The Passover

   
    Jews don't ever want to forget the miracles of God, so they have holidays to help them remember. The most sacred and serious Jewish holiday is the Passover which tells the story of Moses and the Israelites freedom from Egyptian bondage.  Today we celebrated an abbreviated Seder meal, also known as the Passover.  An actual Passover evening usually takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to complete.  Ours took about 20 minutes.   We did this so that we could better understand the symbolism and the significance of the sacred covenant of the sacrament.  There are many things about the Passover which we did not have time to discuss.  Here are a few of the points that are important to remember.

 In the Passover feast certain foods represent parts of the story and help us to remember it.

     1.  Sky blue colors = Israels colors

     2. A pillow = symbol of reclining.  The Passover is eaten while reclining to symboliz that the Jews are able to recline and rest as freed people.  They also eat the meal with shoes on their feet and a staff in their hand to represent the haste that the meal was first eaten with.  The Israelites were prepared to flee Egypt on a moments notice.

     3. Sweeping up the crumbs on the floor = Sweeping or cleaning the house in preparation for the Passover to make sure that there are no traces of leavening (yeast in bread), leavening is often considered a symbol of corruption or evil.  In the week of the passover, every trace of leavening is removed from Jewish households and communities. By sweeping the house, you are removing all evil.  This act is highly symbolic of taking upon us the covenants of the new testament.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may b a new lump, as ye are unleavened.  For even Christ our passover is sacrifieced forus: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness: but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 

     4. The bitter herbs = the green herbs that grow in the springtime, which is the time of year that the Israelites were freed.  Eating bitter herbs brings tears to your eyes and represents the bitterness of slavery and oppression.  When we are enslaved by our sins, it is only through Godly sorrow that we can repent and be freed by the Atonement.
     5. The salt water = tears of affliction, and also the Red Sea.  The symbolic food is dipped into the salt water to remind Jews of the affliction suffered in Egypt.  We are also reminded of the tears of the Savior as he entered into Jerusalem for the final Passover of his life.

Luke 19: 41, 42 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, if thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

     6. The egg = represents a temple offering and new birth of springtime. Passover occurs in the springtime of every year.  This symbol was carried over into Christianity as an Easter symbol of springtime renewal.
     7. The lamb = sacrificed so that the blood of the lamb could mark the homes of the Israelites so that the angel of death would pass them by.

In the time of the Holy Temple, the Israelites would bring a pascal lamb in the afternoon before the Passover to sacrificed in the temple.  A portion of the sacrifice was returned to the family to be used in the ceremonial meal.

This is symbolic of the Savior, the lamb of God, who was sacrificed so that we could be free from the bonds of sin, and so that we could overcome the affects of spiritual and physical death through His Atonement.  The Savior was sacrificed on the Passover at the same time as the lambs were slain in the Temple.  His woudl be the final sacrifice by the shedding of blood, replaced with the new testament where we make the sacrifice of a broken heart and an contrite spirit.

     8. Matzah/unleavened bread = 3 matzahs represent the High Priesthood, the Levitical Priesthood, and the lay member.  The Israelites left Egpyt so fast that they did not have time to allow their bread to rise.  It baked in the hot sun.  It also represents the manna that God gave to the Israelites to eat in the wilderness.  As the meal is served, the father, or the man carrying the greatest authority during the passover meal, breaks the matzah and shares it with others.  In the case of the last supper, Jesus was the head of the feast and broke the bread to share with his disciples. In the case of the last supper, Jesus was the head of the feast and broke the bread to share with his disciples.

     9. Afikomon =  the most important symbol of the Passover, it is broken and one half is wrapped in a napkin and hidden.  Later it will be found and exchanged for a gift.  All celibrants are required to partake of the afikomon.The afikomon is to remind Jews of people everywhere who are poor and hungry, and call to their minds those who still are enslaved or oppressed.  Once the afikomon is found it reminds us that all mankind is invited to enjoy liberty, justice, and peace.

 As Jesus Christ became the bread of life and ended blood sacrifice, the afikomon replaced the lamb.  The symbolism of the Saviors's suffering, burial, and resurrection is unmistakable, since the matzah/bread, already pierced and striped during its preparation, is broken, wrapped in linen napkin, and buried or hidden, then it is brought forth again, and ransomed for a gift. It was the afikomon that Jesus used as the sacramental bread during the last Supper.  Jesus blessed the bread that represented manna from heaven, passed it to his disciples, and told them to eat it in remembrance of his body. This bread became the sacrament bread that we partake in remembrance of Christ.  It appears that the Savior ate nothing after blessing and passing this bread, but went straight to Gethsemane, trial, and death. 

      10. The Charoset(apple dish) =  the mortar the Israelites used to make bricks for the Egyptians.  It is sweet because it also represents the sweetness of hope that the Israelite slaves had.

 In the last days of Savior's life, though though he would suffer pain beyond comprehension and death, yet the Savior taught his disciples to be of good cheer.  These are some of his words spoken to the disciples during the last supper.

John 14:27-28  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you.  If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

      11.  The Wine = the fruit of the vine represents the joy that comes from being saved.There are five cups of wine that are traditionally poured for the passover meal. They represent Passover Covenants.  The master of the house will pour and bless the wine, he takes a sip then everyone else may sip. It was likely the third or fourth cup of wine that the Savior used as the sacramental cup.

He blessed the wine, "the cup of joy" which represented the blood that He shed for the remission of sins.  When we repent and are forgiven we experience this great joy of the Atonement.  After this cup he stated that he "would not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God come...this cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." Luke 22: 15-20.  He did not partake of the fifth cup (which was not portrayed in our Seder) because that is the part of the Passover covenant that is symbolically tied to the second coming.  He did not want his disciples to connect the newly instituted sacrament with the second coming, because it was not time yet for the second coming to be fulfilled.  This is better understood by the following scripture:

Doctrine and Covenants 27:5-14   Behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth, and with Moroni, whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon,...And also with Elias,...And also John the son of Zaharias,...And also Elijah,...And also Joseph and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham, ...And also Michael, or Adam, the father of all,...And also Peter, and James, and John, ...And also with all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world. 

     12. Elijah's Plate = A door is opened for Elijah, a seat is reserved, and songs are sung in expectation of Elijah.  The fourth cup of wine is poured as if to greet Elijah the long-awaited messenger of the final redemption of mankind from all oppression. Each year, Jews await his coming in great anticipation.

 What only the disciples and Jesus knew, was that Elijah had come on the mount of transfiguration heralding the Messiah as was prophesied.  Again, on April 3, 1836, while millions of Jews were going through the festive ritual of anticipating Elijah - he came- to Joseph Smith the prophet in Kirtland, Ohio.

Doctrine and Covenants 110: 13-16  After the vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said: Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi - testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes - to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, 
lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse - Therefore, the keys are committed into your hand; 
and by this yea may know that the great and dreadful day of the lord is near, even at the doors.

      Jews honor their sacred Passover holiday because it helps them remember significant and miraculous events in their history.  In a religious Jewish home, a weekly reminder of the first Passover is done with a "Kiddus".  Just like in the Passover Meal, the master of the house always pours a sip of wine with an appropriate blessing, he sips first, then everyone else may sip.  He then breaks the bread, says a blessing, eats the first piece, and then everyone else follows his example.  The prayers said include a promise that in the future a greater deliverance would occur than the first Passover.

     Today we honor the Sabbath day and the partaking of the sacrament because it helps us to remember the miracle of the sacred Atonement of our Savior. Weekly we take the bread that is broken, blessed and and first eaten by the presiding Elder. The water (used instead of wine) is then blessed,  the presiding authority partakes first, and then everyone follows. This is done in remembrance of the greater deliverance provided by the Savior's atonement.  From the time of the last supper to this day, Jesus wants his disciples to remember that He is their deliverer.  He delivered them from the bondage of sin and the spiritual death that results from sin through the Atonement, the way he delivered their forefathers from slavery in Egypt.  And he delivered them from mortality or physical death through the power of his resurrection. Please watch this Special Witness of Jesus Christ, Dallin Oaks, as he talks about the sacrament.