The Seder

Before covering more regulations for the Passover, let’s get an idea as to what the Seder is.

The modern-day celebration of the Passover is called the Seder, and it is barely a shadow of what the original Passover celebration was.

The Seder (from Wikipedia and YouTube)

There is a brief 4 minute video on YouTube which discusses the various ways Seder is celebrated today. What ought to stand out is, this seems to bear no resemblance to the Passover which we are studying.

The table setting is a screenshot from the YouTube video. The foods which are presented here are not universal, but then, very little in Judaism is. Do you see what is missing? Lamb. What is the most fundamental element of the Passover? The lamb. What does the lamb represent? Jesus Christ paying for our sins on the Roman cross. So what is fundamentally missing from Judaism? Their Savior.

Wikipedia: Seder customs include telling the story, discussing the story, drinking four cups of wine, eating matza, partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder plate, and reclining in celebration of freedom. The Seder is the most commonly celebrated Jewish ritual, performed by Jews all over the world.

Observed by     Jews, Samaritans, other groups claiming affiliation with Israelites

Significance:     To retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt

Celebrations     In Jewish practice, one or two festive Seder meals on the first two nights

Date 15th day of Nisan

Related to Three Pilgrimage Festivals (particularly Shavuot which follows 49 days from the second night of Passover)

Table set for the Passover Seder (a photograph); from Wikipedia.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover_Seder accessed July 8, 2021.

See also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzsuL9U1a_k

My point here is, we do not have two religions—Christianity and Judaism—which have their basis in the Old Testament. There are few celebrations or customs which are more important than the Passover; and yet, the popular celebration of this evening meal in Judaism today bears little resemblance to the customs clearly defined in the Old Testament.

Please do not think that this is some sort of antisemitic viewpoint. It is simply a fact that modern-day Jews, who observe the tenets of Judaism, do not fully embrace the teachings which we are studying. What takes place today in the faithful Jewish home bears little resemblance to the rituals as described in the Scriptures.

Part of what we are learning is, Judaism as practiced today, is not an adherence to the Old Testament (and a rejection of the New Testament). Judaism today is a celebration and an observation of the teachings of rabbis over a very long period of time. It is not a faithful practice of the Mosaic teachings which we are studying.

As an aside: this does not mean that a form of Judaism will not crop up, more faithful to the original text of the Old Testament. There is always the possibility that some form of Judaism will arise that is much more faithful to Moses than the many forms of Judaism observed today.

It would not surprise me in the least that the Temple is rebuilt, at some point in time, and many of the historic traditions which we are studying, reinstated. I am not saying that this is going to happen; I am simply saying that it could.