For the past several years, I have been a part of a bible study lead by Darren at his and his wife Sue’s house. Darren is a completed Jew, as he calls himself, meaning that he is Jewish and believes that Jesus was the Christ. Every year on the Thursday before Good Friday and Easter, we celebrate the Passover. This year was much smaller than last year (by about 30 people), but in a way that makes it much more intimate. 
I went early to help with getting the table set up. As you can tell by the picture, getting the table set up entails much more than just setting the place settings! There are several items that need to be on the table for each person (or every couple of people) and then, more specifically, a Passover Plate needs to be made up. The Passover Plate, also called the Seder Plate, includes a total of 7 items that symbolize Jewish slavery in Egypt, 6 of the items are on a single plate and include the following:
Bitter herbs :: symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery which the Jews endured in Egypt;
- Charoses [the “c” is silent] :: representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to make bricks in Egypt;
- Saltwater and parsley (karpas) for dipping :: symbolizing the salty tears that the Jews shed in their slavery in Egypt;
- A lamb bone (Zeroa) :: symbolizing the lamb slain for the Passover meal and used for the blood to the doorposts; and
- A hard boiled egg (Beitzah) :: representing the festival sacrifice eaten at the meal.
The 7th item, placed on a separate plate, is matzah bread (unleavened bread). Three unbroken pieces are used and separated from each other by cloths or napkins. 
Also on the table is gefilte fish (all I can say about that is ICK!!!) and wine, lots and lots of wine. I had purchased a bottle of Shiraz at the Château Tanunda in the Barossa Valley just outside of Adelaide, Australia, specifically to bring for Passover this year, and it was yu-um-my!
I’m not going to write about every single thing we did because you can pretty much Google it and read about it anywhere. I’ll just comment on some of the things I find significant and/or yummy! :) The wine, of course, is always good! I love the Charoses…it is an apple and cinnamon relish to go with the matza bread, and is delish! I also love the matza ball soup, which is fabulous.
Also on the table is gefilte fish (all I can say about that is ICK!!!) and wine, lots and lots of wine. I had purchased a bottle of Shiraz at the Château Tanunda in the Barossa Valley just outside of Adelaide, Australia, specifically to bring for Passover this year, and it was yu-um-my!
I’m not going to write about every single thing we did because you can pretty much Google it and read about it anywhere. I’ll just comment on some of the things I find significant and/or yummy! :) The wine, of course, is always good! I love the Charoses…it is an apple and cinnamon relish to go with the matza bread, and is delish! I also love the matza ball soup, which is fabulous. 
One of the other things that is very cool is that Darren reads the blessings in Hebrew, which is pretty awesome to hear! The youngest son in the household reads the “Four Questions” in Hebrew, and Sam actually does that! (Why is this night different from all other nights? Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matza, but on this night we eat matza? Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables, but on this night we eat bitter herbs? Why is it on all other nights we do not dip even once, but on this night we dip twice? Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position? (the first question is an “introductory” question.))
Each year, Darren focuses on something different for Passover. One year, we discussed the four cups of wine, and how Judas left the Passover meal before he drank the third cup of wine, the cup of redemption. That was really profound to me, what he missed out on (figuratively becoming literally). This year, however, we focused on the Israelites’ grumblings throughout the Exodus story, and how the Passover is a celebration of God’s goodness to the Israelites who didn’t really see that at the time, and how that is often times the case with us too.
The other focus was on the Psalms that are read just prior to and after the Passover meal, and focusing on what Jesus read/heard the night before his death. Before the meal we read Psalms 113-114 and then after the meal, Psalms 113-118 and 136. That portion was really interesting to hear what Jesus would have read or heard the night of his death. The following were the verses that really hit me this year.
All of Psalm 116, but most especially vs. 1-4:
I love the LORD, because He hears
My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I shall call upon
Him as long as I live.
The cords of death encompassed me
And the terrors of Sheol came upon me;
I found distress and sorrow.
Then I
called upon the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, I beseech You, save my life!”
and vs. 12-13, 17
What shall I render to the LORD
For all His benefits toward me?
I shall lift up the cup of salvation
And call upon the name of the LORD.
I shall pay my vows to the LORD,
Oh may it be in the presence of all
His people.
…
To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And call upon the name of the LORD.
Psalm 118:22-24:
The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner
stone.
This is the LORD’S doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day which the LORD has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad
in it.
