Why We Celebrate Passover
Though Travis and I are Christian and are a members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we have found a lot of meaning in celebrating Passover with making the ritualistic Passover Seder. I don't know if we will do it every year, but this is the third year we have participated and I still really love it.
For those who do not know much about the Passover Seder, it is a symbolic and ritualistic dinner that marks the beginning of Passover (also known as The Feast of the Unleavened Bread and the festival to mark the beginning of spring). It is to commemorate the freeing of the children of Israel from slavery and their journey in the wilderness with Moses. Though we are Christians and believe that the law of Moses was fulfilled with the coming of Jesus, we still have found a lot of meaning in reflecting on the symbolism of this meal and how it turns us toward Christ.
The Seder can be very involved with the prayers, scripture reading, and other parts, but Travis and I have made our own script using parts of the books we have that help us find significance in the symbolism of the meal.
Matzah--The unleavened bread. We have bought matzah in the past, but this year we just decided to use saltines. We have debated whether we should make our own matzah and maybe one day we will, but see this recipe for how it is made and maybe you will see that it is not as easy as it may seem. Though it does not have yeast there are qualifications that matzah has to meet in order to be kosher for the meal. This represents how the children of Israel left quickly and did not have time to make bread with yeast and so we eat it in remembrance of their journey to freedom.
Maror--The bitter herbs. We eat this in the meal to remind us of the bitterness the children of Israel endured in Ancient Egypt and likewise, we experience bitterness in this life. We used horseradish for this part.
Haroseth/Charoset--The mortar. This can be a mixture of apples, fruits, and nuts or mashed potatoes and is used to remind us of the mortar the children of Israel used (along with bricks) in Ancient Egypt to build storehouses.
Karpas-- The vegetable. It can be parsley or lettuce that is used to dip into salt-water or vinegar at the beginning of the meal. We used spinach.
Zeroa--The roasted lamb. This is to remember the sacrifice given on the night of the last plague in Egypt and today it reminds us of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all of us.
Beitzah--The hard-boiled egg. This is also to remember the sacrifice known as korban chagigah. I like to think of it as a reminder of the resurrection and new life during the meal.
Wine--We used grape juice and we drink it during the meal several times after saying a prayer of thanksgiving.
My Favorite Part
The part that I always love is when we sing Dayenu. Dayenu means "it would have been enough" and we read different things about the story of the children of Israel that helps me to see how God took care of them. It helps us see how He will continue to take care of us too.
"Had He divided the sea for us, and not brought us through it dry-shod, it should have been enough! Dayenu!
Had He brought us through it dry-shod and not drowned our oppressors in it, it would have been enough! Dayenu!
Had He drowned our oppressors in it and not sustained us in the wilderness for forty years, it would have been enough! Dayenu!..."
I think of this in my life and the many blessings I have had. After we did the Seder and were just eating our lamb, potatoes, eggs, and spinach, Travis and I were reflecting on our blessings this year, and I thought to myself "Dayenu" many times.
Had we been given our health and not financial security, it would have been enough.
Had we been given financial security and not our warm house to live in, it would have been enough.
Had we been given our warm house to live in and not our beautiful baby girl, it would have been enough.
I feel like I could go on all day, but essentially it is good to step back every once in awhile and just think, "Dayenu!" It would have been enough to have one or two blessings, but how great is God that I am given many blessings!
"How much more so, multiplied many times, are the blessings that God has bestowed upon us!"
He brought the children of Israel out from Egypt, into the Land of Israel--a promised land.
I know of a surety he is leading me to my personal promised land.
I love how at the end we say, "Next year in Jerusalem" because I believe it is a symbol of looking forward and having hope. Maybe we feel like slaves right now to a lot of different things. Maybe we feel like we aren't quite in the promised land, but we can look forward and hope that next year, we may be in Jerusalem.
In this week leading up to Easter, celebrating Passover has helped me see and understand so many blessings that we have and to think of Jesus Christ. In the crazy vicissitudes of life, it is hard to remember the things that matter most or to remember that God loves us, but I am grateful for this reminder we have every year.
And if you are needing a little pick-me-up, I say to you, "Next year in Jerusalem!"
