promise us that His beloved Church which He founded will face her own Pesach (the human element in “8”)?
After going through the entire story of the Exodus Rabbi Gamliel tells us that we must not forget the Passover sacrifice, the unleavened bread, and the bitter herbs. Yet shouldn’t we stop here because we mentioned them after the last plague? We suspect Yeshua did as well but He moved onto this section of the Seder and drew the eyes of His disciples to each of the items on the Seder plate. Why? We feel this was to now reveal what each of these items represent. He draws them to the Pascal sacrifice saying that He was the Lamb of God. He followed with the Matzah, quoting Is.53.4-6. He followed this with the Maror saying this not only represents our slavery to Egypt but also our slavery to sin.
Perhaps we move ahead too quickly here because it is clear from the Gospel narrative that all did not understand His words. Yet it was at this part of the feast that Yeshua began to turn them away from the Exodus to the deeper meaning it held. His words were not mere embellishments, but rather direct to pierce deeply the Sod (secret meaning) of the symbols of the feast and gently draw them to Himself. Yet according to Saint John, the disciples failed to catch the deep meaning in His Words.
Then the service seems to diverge again showing scripturally that this feast is called upon for all of Israel. Why? We now know because it softens our hearts to the oppressed as well as the oppressor because we are saved by grace just as they can also be if they turn away from sin and then believe. Yet even in HaMoshiach, reliving the events of this night, without unnecessary embellishment, can help us better understand that night and the events that will soon follow.
It is here by the way, after the scriptural quotes about the eternal aspects of these Mitzvoth that the Gospels shed light upon what actually happened that night. From this point on the two narratives: the Haggadah and the Last Supper come together, though exactly how we have tried to discover and our Haggadah is our best attempt so far. We feel that Yeshua did not say the traditional prayer that follows Ps.114. This is how it goes:
Blessed are You, O Eternal, our G-d, King of the universe, Who has redeemed us and redeemed our fathers from Egypt and from sin, and enabled us to attain this night to eat Matzah and maror. So too, G-d, O Eternal, our G-d, and G-d of our fathers, enable us to attain other holidays and festivals that will come to us in peace with happiness in the rebuilding of Your city, and with rejoicing in Your service [in the Bet Hamikdash when it comes with Your return]. Then we shall eat {if the festival is on any day except Saturday night say:} of the sacrifices and of the Pesach-offerings {if the Seder is on Saturday night say:} of the Pesach-offerings and of the sacrifices whose blood shall be sprinkled on the wall of Your altar for acceptance; and we shall thank You with a new song for our redemption and for the deliverance of our souls. Blessed are You, G-d, who redeemed Israel.We modified this to remove the allusions to the sin sacrifice because Yeshua ended these and we only retain the Thanksgiving sacrifice (the Eucharist). Then we move into one of the most confusing passages in the Brith HaDoshah.
The Last supper, the Betrayal, and the Denial
This is perhaps the most confusing passage in the Brith HaDoshah. Three events of great importance to our faith are given in the four Gospels but the order of the events that happened seem to conflict. From the past studies we suspect that this is most likely not a contradiction but it is only different perspectives on the same event written for different reasons (thus a remez or hint). So to sort out the confusion we need to go through the different passages one by one and correlate them to the Haggadah of Yeshua’s time. We don’t actually have that Haggadah but with the help of our modern one and what Scripture has we tried to deduce it. So:
Matthew places the betrayal first, then the Last Supper and then the denial after the Seder. He shows that two events happened “as they were eating” Matt.26.20, 26. Mark’s Gospel agrees with Matthew in every point, however Luke diverges greatly from the two other writers. Luke has Yeshua beginning the Passover saying that He has earnestly desired to eat this Passover and He takes the cup first, says the blessing, but not the words of initiation found in Matthew and Luke. Then He blesses the bread like the other two Gospels. Finally, after supper He finishes the blessings found in the other two Gospels. Then Luke connects the exposure of the betrayer to the words Yeshua spoke over the wine. John makes things more confusing because he places a foot washing during the feast and the exposure of the betrayer follows this. When Judas is exposed, Yeshua is making the Hillel sandwich (in Matthew and Luke, Judas makes his own), then Judas leaves the feast prematurely.
The denial we feel is the easiest puzzle to clear up because in our eyes it seems obvious that this issue came twice, once during the feast and again after they had left the feast. This is what we perceive: from Luke we know Yeshua’s words to Peter cut deeply, Lk.22.31-34 and then the others may have moved off to talk of other things and the conversation change focus. After they left the feast and started walking the feeling of “I never deny Him!” resurfaced in some of the twelve. This is when Yeshua drew them to the Scripture in Zechariah 13.7 saying “this is prophetic guys, you have no control over this” and reiterated to Peter who was the most defensive (we see this from Mark) that yes even he (Peter) will deny Him those three times! Thus as this fits so well we took this as our assumption and this cleared things up greatly so that all we need of the denial is to place it between the L-rd’s Supper and the Betrayal.
Unfortunately Matthew and Mark really don’t give an order, just the events so we’ll go to Luke and John for the order. Luke has: Kiddush (blessing of wine), HaMotzi (Blessing on bread) and “This is My body”, then “this is My blood” followed by Judas. The denial isn’t ordered. In John we have everything ordered: First foot washing, then the Betrayal during the “Hillel sandwich”, then Judas leaves, then Peter’s denial. Thus Peter’s denial happened after Judas left. Also the altercation with Judas happens while eating in John and after eating with Luke. Might this be like the case of Peter’s denial that this dispute occurred throughout the feast but Judas left at the feast’s end?
John’s writing seems as if it has no breaks, but we suspect there were because the way we put in the denial of Peter, things began to fit nicely (John probably didn’t fit these words in because others books already had them plus John knew the order, even if we don’t). Also note at Yeshua’s time the Seder plate was far simpler. It probably held only the Pascal sacrifice and the maror in a sauce. We know the maror was sauce because they “dipped” both matzah and “a morsel” in this. In fact, the Passover supper probably had just these three items and the wine (although it may have had the parsley and salt water because we have no evidence against this). We say this because both the Beitzah (egg) and the Kharoset (sweet mixture of wine, fruit and nuts) came after the Temple’s destruction.
The next evening had the feast that we now eat in combination with Passover. Thus some thought Judas was leaving to buy food for “the Feast”, Jn.13.29, that is Chag HaMotzi, and not the feast they were now eating, Chag HaPesach. Therefore, they also seemed as confused as we are (though for different reasons), for how could Yeshua share the feast of Chag HaMotzi with them if He was laid in tomb before that evening commenced (we are not sure they ate it that evening either given the events of the day).
So let’s try to recreate the Passover of long ago. We feel firmly that outside of the Maggid (telling of the exodus) existed during His day but details like “The four Questions”, “The Four Sons”, “The Five Rabbis”, “The Sages” and “Rabbi Gamliel” most likely came later (in fact, we can date a few later). Thus all these things are actually optional to the feast although we do see a value in most of them and they end with the Maggid and before any eating is done. One point however, the Maggid ends with the Kiddush, might this be the one described in Lk.22.171-19. If so the words that precede the Kiddush were said at the end of the Maggid but before the Kiddush was said. This makes sense because saying the Maggid precedes eating, and when it is completed one eats.
Using these above facts, we have compiled our best guess (so far) to format the Haggadah. Now at the beginning of Luke the Maggid is ending when Yeshua said “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you” Lk.22.15, and then Yeshua said the Kiddush (blessing of the wine). Then He followed this with the Barukh HaMotzi (blessing of the bread) and here Yeshua clearly connects this to John 6 and His sacrifice. Now we suspect it was here that Yeshua, instead of washing their hands, washed their feet much to their shock. This leads the conversation about Judas’s soon act, but most of this is limited to those closest to Yeshua (Peter and John).
Somewhere here we feel Yeshua said the blessing for the Pascal sacrifice and then the Maror. We know this because John tells us that He then cut the Lamb and dipped this into the maror, passing to each of His disciples, He said towards Judas “It is he to whom I shall give this morsel when I have dipped it” Jn.13.26. Only John heard this but Yeshua would tell the rest soon enough. This however did not satisfy the others and they continued to bubble inside as the Pascal sacrifice was consumed (no one can speak during the time the Passover is eaten, thus Yeshua spoke and then they had to remain quiet). Now after this “Hillel sandwich” (the explanation for this sandwich is further down) was eaten Yeshua takes the cup, the second cup of deliverance which He blessed before He washed their feet and again says, “This cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in My blood.” Lk.22.20. But doesn’t Luke say this was after supper? Here they have just started eating. Actually no, Luke says it was after “sup”. The word for supper is “deipnon” (1173) but in Luke we read “deipneo” (1172) which is a potion of the main meal or “sup”. This doesn’t mean the potatoes were on the plate but rather it’s more like an appetizer!
So Yeshua mentions the betrayer then distracts them with the fulfillment of Mitzvoth, and Yeshua knew until the Hillel sandwich was eaten no one would talk, and then He finished His blessing on the wine after He passed this meat by tying it also back to John 6. We say this because in John 6, Yeshua promises us that if we eat His flesh and drink His blood we shall have eternal life (Jn.7.53-54). Thus by instituting His Eucharist at the Last Supper, He was delivering all those who take Him at His word and this is why we believe this came on the second cup (deliverance). Since Catholics accept His Eucharist by His Word on faith as well as recognize Yeshua's sacrifice upon Mount Calvary we know even if we die we shall be saved! Yet the second cup is blessed before we say the Barukh HaMotzi (a different order from Matt. and Mk.) and we feel that when Yeshua said the words we would one day use in the Consecration (according to Luke's Gospel) He did so over the cup we use to drink down the Hillel sandwich full of maror and bitter lamb. Thus we see this cup as referencing His sacrifice on Calvary.
Now that this is finished Yeshua draws back to Judas but He does this while He lifts the cup, Lk.22.20, yet the others had already begun the feast. Remember it was only to John that the betrayer had been revealed at this time thus while they are eating Yeshua brings back up the betrayer but He does this in the light of shedding His blood for us. And as He speaks these words and the words of His betrayer to all, including Judas, all are forcing down the Hillel sandwich. Now from all that we read in Matt.26.20-25 and Mk.14.17-21, we see this event as occurring on the heels of Luke verse 22-23, which connects directly to Matt.26.24-25, and Mk.14.21. Now we fit in Jn.13.29-31.
You can see this clearer in the seder and how these passages do seem to fit together this way without any contradiction, but they are based on one assumption and that is that neither Matthew nor Mark put the Last Supper in it’s exact order and that Luke’s order is the most correct. One complaint we have received on this thinking is that Saint Luke was a Goy (Gentile) so how could a Goy get things correct and the Jews get them wrong? We agree that Saint Luke was probably a Goy who embraced HaMoshiach (the Messiah) through the ministry of Saint Paul, yet tradition also asserts that he was a close companion of Saint Paul and it was from this relationship we suspect that Luke gained access to the information he would later write down in the two books credited to him.
Would upholding the versions for Luke and 1Corinthians be weakening the meaning found in Matthew and Mark? We feel only if we left things there because when we read Matt.26.26-29 and Mk.14.22-25 the order is not outright, but implied from our Catholic version of our Bible. That is, we find no "then" or "after", just an "and" (although we do not have access to a Greek version with grammar) between the saying of the Kiddush and the Barukh HaMotzi. And if we are correct, then these differences aren't an inaccuracy but a "remez" or hint of a meaning that is greater beneath the text. Thus Luke's order is right on from our understanding because it matches the Seder, however it would still be impractical using this order in Mass because to recreate the events as they happened accurately we need to have the Hillel sandwich first, like the disciples did. However, for the last two thousand years Peter has been in charge and He chose the other way and it must have been for a reason (prophecy?). Thus we believe the Ruach called Matthew and Mark to write it this way to set the stage for the Sacrifice of the Mass. Besides Malachi confirms the truth of our Church’s sacrifice even as it foretells its advent, Mal.1.11-12.
Yet this change in the order that foretold our mass carries a deeper rich meaning when fitted into the meanings of the four cups. For there is another place where the Kiddush is said after the Barukh HaMotzi at supper and this comes after the supper/Hillel sandwich and before we give thanks. It is this cup that is the true cup of redemption (the other one just helped us swallow that sacrifice) and isn't it true that we see our redemption in Him only after we swallow down the truth that our sins that crucified Him? And giving thanks follows this third cup, which also makes sense because our Eucharist is the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, which the Talmud states is the only eternal sacrifice! And this also links back to the second cup through the Bread of His sacrifice that He blessed for the Hillel sandwich.
So this is our guess based on our understanding of Scripture and also how we reconciled the “apparent inconsistencies” we have been accused of having in our Brith HaDoshah. We worked this information into the Seder, but this order can be changed once you know the what and why of what we did.
Matzo:
This blessing follows the Kiddush for deliverance as we mentioned above, this Matzah will be used in making the Hillel sandwich. We say two blessing here, the first is the HaMotzi (a blessing we say before every meal) and the second is a blessing over the Mitzvoth to eat Matzah during Chag HaMotzi (which it should now be) and during the Pesach Seder. This is the Matzah, not only called by Torah but also the one our father Av’raham ate. It contained a promise that would be fulfilled in Yeshua at this very Last Supper. And just like the Promise given to Av’raham about his descendents, which was sealed with fire and blood, so too must the covenant be sealed here in blood, the blood He will soon give!
Maror:
If the bread represents the earthly manna that is about to transformed by the sacrifice, then what does the maror represent? In the Haggadah it represents slavery and for this reason most Christians see this as representing our sin and we agree, but it also means far more. Placed into this Seder it is added to the bread of affliction and the symbol of the Lamb of G-d. Thus we eat His sacrifice with the lamb substitute (or kharezet) meditating the flavors just as The Lamb of G-d mediates for us in heaven. Later the betrayer and HaMoshiach share only the Maror and the bread of affliction and we join them at table. In fact, when we get a mouthful we step into death (because getting a mouthful of Horseradish does feel like your going to die after all-OI!). Thus when this happens we must make a choice: are we Judas, the wicked son who chose his own path to damnation or are we disciples of HaMoshiach Ben Yosif (the Messiah son of Joseph, the Suffering Servant), the wise or simple sons willing to take up our cross even unto death for the love of another? We then taste this “morsel” with the lamb substitute, which represents Yeshua, Who sweetens the cross we bear, and then we get a mouthful of life without Him.
The Hillel Sandwich:
In the first century Hillel invented the sandwich, which is now called the Hillel sandwich. It is made of Matzah, Maror (Kharoset was later added) and a piece of the Pascal lamb (already explained above). This is because in Exodus 12.8: “They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.” This explains the unleavened Bread and bitter herbs (Maror) but why do we eat the Kharoset and why do we not eat the Pascal sacrifice?
We know from what we already discussed that Chag HaMotzi both predated Pesach and is perpetual, but what of the Passover feast? Is this required for all generations and if so is the lamb sacrifice? In Ex.12 we were told to keep this day as a memorial but by making the Seder plate and telling the tale through the Haggadah and showing the shank, are we not keeping this feast already? In Numbers, animal sacrifices were given but these were Temple sacrifices as Deuteronomy makes very clear, but the Temple no longer stands. Therefore, until Yeshua returns it is not so important whether you abide these statutes (Num.28.16-25 and Deut.16.1-8), but we strongly suspect only the Thanksgiving Sacrifice of our Eucharist will stand. Saint Paul clearly states “For Christ, our Pascal Lamb, has been sacrifice” (1Cor.5.7), thus only the Eucharist is the true Pascal sacrifice because it is His Body and Blood and this is only done in the Mass, not in our homes. Yet, as we stated above, we are to “step into” the disciples “shoes” for the feast and does Kharoset really do a good job of representing the sacrifice? Fact is the rabbis added this to the Seder because after they removed the lamb and added the root (not the sauce for the Maror) they needed something to dip!
Why the prohibition on lamb anyway? This is because the Temple no longer stands and Judah cannot sacrifice their lambs in any other way. But for us under grace, are we bound to the Temple? Not according to our Church we are not. She has the only true sacrifice, the Sacrifice of Life. Yeshua is our Pascal sacrifice, not the leg of Lamb we eat. With this perspective we see no contradiction on eating lamb except for those afraid of mad cow disease or eating vegetarian (think tofu). In this case a substitute can be used, even horseradish root and Kharoset, but if you choose to follow the rabbis please realize that you are really substituting the lamb not the maror.
Each will have to decide exactly how they make the Hillel sandwich. Yeshua clearly made His of the Pascal sacrifice and dipped this in the Maror (sauce) and did not use the root or Kharoset. The reason we suspect that some of the other narratives have all those at table dippings is because we suspect the first sandwich made was made by the one who presides over this feast, which Yeshua clearly was. After He had assembled and handed out the first set of sandwiches that He said the blessing over, then it was all right for those assembled with Him to make the further sandwiches themselves. Yet in our Seder we do things a little differently by isolating the later bread and eating this alone to better show the differences between the sin of Judas (mortal) and the sin of Saint Peter (venial).
Other ways to follow is the Orthodox method of dipping the root in Kharoset, or the Reform way of dipping Matzah, or devising something else. Whatever method you use we tried to anticipate this. By using the Gospels as our source of information we created more than one way to keep this feast based on your particular Seder plate and preferences, that is: by having Him both dip and pass and dip in unison. Then we take the cup in our hands and speak the words of Luke connecting the cross and the blood of the covenant and this in turn to our sin, the unforgivable sin such as Judas bore. Thus His sacrifice covers all who believe even those whose crimes seem untenable to human eyes. So we eat His cross and taste Judas’ punishment in compassion for him just as we spilled the wine before for the servants of Pharaoh.
Shulchan Orech
This is where we have the festive meal, usually consisting of matzah ball soup, turkey with matzah stuffing, and bitter lettuce leaves like spinach, kale and collards. We usually sweeten those bitter lettuces and mix with other vegetables. Knishes and Kugel are also popular as well as egg dishes. You can find some of our recipes here Recipes and elsewhere on the net like the SOAR recipe archives and the Jewish Recipe Archives. Every part of this feast is eaten even the “desert” because after the afikomen is eaten we can eat no more until morning. However, it seems that the afikomen was also added after the destruction of the Temple. But in Yeshua’s day the Hillel sandwich may have been the main meal, although vegetables and other side dishes might have been eaten.
Tzafun:
This is the Afikomen, that piece of Matzah the leader broke off at the beginning and wrapped in a napkin to hide away. Since we have reached the end, the children now search for it, which also happens to revive their spirits just before the last blessings and prayers. When they return the leader traditionally give them presents for their hard work. Then the Matzah is past out and everyone eats it. After it is found and eaten the younger children can be sent to bed as the rest of us continue the Seder to its end.
We see the Afikomen as representing the manna that followed the exodus (this was followed by the joy our fathers felt on coming into the Promise Land). Therefore in Christianity this represents the Bread of Life, the Living Manna that follows the cup of redemption (which we already alluded to above). So the middle matzah represents Yeshua broken for our sins and the afikomen as His return to bring life eternal to those who ate of His flesh and drank of His blood, our Eucharist.
Berach
Here in this spot is the only place that the Barukh HaMotzi and Kiddush are in the order found elsewhere in the Scripture (Matthew and Mark). The only difference from these places is that we do not drink the wine as soon as we say blessing, but first say a larger blessing that ends the feast. Just as the Afikomen ends the eating, this cup of wine officially ends all drinking. After saying the Kiddush we explain why these two are found most often together and why we are called to say them apart only in the Seder once a year. We added this part because of a movement that has recently arisen to proclaim the only time we should keep the Last Supper is at Pesach and no where else. If this true then the pagans are correct and the Brith HaDoshah does contradict and is therefore not of the True G-d. However we strongly feel we have proven that they seem to contradict for the reason that G-d was setting two orders, one for the Seder and one for the Mass.
Thus we proclaim in our Seder the reason we (as the body) keep this feast at other times of the year. It proclaims His death (1Cor.11.26), it brings us together as an united body (1Cor.10.17) and we remember the cross that He bore for OUR sins (Lk.22.19). We are not so holy that we can’t benefit from frequent reminders of His gracious gift. Lastly, Malachi shows that in 70 CE, when Rome destroyed the Temple, one of reasons it was destroyed is that Judah’s leaders were claiming the L-rd’s Table was polluted and that it should be despised, Mal.1.12. The truth is that is was pure and true as Malachi also writes, “pure offering” with pleasing incense which was offered among the nations was offered “from the rising of sun to it setting”, Mal.1.11.
Then after we teach our Eucharist we say some psalms and prayers. We include in the Seder the maximum number we know, but you can say as much as you desire.
Then we thank G-d for the meal. This is a prayer that is said responsively by some, or spoken by all. Sometimes it is dependent upon the day (i.e. Shabbos) or whether you have a quorum (ten men or adults, depending on the level of Orthodoxy).
Elijah’s Cup
We diverge from the usual feast here as well because in the New Covenant Yeshua’s return will be preceded by two Prophets we call Lampstands. For this reason we fill two cups, the first for Y’hoshua and the other for Zerab’babel. We do not fill a cup for Eli’jah because Yeshua tells us this was John the Baptist “if you are willing to accept it”, Matt.11.14. If that is true, then why did John say, “I am not” when the Pharisees asked him if he was Eli’jah, Jn.1.21? We suspect this was to fulfill Zech.13.5, the prophecy of the no-prophet, whose authority will be based not upon their proclamations of who they are but rather upon the truth in the Words they speak. We believe Y’hoshua and Zerab’babel will be the same.
We’ve added to the original blessing and Psalm by reflecting upon our Church’s mission in the end times. We feel as Catholics we should be looking to our Church’s Passover before Yeshua’s return and not Judah’s, which already happened at the hands of Rome and during the Holocaust. We chose in place of the other psalm Ps.80.14-19 and added to this the word Come to call forth for Yeshua’s return.
If interested the original psalm of this Seder is:
Pour out Your wrath upon the nations that do not acknowledge You, and upon the kingdoms that do not call upon Your Name. For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation. Pour out Your indignation upon them, and let the wrath of Your anger overtake them. Pursue them with anger, and destroy them from beneath the heavens of the L-rd.
Hillel Nirtzah Ps.115-118
This is another one of those beautiful psalms, which our Church adores. It also fits extremely well into the Church’s waiting for the end times and the part she says she must play because it speaks of trust, of faith, of deliverance, of His love for those who are willing take up their cross out of love for Him, of the grafted-in, of giving thanks, of victory despite enormous odds, and Yeshua’s return.
Nirtzoh
Then we say the end of the meal prayer, which is filled with deep Messianic significance and so we end this with the same refrain our Church cries in earnest hope- Come!
Then we say and/or sing if you know the tune “L’shana Haba’ah B’Yerushala-yim!” or “Next year in Jerusalem!” However, in light of the fact that when we return it will be with Yeshua, therefore we change the words to “L’shana Haba’ah B’Yerushala-yim Habb’nuyah Uv’yamaynu B’zo Hachadashah!,” which means “Next Year in Jerusalem built anew and in our day the New Jerusalem!” because this is the City of G-d which we sing about and that song fits well the part of the feast.
There is a traditional song fraught in meaning called Chad Gadya. We have this song transliterated into Hebrew in our Seder, but we follow with the English text. Here it is in its entirety in English:
Only One Kid: And the Holy One, Blessed is He, came and killed the Angel of Death that slew the slaughterer (Levitical priest) that slaughtered the ox (sin sacrifice) that drank the water (Torah) that quenched the fire (judgment) that burned the stick (shoot of the plant) that beat the dog (Goyim) that bit the cat that ate the kid that Father bought for two zuzim (prominent, 2104, events?)
One kid, one Pascal sacrifice given twice which we learn of today. One, which saved us from pharaoh and slavery, and one that saved us from sin and death. These are the two acts of Prominence that Avinu bought through the blood of His Son!
This is followed by the final prayer invoking the Name of both the Father and His Son and for His Church which is light for Him in an evil world.
Yom Tov
Shalom
Copyright (c)2001
