What is the significance of jewish passover

An essential part of the Seder is eating ritual foods symbolic of the journey from slavery to freedom:. The Relevance of Passover Today. As we experienced slavery and suffering, the Torah the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures insists that we are obligated to protect the powerless.

It includes admonitions to provide the stranger with economic security, basic food and clothing, prompt payment of wages, and with equality before the law. Jewish tradition teaches that we are duty-bound to create societies established on the principles of justice, righteousness, and compassion. Throughout generations, the story of the Exodus has encouraged secular and religious Jews alike to commit to bringing more justice into the world.

This commitment includes both welcoming the stranger into our communities as well as fighting the ugliness of xenophobia. We are people of privilege, who enjoy all the freedoms of our society, including security, justice, and equality.

Sadly, there are those who do not experience that privilege because of their ethnicity, religion, poverty, or the color of their skin. There are also strangers, many of whom are refugees seeking asylum, who are not treated with the same freedoms we enjoy.

The story of the Exodus demands us to stretch our notion of privilege and equality to all people, and especially to the stranger.

The Torah asserts that we have a responsibility to welcome others and share our freedoms with them. Further, just as leaven causes bread to rise, sin puffs us up. At Passover, we remove all leaven from our homes, not only in memory of the haste with which we departed Egypt, but also as a symbol of removing sin from our lives.

For more information, read this article. The second middle piece of unleavened bread the afikomen is taken from the matzah tosh special pouch with three compartments for each of the three pieces of matzah during the Seder.

The matzah is removed and broken, and then the broken piece is wrapped in the cloth and becomes the afikomen that is hidden from view. Therein lies a new significance—a new meaning—brought to the Seder.

Hebrew Scriptures: The charoseth a sweet mixture of chopped apples, nuts, wine and cinnamon is not specifically mentioned in the Old Testament. Rabbinic Tradition: The mixture represents the mortar used by the Israelite slaves to make bricks for Pharaoh. The charoseth is sweet and delicious, and so the rabbis explain that even the most difficult circumstances of our lives are sweetened by the promise of future redemption.

Contemporary Judaism: The charoseth is eaten at the contemporary Seder and is given the same significance as in rabbinic tradition. Rabbinic Tradition: The greens represent life. But before we eat them, we dip them into salt water, representing the tears of life.

The karpas are dipped in salt water to represent and remind us that the lives of the Israelite slaves were immersed in tears. By dipping, we are also reminded that a life without redemption is a life drowned in tears. Contemporary Judaism: The karpas are eaten at the contemporary Seder and have the same significance as rabbinic tradition.

New Testament: The karpas may have been eaten at the Last Supper, though likely without its later significance. They are not specifically mentioned since greens were likely part of festive meals during that time period. Hebrew Scriptures: The original Passover makes no mention of a cup. These themes are woven together beautifully in the Passover story. Contemporary Judaism: The contemporary Seder practices the tradition of the four cups and is given the same significance in the haggadah as in rabbinic tradition.

This is the covenant promised to us by God when He said He would establish a new covenant with His people Jeremiah Paul tells us that the communion cup represents the blood of Messiah 1 Corinthians The Hallel Psalms sung during the Cup of Hallel were likely sung by the disciples after dinner. Read more about the Passover cups and their significance in the Last Supper. A group of Israeli women light candles during a Passover ceremony in Kathmandu, Toggle navigation Menu.

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