The Big Picture (Passover - Shavuot)

Complex word picture that compares the celebrations
Passover -> Shavuot
to
birth -> circumcision

To help understand the holy days Passover and Shavuot, think of the birthdays on our calendar... days set apart to celebrate the dates special people in our lives were born. That is the celebration of Passover, a memorable day of Israel's birth to freedom. Shavuot is more like recalling the day God sealed their relationship.

Shavuot is 7 full weeks after the first day of Passover... 50 days, which is one day into week 8. It means "weeks." It is pronounced shuh-voo-owt, and might be easier to remember as "shove-you-oat or out" (in a way, the Israelites were shoved out of Egypt). Shavuot reminds me of a Jewish boy's circumcision with his name shared on day 8 after birth; a ceremony called the brit milah. Circumcision represents God's connection to that child. Shavuot is a celebration of the moment when the freed Israelites stood at the foot of Mount Sinai and became a people... and God sealed them with the Ten Commandments ("circumcised them") and named them as His own. 

God led the children of Israel after crossing the Red Sea, through the wilderness to Mount Sinai where He gave the Ten Commandments (or "circumcised" them on modern-day Shavuot through the Ten Commandments). God knew His children would enter the stages of "terrible 2s," "fearsome 4s," "hormonal teens," "roaring 20s," and "fugue 40s" but He would love them through it all. The Israelites were and still are His marked children.

Now think of a treasured family heirloom; one passed down through the generations. Something like a hand-made quilt or a Christmas ornament from a beloved grandmother. The treasured heirloom has an immeasurable and intangible value. The Torah is that kind of treasure to the Jewish people, to the nth-degree. Through the Torah Israel was set as the covenant People of God and His light to the nation. God established a signed and sealed forever relationship with the Israelites, and celebrating Shavuot each year is a reminder of that sealing.

General information pertaining to Shavuot:

• 

  When not in use, the scrolls of the Torah
  are stored in the Ark - a cabinet situated
  at the front of every synagogue. The scrolls
  are the most precious objects in a synagogue

  The Torah: The Jews value the first part of their Bible—the Torah—highly. The books that make up the Torah are a mixture of early Jewish history and laws. The Torah contains stories about the creation of the world and early Jewish history ending with the death of Moses. It also has hundreds of rules covering such matters as cleanliness and diet as well as the Ten Commandments. "Religions of the World, Judaism," p. 22. 
• Shavuot: One of three pilgrimage feasts observed each year, it is a summer celebration “a week of weeks” after Pesach (50 days after the first day of Passover). It is first found in Leviticus 23:16, and it is also called the “holiday of first fruits” or referred to as Pentecost.
  One way to honor God and the Torah and celebrate 3-day Shavuot is to stay up all night (or part of a night) studying the Torah. Also, on the first day of Shavuot, it is customary to eat dairy products (cheesecake, quiches, casseroles, etc.) because dairy represents life.
• 7 Holy Days: The three "latter rain" Holy Days are: The Passover first day and last day and Shavuot. The four fall "early rain" Holy Days are: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Shemini.
• Flowers & Shavuot: A much-loved Jewish legend describes how, when the Torah was given to the people by God on Mount Sinai, the mountain itself burst into flower, the birds stopped singing, and the whole universe became quiet and still—as if waiting for something very beautiful to happen. Then followed thunder, lightning, and a thick cloud that covered the whole mountain. God came down on to the mountain in fire and the area shuddered. Such, explains the legend, is the power of the Torah. “Religions of the World, Judaism,” p 20.
  Another reference also described Shavuot as a festival that celebrates the anniversary of God giving the Torah to Moses. Jews decorate their synagogues with lots of flowers to remind worshipers of the tradition that Mount Sinai burst into flower when the Torah was given by God. “Religions of the World, Judaism” p. 33.
• Manna -> Shavuot: A teaching on Shavuot says, “When the Holy One spoke, each and every person in Israel could say, The Divine Word is addressing me." Rabbi Yosi, the son of Hanina, said: "Do not be surprised by this idea. For when manna came down to feed Israel, each person tasted it according to his or her capacity. For infants it was like mother’s milk, for the young it was like bread with oil and honey, and for the old like a honey cracker. What is true about the manna is also true about the Divine Word. Therefore, the Holy One said: 'Do not be misled if you hear many voices [emphasis added]. Know that I am the One God for each of you.'” “The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices” p. 330-332.
• The Mount Sinai Experience: One of the Shavuot meditations found in “The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices” is, “One God, One people, One mountain, One book. Many voices. Hinei mah tov How good it is: One people, together” [emphasis added]. A suggested ritual for a Shavuot study together, from the “Sacred Practices” includes this 4th step that begins: “At Sinai, we had an experience that was both personal and shared...”
  The midrash (prominent in the Talmudic literature, a separate body of commentary on Scripture) describes God’s voice [on Mount Sinai] as so powerful and frightening that God tempers it by creating different sounds for each person [emphasis added]… The divine utterance is filled with infinite meaning. It has as many interpretations as there are people to hear it. “Jewish Spirituality for Christians,” p. 44.

! New Testament alert !

(Acts 2:1-2 sounds deja-vu to the OT Mount Sinai experience)

...When the day of Pentecost arrived

[50 days after Passover, a/k/a Shavuot, a/k/a holiday of first fruits],

they were all together in one place.

And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind,

and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them...

and began to speak in other tongues...

(Acts 2:1-2)

On Shavuot after Jesus' death and resurrection,

God sealed and empowered the disciples with the Holy Spirit 

to be supernaturally fruitful spreading the message of Jesus

To both Jew and Gentile

God's instructions for Shavuot, to bring two loaves of leavened bread

visually metaphors Jew and Gentile, still permeated with the leaven of sin

in need of Savior Jesus

Pesach (Passover): The Spring Cleaning / Chametz Hunt Mash-up

This beautiful spring week (and for many observant and ambitious Jews, all this month) hours upon hours have been spent spring cleaning, preparing for Pesach (Passover). Pesach is one of the 7 Holy Days observed by Jews. It is observed in March or April (one month after the February or March Festival of Purim; Purim is NOT a Holy Day). It is also called The Feast of Unleavened Bread, and it is one of three pilgrimage feasts the Jews observe each year.

Pesach is to be observed each year by Jewish people, and in-depth cleaning prepares for the celebration, which recalls and retells a lengthy story of how over 3,300 years ago God passed over firstborns in marked Hebrew homes and miraculously set the Israelites free from slavery and bondage to a cruel and merciless Egyptian Pharaoh (Exodus 7-14).

Cleaning is not ordinary before Pesach; it is thorough. Ovens and microwave ovens are scrubbed. A search is done inside of and under refrigerators, freezers, cabinets, and pantries, and in the basements, etc. for any speck of food with a leavening agent in it (called Chametz, pronounced hametz with a throaty chutzpah-like “h”). All leavening is removed from the home. Labels are read to confirm no leavening product remains, because leavening symbolizes sin. 

Items removed include any wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt, etc. risen with a rising agent, including breads, cakes, pies, pie crust, cupcakes, brownies, crackers, muffins, cookies, pastries, packaged cereal, filo, sprouted grains, cake mixes, bread mixes, flour tortillas (not corn), etc. 

My question is, what foods are left that can be eaten during the 7 days of Pesach (Passover)? Matzah is one of the approved foods, but it must be made with kosher wheat flour. Other approved foods will be mentioned later.

My dinette table holds a firehose of Pesach details, but we will stick with practical and basic information, to help grasp a basic understanding of practices and symbolisms. First, the day before Pesach, religious practices are employed to express gratitude to God for sparing the firstborn in Hebrew homes the night the death angel passed over the Israelites over 3,300 years ago. Firstborns' fasting is one practice.

Before Pesach (a verb meaning to spare, "to pass over" and pronounced pay-sach with an ending throaty "h"), it is more like a war that begins, to search and remove any Chametz in the home [Rabbi Lewin]. The Pesach offering is a reminder that when the death angel (God, according to the Jewish Torah) went from house to house to kill the Egyptian firstborn, God passed over the Jewish homes that had the blood of a lamb on the doorposts (Exodus 12).

At nightfall, the evening before the first Seder (the ceremonial Passover meal, pronounced sayder, plural: sedarim), it is customary to spread 10 pieces of Chametz around the house, so that the searchers will have something to look for (to non-Jews, it sounds like an Easter egg hunt). The search is done by candlelight, and those doing the search should not speak (except to give instructions or ask questions about the search). The next morning, any Chametz found is burned ("Art-Scroll Youth Haggadah" p. 6).

Other notable Pesach (Passover) information:

Pesach dates are observed on the Hebrew calendar Nissan, Abib 15-22 (15 days after the beginning of Nissan + full moon). Easter is based off the Sunday after Spring's first full moon. I erroneously thought Pesach & Easter always fell during the same week, but the comparison of Pesach/Easter dates below shows otherwise:

            Easter                      Pesach

2022    Sunday, April 17      Friday, April 15-23  (same week)

2023    Sunday, April 9        Wednesday, April 5-13 (same week)

2024    Sunday, March 31    Monday, April 22-30  (3 weeks apart!)

A Day/Timetable of 2022's First Few Days of Pesach

We do not know the exact time that Jesus died. This is an approximate schedule. This schedule assumes that Jesus was nailed to the cross around 9:00 a.m. 

A Good Friday timetable that assumes a noon-ish crucifixion is way below

Dietary Restrictions for observant Jews are uncompromising during the entire days of Pesach ("The Jewish Lights Spirituality Book").

Seder Plate food items: Seder means order, and the reading of the Haggadah guides a general order of symbolic eating and blessings and singing that occur during the very lengthy candlelit Seder (Mitzvah) meal(s). One of the best loved songs from the Pesach Seder is Dayenu! 🎵Day dayenu day dayenu🎵.

Seders for Pesach are held on the first night (in Israel) or first two nights (in the U.S.). Each Jewish family has their own traditions for the meal, but they are similar. Some tell the story of the 4 Sons (see YouTube's video that explains the story). Symbols are used to remind everyone of the meaning of Passover and its story. The items on the Seder Plate are pictured and explained below ("Art-Scroll Youth Haggadah" p. 8, detail added):

Two food items on the plate that are not eaten: A roasted egg (a traditional symbol representing mourning) and a roasted lamb bone (God's outstretched "arm" that took Israelites out of Egypt), both commemorate worship in the old Temple.

Matzah or unleavened bread (on one hand eaten because God took the Jewish people out of Egypt so quickly there was no time for their dough to rise, but also eaten as a reminder that the servant Israelites were poor and ate no other kind of bread). The Torah says, "They baked the dough they took from Egypt into matzos for it had not risen... they had not prepared other food for the way."
Maror / two kinds of bitter vegetables (romaine lettuce and raw horseradish are pictured above), because the Egyptians made the Jewish ancestors' lives bitter.
Charoses Mixture: Chopped apples, nuts, cinnamon, and wine mixed together, to symbolize the cement used by the Israelite slaves when they were building houses for their Egyptian masters. The mixture is also a reminder that Pesach (Passover) is a spring festival.

Karpas: A vegetable other than Maror (celery, parsley, or boiled potato). It is dipped into salt water and eaten as a symbol of the sweat and tears of the slaves. 

Four Cups of Wine [or grape juice] per person: At four points during the Seder meal, they bless The King and Creator of the grapevine "Hashem our God." Each cup, drinking as little as a sip to up to 1/2 cup or more of wine/grape juice: For God... #1 cup) brought us out; #2 cup) delivered us; #3 cup) redeemed us; #4 cup) took us out of Egypt.

Elijah's Cup: A separate large cup is saved until the end of the Seder meal, in honor of Elijah, who, according to tradition, will arrive one day as an unknown guest to herald the advent of the messiah.

 

Final Night of Pesach is one of the 7 Holy Days of the year, listed in Leviticus 23. "The Jewish Lights Spirituality Handbook" states, "... the esoteric celebration is focused on the crossing of the Red Sea, which symbolizes faith... of getting out of an impossible situation without deserving it" (pp. 192-193).

As a non-Jew and fully devoted follower of Jesus my Savior, I have every reason to love my Jewish friends and neighbors AND to learn about the Holy Days. Over 2,000 years ago on Pesach (Passover), God figuratively parted the waters of death, hell, and the grave through His Son. Jesus was born a Jew, and He is in Pesach (Passover), especially as the spotless Passover Lamb. Sinless Jesus died on a cross, for my Chametz (my sins). His death on the cross was perfectly timed, on Preparation Day, as the Israelites were sacrificing their lambs for Pesach!

Jesus was crucified. He arose. He lives! Only He could take me out of a most impossible situation when I didn't deserve it... I was a sinner destined for hell. But I accepted Jesus as my Savior. And more times than I can count, He continues to take me out of a variety of (less impossible) situations.

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, 

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb... 

And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, JESUS MET THEM [emphasis added]...

(Matthew 27:62-66)

Good Friday Timetable

 (Author unknown)

We do not know the exact time that Jesus died. This is an approximate schedule. This schedule assumes that Jesus was nailed to the cross around noon, as indicated in the Gospel of John

(Exodus 12:46 & Psalm 34:20): "Not one of his bones will be broken."

It was normal practice at a crucifixion to break bones, but Jesus' bones were not broken

As a side note, in many Orthodox Jewish families, the period following Pesach (Passover) is traditionally one of mourning, one that means no weddings, no live music and no haircuts from Friday until the first week of June, before Shavuot. (Baltimoresun.com) Jews mourn in remembrance of a plague that killed 24,000 Jews that occurred the weeks between Pesach and Shavuot (disciples of Rabbi Akiva c. 50-c. 135 CE, one of the 10 martyrs, who flourished during the era of the destruction of the Second Temple) (Chabad.org).

The Queen

"The Sabbath is a mirror of the world to come."  -Zohar

Imagine inviting Queen Elizabeth to your home, and she accepts your invitation! I invited not just any queen, but The Queen, to our home last Saturday. Her Royalty's name is, Queen Shabbat. She entered our modest home for the first time, and it will not be her last. Shabbat (a/k/a Sabbath) is a weekly Holy Day, observed by many Jewish families Friday sundown (actually, it begins 8 minutes prior to sundown) through Saturday sundown (after three stars are seen in the sky).

An alternate way to look at Shabbat is as the symbolic wedding band to our "marriage" with Jesus. I like both ideas, but The Queen is my favorite. The typical Jewish greeting is, Shabbat Shalom!!

"There are two fundamental explanations for the Jews' strong feeling about the Sabbath: First, it commemorates the creation of the world, when God rested on the seventh day after creating the world in six days, and second, it is also a reminder that Jews are free to rest on the Sabbath, after having been slaves in Egypt" 1,201 Questions and Answers About Judaism and the Bible's Old Testament Book of Exodus.

Tiptoeing into the idea of Saturday Shabbats and how best to observe them, Mark 2:27 says, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." Because of that, my overriding mindset will be restful and sacred, but liberties will be taken according to my situation on that particular Shabbat... in other words, I will modify the guidelines that most Jews follow but not the mindset. For example, my second Shabbat was spent in an airport. I rested watching planes take off and land, chilled while sitting in airplane seat #27A, and was quiet enough to hear and delight in a toddler's sweet rendition of 𝆔Hush Little Baby Don’t You Cry.𝆔 In that Sacred moment and mindset, that song helped me keenly sense the Heavenly Father's abiding love.

Another way to explain Shabbat is, "It is not a different state of consciousness but a different climate; it is as if the appearance of all things somehow changed. The difference between the Sabbath and all other days is not to be noticed in the physical structure of things, in their spatial dimension. Things do not change on that day" (The Sabbath, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel).

Before Her Royal visit last weekend, our home was prepared to officially observe my fourth Shabbat (the first three Shabbats were like test-drives). A Friday preparation list (to help Saturday’s mindset to be more God-honoring, restful, and pleasant) included:

• House cleaning: Vacuuming, dusting, and dishwasher run and emptied
• Table & Candles: Breakfast table decor was planned and set. Electricity is not used in Orthodox Jewish homes on Shabbat, and light switches can't even be flipped (they install timers) so, lit candles are placed on the center of Jewish tables. I used battery-operated candles on our breakfast table. As a side note, is a flamingo pink? how could I not use electricity in our home on Shabbat?
• Personal hygiene: Friday evening showering
  ---------------------------
• Upcoming Fridays: Move any needed frozen breakfast items to the refrigerator on Friday evening, to reduce Saturday preparation time and energy. Anything to make Shabbat more restful.

Many Jews never consume pork or shellfish. Also, eating meat and dairy together at a meal is not kosher (Exodus 23:19 and 34:26). My breakfast menu (as kosher as I could get it) included beef Polish sausage and oatmeal topped with mango chunks and almond milk. Lunch was cheese pizza.

On weekdays, I am always trying to change things--to make things better. On Shabbat, I want to leave things alone and enjoy them as they are. It shocked me how often my mind travels to fixing something or working. I couldn't help but sweep our garage on Shabbat (intentionally approaching it as a fun, rote, mindless activity rather than as work... maybe I was fooling myself 😇). And while relaxing on our screened-in back porch, I couldn't help but note that weeds needed pulling (stop it!) and backyard improvements were needed (stop it!)

My husband and I took our regular hour-long Saturday walk. Nature was enjoyed, but our pace was a bit slower. All the while, all through the day, the essence of rest, ease, and the Sacred was embraced, which included some Bible reading and prayer. I ended the day feeling renewed. 

Lighting of the ritual Havdalah candle is a visual reminder that Shabbat rest ends and ushers in the new week. A special braided candle is used that has several wicks. Shabbat ends on Saturday night after the appearance of three stars in the sky, but I may have ended the observance earlier, with eager anticipation and excitement for weekly Shabbats. 

Shabbat is intended to require a person to use all five senses:  feel the cup, smell the spices, see the flame of the candle, hear the blessings and taste the wine (or juice).

"The Sabbath is considered the most important day in the Jewish calendar"

The Jewish Book of Why, p. 163

"If God could rest on the Sabbath,

it behooves us to do the same and thus pay tribute to him"

1,201 Questions and Answers About Judaism, p. 136

Shema

Shema is the Jewish confession of faith made up of three scriptural texts (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21; Numbers 15:37-41), which, together with appropriate prayers, forms an integral part of the daily evening and morning services (love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength) see Matthew 22:37-39.