Image: A Seder at Mark and Dawn’s house. Photo by Linda Burnett.
Dear Friends,
I’m so glad that you will be joining us for seder this Passover. The seder is a core experience of Jewish life and hospitality. We’re glad to have you.
After a few experiences with guests at the seder table, I’ve learned that it helps if you get a little orientation ahead of time. So, some history:
The seder goes back to the time just after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 of the common era (which you perhaps call “70 AD.”) Our people were distraught at the loss of our Temple, at the violence of the Roman armies, and we looked desperately for a way to make sure that the central story of our heritage, our deliverance from Egypt, would be handed down intact.
You see, up until that time it was our custom to travel to Jerusalem for the festival every year. It is one of three such “pilgrimage festivals” in Judaism. Families would travel long distances to camp in the valleys and hills around Jerusalem. On the last day before the festival, the head of each household would carry a lamb or goat down to the Temple, where the priests would slaughter it ritually and begin the process of roasting it before they handed the roast back to the householder. Then he (usually he) would return to the family and they would finish roasting the meat, munching on unleavened bread (matzah) and bitter herbs as was commanded in the Torah. While all this went on, there was storytelling by the elders and children, telling the story of our deliverance from Egypt. That’s how Passover was celebrated while the Temple still stood.
After the Temple was destroyed, we could no longer have the animal sacrifices, because we can only make those sacrifices in the Temple. Our elders made the decision to use the most powerful teaching practice of the time to transmit our story. That practice was the symposium banquet, a Greek custom at which wealthy free men reclined around a table, enjoying food and wine and discussing important issues. So from that time to this, we recline around the table, using the Haggadah, a script, to discuss our story at a level that everyone at the table can enjoy, linking our story to music and the tastes and odors of delicious food.
That’s what the Passover Seder is: a sacred moment in which we pass on the heritage of our people, experiencing it anew every year. The seder has served us well, seeing us through centuries of persecution and exile. It differs from the symposium in that we make the declaration “Let all who are hungry come and eat:” the learning offered at the seder is for anyone who is hungry for it, not only the privileged. Men, women and children participate at the seder table.
You may have heard from someone about links to your own Christian story. It’s true: Passover (Pesach) is mentioned in your New Testament. The gospels say that the events leading up to Easter took place during the Passover pilgrimage to Jerusalem. However, it is not true that the “Last Supper” was a Passover seder. Think about it: the Temple was still standing in the year 33; it would be standing for 37 more years. Jesus never went to a Passover seder, although as an observant Jew, he certainly took part in the Passover observances of his time: the sacrifices, the storytelling, and the unleavened bread.
So here’s what I ask: when you come to sit at my seder table, be there for a Jewish experience. I’m inviting you into my world on one of the holiest nights of its year. Just as I would not come into your church for Christmas services and tell everyone about all the Jewish content in the service, don’t come to a seder table to teach about Jesus. We both know that there are connections, and if you feel powerfully about that, press your minister or priest for interfaith dialogue events. There are many days of the year when those would be appropriate. Christmas, Easter, Rosh HaShanah and Passover are not those days; they are days when each community has its own important work to do.
I’m glad you are coming to my seder table, and I hope that you have a wonderful evening with us. Pesach sameach! (PAY-sokh sah-MAY-ahkh) – Happy Passover!
L’shalom,
Rabbi Ruth Adar
P.S. – For more advice about getting the most out of your first seder read Seven Ways to be a Great Passover Guest.
I have never been to a Seder but would love to experience this!
Kristy, I hope you have an opportunity someday. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
This will give me a fresh intro to Seder this year…many thanks! I have been using an excerpt from the introduction portion of the Reform Haggadah that tells history about what was going on in the 1st century. I think that what you have shared here is actually great for both Christian and Jewish people coming to a Seder….most of us do not know much about this history and it is so helpful and important to know.
Today is finally the day to clean house, make charoset, and go over the Hagaddah. There will be 9 at the table this year….ages 10 to 73 and I am the only Jewish person. These are friends who are like family and have been coming to Seder for more than 15 years. You would smile to hear the room erupt in Hebrew blessings…wine, shehechianu, and more.
OK, time to get rockin’! Big day to try to get ready. I hope you have a restful first night and a joyous second seder. Thank you for all the insights, teachings, and wisdom you share so generously.
Teme, thank you so much! You make me wish for a “Star Trek transporter” so that I could visit!
Thank you for another excellent post, Rabbi! I didn’t know the Seder only started in 70CE. Thanks for clarifying that Jesus was not at a Seder table. I’d heard that myself so many times. Gosh now that I think about it, of course he wasn’t, because they were eating normal (leavened) bread!
It is a common misconception, Anne. Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!
Thank you for this. I’m heading to my first Seder tonight and I appreicate both blog posts!
I hope you have a wonderful experience!