By Joel Weiner
My wife Elaine and I recently constituted an unofficial but enthusiastic Lowertown delegation to an international Passover dinner on Orchid Island in Florida. All told, we were about 65 people and, except for us, a woman from St. Lazare, Quebec, a man from New Zealand and a Dutch couple, the rest were American snowbirds.
About half of us were Jewish, fulfilling religious obligations or merely enjoying the festivities just as our ancestors have for ages. The other half were Christians who wanted to replicate an event that Jesus attended regularly during His lifetime.
As related in the Book of Exodus, God explained to Moses how the Jews would be spared a harsh punishment in store for their Egyptian captors and ordered them to always remember that blessing by eating unleavened bread for a week at an appointed time each year: And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; you shall keep it a feast by ordinance forever. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread….
This divine decree was promulgated even before God issued the Ten Commandments that Moses carried down from Mount Sinai 15 centuries ago and has been obeyed by Jews ever since. Jesus, who was born Jewish, also celebrated Passover, as described in Matthew and other Gospels: Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.
The Passover meal is called a Seder, from the Hebrew word for “order”, because there is a prescribed order to how the ritual unfolds. Before the main meal, a number of symbolic foods are tasted, accompanied by prayers and songs that give thanks for specific aspects or events before and after the Exodus.
The most widely known Seder food is unleavened bread itself, known as matzah (or matzo) and almost always available in Ottawa supermarkets. It is the result of baking dough without yeast so quickly that it does not rise just as the ancient Israelites, pressed for time during the escape from Egypt, had to do. Many people, both Jews and Gentiles, eat matzah year-round.
Other symbolic Passover fare includes: roasted lamb shank bone (or roasted beet for vegetarians) that commemorates the sacrifice made the night before the flight from Egypt; a roasted egg to signify life and renewal; salt water that symbolizes the tears and sweat of enslavement; bitter herbs, like horseradish and lettuce, that recall the bitterness of slavery; a sweet mixture of apples, nuts, wine and cinnamon that represents the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to make bricks; and a green vegetable like parsley, to symbolize the freshness of spring.
Six of these symbolic foods are arranged on special Seder plates like the one in the accompanying photograph. And each person is obliged to drink four cups of wine (or grape juice) that represent God’s four promises: I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you from their slavery, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments. And I will take you to me for a people.
Every Seder’s highlight is when the youngest person present poses The Four Questions, each seeking an explanation to an overarching query:“Why is this night different from all other nights?” The answers are given either by the Seder leader or by other participants who take turns responding. Together, the responses provide an account of the Exodus as set out in the Bible. They also fulfill another of God’s commandments that the story be related annually: You shall tell your child on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
The length of a Seder can vary considerably, depending on the community, and last as long as four hours or more. Given the interdenominational nature of our Florida Seder, we opted for a very short version, just 40 minutes. Then everyone enjoyed a delicious Jewish meal of gefilte fish, traditional chicken soup with matzah balls, roast beef, chicken with apricots, potatoes and other vegetables, and fabulous desserts
We also took another departure from tradition by adopting the Israeli approach of having only one Seder rather than two, as is the case elsewhere in the world. Jewish holidays begin at sundown and, until modern time-keeping and communications were invented, Jews living outside Israel could never be certain about exactly what day and time to start. As result, they developed a custom to hold Seders on two successive evenings in order to be sure. But, over the centuries, that’s never been a problem in the Holy Land so Israelis only have one Seder.
Jews still use their ancient calendar for religious observances and holidays. Accordingly, Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nissan, the day on which God led them out of Egypt and one that often falls around Easter. Many scholars believe that the Last Supper was a Seder, the first or second Passover meal. In fact, both this year and last, the first Seder was held on April 19, the same day as Good Friday.