Friday 10 April 2009

The Passover Seder

On Wednesday evening we had the privilege of taking part in a celebration of Passover. I have in the past enjoyed the Passover Seder on 2 occasions but this time a member of the team at Pilgrims Hall decided to invite a few of us involved with the hall to share in this celebration with her. I think more Christians are becoming aware of the importance of this occasion in Jewish history.


So we arrive in the beautiful oak panelled hall of Pilgrims Hall which includes this beautiful oak staircase.


The Passover Seder is an ancient ceremonial meal which can be traced back to the Exodus from Egypt. The Seder tells the story of the redemption of the people Israel from Egypt and foretells an even greater redemption, of all mankind through the sacrifice of the Messiah, Y'shua, Jesus, our Passover Lamb





Here we have progressed to the ritual hand washing before partaking of the Passover Plate where we find:



Karpas - Parsley, or similar green representing life.



Hagigah - A baked egg, reminiscent of the Free-Will Offering that accompanied the Pascal Offering, and a token of grief for the destruction of the Temple. At the same time a symbol of new life.



Z'roa - The shank-bone of a lamb, to represent the Pascal Offering.



Haroseth - A compsition of apple, almonds, raisins and cinnamon, symbolising the mortar used by the Israelites during the Egyptian bondage.



Hazareth and Maror - the bitter herb (whole and ground) which typifies the bitterness of slavery.







We are now at the point of celebrating the feast which for us includes beautiful roast lamb from our own fields at Pilgrims Hall





Our meal was fairly intimate as there were only 18 of us and much of the ritual(which I have only given a glimpse of here) was interspersed with song and worship.






As Passover symbolises new life, a very significant part of our time together was looking to God to reveal the things that had held us back from being all that we were meant to be in Christ in the past year and trusting Him for newness of life in the coming year.
For new visitors to my blog, Pilgrims Hall is a Christian Conference and Resource Centre that I am involved with and there are many photos and information on previous posts which can be accessed through clicking on Pilgrims Hall on the 'labels' in the right hand sidebar.
Sending Easter Blessings to all who visit.

21 comments:

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

It sounds like a lovely celebration! I wish you a most joyful Easter weekend!!

Isobel said...

Happy Easter to you and all your family, dear Barbara. x

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

I was just looking at the Passover celebration and meanings recently. There is so much wonderful symbolism in the entire celebration. How wonderful to enjoy this experience, and thank you for sharing a bit of it with us too.

Happy Easter to you. And blessings.

Sara

Patsy said...

Thanks for letting us in on The Passover Seder celebration. Have a Happy Easter celebration.
Patsy

Vee said...

Easter blessings to you, as well, Barbara. Your Seder certainly looks wonderful. What a meaningful celebration for you blessed 18. Thank you for including the explanations and the photographs. Very interesting!

Pilgrims Hall is a beautiful location, too.

Winifred said...

That looks like a lovely place and what a wonderful celebration you had.

Hope you enjoy the remainder of the holidays.

Elizabeth said...

What a fascinating experience.
Even though, as New Yorkers, we have lots of Jewish friends we never actually went to a Passover seder.
And an elegant location too.
HAPPY EASTER to you and Alan

Aqeela said...

I just wanted to pop by and say that i hope everything goes well with your daughters c-section in 5 days, you must be so excited at the prospect of another grandchild. God willing baby will come into the world safely, please let us know when he/she has arrived! I am due in just 3 weeks now, i feel prepared and excited, Hopefully God has planned for my pregnancy and labour to be a success!

Aqeela xx

Andrea said...

How beautiful, both outwardly and inwardly. So very meaningful. You said you took time to look at things that may have hindered your lives, keeping you from all God has for you. Oh, what an act of holy surrender! Many Easter blessings to you!

Andrea

Susan said...

This was also our 3rd Sedar to participate in this year. What a wonderful thing. Everyone should avail themselves to one. Yours sounds lovely indeed.
Susan

duopastorale said...

I did this once. It is so meaningful. A very blessed Easter to you Barbara!!

Bernideen's Tea Time Blog said...

I wish I coulod have been there! Wonderful!

Maxine said...

This seems like it was a precious time of fellowship and reflection.Sounds wonderful. Thanks for your visit to my blog yesterday. So nice meeting you and a blessed Resurrection Day to all of you tomorrow!

Willow said...

Thank you for sharing the celebration with us! I have participated a few times in Passover and found it so very meaningful.

Happy Easter! He is risen!

Judy said...

A most meaningful celebration! Wishing you many blessings this Easter.

Paula said...

What a wonderful mean and I love the way each food symbolizes something.
Have a wonderful Easter Day!

Anonymous said...

Happy Easter Barbara. Thank you for reminding me of this tradition. Pilgrim Hall looks like a beautiful serene and loved place.

Merisi said...

Thank you for sharing your Passover celebration!

Happy Easter to you and your loved ones!

Deanna said...

You have a lovely blogspot. I will enjoy reading this and see first hand what you have to share with us.
I became a follower today!
God richly bless you.
Deanna from the Kansas Flinthills

Mary said...

Hi, Barbara. I saw your picture and comment at Deanna's blog. I loved your pictures. We used to be stationed in England, and our younger son was born there. Such a lovely country. I'll never forget my time there. We took our son there two Christmasses ago to see where he was born, and he loved it! Blessings!

Maree said...

Thanks so much for leaving a comment on my blog....now I can reconnect with yours...it is lovely!

Your photos of Passover Seder are so meaningful and special.

Have a beautiful day!