Seder Meal 2020

Instructions: We’re glad you’ve chosen to participate in this year’s Seder meal…from home! The Youth Department has participated in this meal in The Well for 5 years now on the Wednesday night prior to . We are not able to participate together this year because of COVID-19, but we wanted to pass this along to families as a way to actively engage our story in Christ. We hope you find this to be a meaningful experience and maybe a tradition you’d like to start in your home.

Note: There are different ways to participate in a Seder meal, and there are other traditional elements that we haven’t included in this meal for the sake of time, cost and simply just being able to hang with the narrative from being to end.

What should you do first? • Whoever is leading this in the family should read over this whole script before beginning. We’ve done this for years and we still have to read it over a couple of times to feel comfortable leading this! What should I do next? • Get excited about an interactive opportunity to lead your family in the story of God AND lower your expectations for how this might go! This is an extremely meaningful practice, but there will be things that don’t go right (We’ve done this for years and still mess up!). So do your best to prepare…and then just go for it! You can perfect it in the years to come. • Also…this meal is more symbolic than an actual meal. You can make it a real meal, but if this is your first time we advise you don’t. So plan to eat a normal meal before or after. What do I need? • Here’s a list of the things you need to participate in the order of the script. Note: You can adapt these things as need be. The actual items are not as important as their symbolic meaning…just keep that in mind so you don’t stress yourself out trying to get it all right.

1 o Dinner rolls or pieces of bread. This is known as (bread with leaven or yeast). You’ll be hiding these around your home prior to the meal…just remember where you hid them so you don’t find them next year :/ o A candle and lighter. Preferably an unscented candle that’s larger and sits in the middle of your table. If all you have is a tea light…go for it! o 4 small cups per person. There are four “I Will” promises represented by cups. These will be filled with grape juice and you’ll drink them at different times through the meal. We’ve used dixie cups that we’ve numbered or written the name of the “I Will” statement on (freedom, deliverance, etc.). o Grape juice. For the cups. o One bowl of water for the family to “wash your hands”. This is more of a symbolic washing, but if you’d like to take it to a COVID-19 standard of washing, go for it. o A sprig of parsley for every member of the family. This can be prepared on everyone’s plate ahead of time or in the middle of the table to grab. o One bowl of salt water. This will be use for dipping the parsley sprig in the water before eating. o NOTE: Some of these foods don’t taste good…and that’s the point in some cases. Remind your family of this when they lose their mind over the taste J. o . This is a flat bread you can get at most super-markets. Walmart and Publix usually carry them. Kroger is hit or miss. One box should be enough for the family. Make sure each member has one matzo. Note: They have gluten free options too…and they actually taste much better J o A bone. Ideally you’ll want a lamb bone for this, but we always just use a chicken bone. We usually buy a small rotisserie chicken and use the bone and meat for the lamb representation. You can buy these chickens hot and ready to eat at most grocery stores.

2 o A hard boiled egg. One for each member of the family. o . Two options here. The easiest option is using horseradish sauce or a horseradish mixture. The second option, which we do for youth, is a recipe for maror. See APPENDIX at the bottom. You can also look up your own recipes. The one we typically use makes a lot which we would need for the whole youth group. § Note: Making this will make your kitchen ripe with a different aroma. Also, eating it can make you tear up…which is the point of the story. o . If you don’t make maror, you should definitely make this one. This is a favorite. See recipes in APPENDIX. o An extra place setting and seat for . You’ll see this in the script. You can just have a plate and cup for this setting. It doesn’t have to have food. The idea is to clearly make space for “Elijah”. o An extra napkin for the afikomen. The afikomen is just a hidden piece of the matzo.

Other Needs/Thoughts: • You’ll need to set your table in advance. Have a place setting for all members of your family with 4 cups and a plate. You may not need utensils. You can have all the food in the middle of the table and you can use the food as the instructions call for them. • Prepare you family in advance letting them know what you are participating in a Seder/Passover meal and that you are celebrating the fact that Jesus has come into our world. • Reading the script: o The “Leader” is typically the male head of household, grandfather or father. If the male head of household is not present the female head of household can take this responsibility. o The “Reader” is typically the female head of household. If the female head of household is not present, the leader can select a reader. o The “People” refers to everyone and thus everyone should read.

3 • Yellow highlighted parts refer to a power point of pictures and video. It’s not necessary that you have that, but if you have access to it, it can add to the experience. • Print a script for everyone to follow along. • MOST IMPORTANTLY…HAVE FUN! There are some serious elements, but have fun with this experience together.

Glossary • Charoset - (pronounced har-o-set) comes from the Hebrew word cheres that means "clay," though it goes by many different names around the world. It is a sweet relish made with fruits, nuts, spices, as well as wine and a binder such as honey. • Chametz - leaven or food mixed with leaven, prohibited during Passover. • Maror - a Jewish ceremonial dish of bitter herbs which is eaten during the Passover, symbolizing the bitterness of the ' enslavement by the . • Matzo - a thin, crisp unleavened bread, traditionally eaten by during Passover • Afikomen - a piece broken off from a matzo during a Seder and put aside to be eaten at the end of the meal. For , it represents that Jesus is the . • Pesach – is the Hebrew word for Passover • Seder – simple means “order”. There’s an order the meal. • - is one of the traditional rituals in the . It refers to the vegetable, usually parsley or celery, that is dipped in liquid and eaten. • – in the Hebrew word for Sabbath • – Is a lamb’s bone. This is the only element of meat present on the Seder plate, and it symbolizes two things. o It reminds Jews of the tenth plague in Egypt, when all firstborns were killed. During the plague, the Israelites marked their doors with lamb’s blood, so that death would pass over their homes. o It represents the , where a lamb was killed and sacrificed at the Temple in , before being eaten the next day.

4 The Meal Script

Leader: Tonight we are celebrating Passover, Pesach in Hebrew. We will do that by participating in a Seder meal. It is based on traditional Jewish celebration of Passover, but adapted into a uniquely Christian celebration. This reminds us that God did not begin his revelation of himself in the world with Christians, but to Hebrews, to Israelites, to the Jew first. It also reminds us that Jesus was not a Christian, but a Jew. It is only in recognizing that connection we have to four thousand years of God at work creating a people that we can truly appreciate who we are as people of God.

Seder means “order,” which simply means that the celebration will follow a certain order. Since there is an order to the service the leaders will try to provide instructions on when to do various actions.

This service is a sacred time of . But even though it follows a strict order it is not formal. In , Passover is not a public service of worship but is celebrated as a family meal. The father and mother, or grandparents, lead the service, and it is much more of a celebration than anything solemn. So, relax and have fun with the service as part of this extended family.

While this is a traditional Jewish celebration, it is also a Christian festival. Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us that it was at a Passover meal that Jesus inaugurated what became known to Christians as the Lord’s Supper, Communion, or Eucharist. Since this is a Christian celebration, we are going to celebrate Passover as Christians. That means that we will conclude the service with the celebration of Communion or Eucharist.

PASSOVER SEDER BEGINS

Leader: Welcome to our Passover Seder. Let us ready our hearts to celebrate and tell the story of deliverance, freedom, and redemption. Tradition teaches us that we must all consider ourselves as slaves in Egypt, that we must all consider

5 ourselves to have walked in darkness, so that we might celebrate the deliverance in as our own deliverance. It is in that spirit of community that we enter this Passover celebration.

Reader: As the Israelites prepared for the exodus by obeying the commands of God through Moses, so in removing the leaven (or chametz), we symbolize our willingness to obey God in preparation for celebrating the deliverance he has already brought to his people. Let us find and put away the leaven from this place to prepare for our own experience of deliverance. Reader: And as we do, let us search for any hidden sins in our hearts that might prevent us from celebrating the joy of this festival.

Action: Instruct the “child” at each table to search for and collect all the hidden pieces of leavened bread in order to remove the Chametz and prepare the room for the celebration of the Passover. When the bread is collected, preferably in a basket so that all can see it, have it carried out of the room to symbolize our preparation for participation in the Seder.

Leader: We praise you O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who hallows our lives with commandments, and who has commanded us to prepare for Passover by removing the leaven.

People: Any leaven that may remain among us, which we have not seen and have not removed, may it be as if it does not exist, as if it is the dust of the earth.

LIGHTING THE PASSOVER CANDLES

Leader Explanation: The actual Seder begins with the lighting of the Passover candles. Traditionally, the mother of the home lights the candles, just as she lights the candles that signal the beginning of Shabat (Sabbath). The candles symbolize the presence of God and mark this as sacred time.

Action: Light the center candle (just up front)

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Leader: May this now be a holy space.

Reader: We are gathered here in the presence of friends and family. Before us are the symbols of our sacred celebration. We are here, old and young, linking the past and present and future of our people. We tell the story that has not yet concluded.

People: “Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your people out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting commandment for the generations to come” (Exodus 12:17).

Reader: We assemble in fulfillment of the commandment:

People: “Then Moses said to the people, ‘Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of , because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast’” (Exodus 13:3).

Reader: God, Creator of the universe, you saved us from death so we may celebrate life. As we light these candles, we pray for your light in this place, so we may see the significance of this celebration.

People: God of second chances, let these lights inspire strength—to love and not to hate, to bless and not to curse, to serve and to worship you.

Leader: This is a traditional Hebrew blessing for the lighting of the candles: Blessed are you O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who hallows our lives with commandments, And bids us kindle the festival light.

7 THE 1st CUP: THE CUP OF FREEDOM

Leader: Tonight we celebrate the four “I will” promises God made to his people. This is traditionally represented by four cups which we have up front and in front of you. Freedom, Deliverance, Redemption, and Thanksgiving.

Action: All people hold up the 1st cup and say:

People: “I am the Lord. I will bring you out of the yoke of the Egyptians. I will deliver you from slavery. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. I will take you as my people” (Exodus 6:6).

Leader: We take the 1st cup and proclaim this to be a holy day. God keeps his promises. God is faithful to those who trust in him. In every age there are oppressors who would work to keep us under their feet. From the hands of those who would hold us down, God will deliver us. Thank you, God, for freedom.

Action: All may drink.

PREPARATION FOR MEAL

Leader: We now prepare for the meal by washing our hands, symbolizing the holiness of this gathering and our desire that we would live out our calling as God’s children with our hearts and our hands. Action: The Leader takes the large bow and pours water into it from the pitcher. One at a time, everyone dips their hands into the water to clean them symbolically. Again, a large amount of water is not necessary.

When this is finished, the Leader takes a piece of parsley and holds it up for all to see.

8 Leader: This is karpas. It represents all the good things in life that God, the Creator, has given us. Because God loves us, we are filled with love and joy. And yet this good life God intended is often mixed with tears.

Action: The Leader lifts the bow of salt water so all can see.

Leader: Tonight, we are celebrating the freedom and wonderful deliverance that God brought to us as slaves in Egypt. We must not forget that our lives as slaves were full of hardship and suffering and tears. We must not forget that the struggle for freedom begins with tears.

People: Blessed are you, O God.

Action: Everyone dips the vegetable into the salt water and eats it.

Leader: The breaking of the matzo in two is a symbol that we are in community with others who share in this celebration—all people…everywhere…around the world.

Action: The Leader removes the middle matzo and breaks it in half. Others do the same.

Leader: We tell the story that joins us together. We are one with our families, with our friends, and with the beggar on the street. God’s grace breaks the bonds that hold us to those who would oppress us.

People: This is the bread of affliction. Our ancestors ate it in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry eat. Let all who are needy celebrate. Now we are slaves. Let us pray that we may truly be free.

Action: The Leader will take one piece of the broken matzo and “hide” it beneath a napkin.

9 THE STORY OF PASSOVER (blank)

People: We were once slaves. Then God stretched out his arm and brought us from the land of Egypt.

Leader: God has rescued us. If it were not for God, we and our children and our children’s children would still be slaves, our freedom and dignity stolen from us.

People: Once we worshiped idols and false gods. God, the one God, the Creator God, forgives us and calls us to be his children.

Leader: Tonight is different from all other nights. Tonight we gather to remember who we are and what God has done for us, and to pass on the story of God’s grace.

People: God is in all places and in all things. God is everywhere. Praise be to God who gave us freedom.

Reader: God promised Abraham and they would bring forth generation after generation of people. God made this same promise to Isaac and to Jacob. Jacob’s children came to the land of Egypt where Jacob’s son Joseph became the advisor to Pharaoh. But years went by, and a new government came into power. It’s leaders did not remember Joseph. They did not remember Joseph’s God. These leaders forced the Israelites to become slaves and to work making bricks. As the Israelites’ numbers increased, Pharaoh feared they might overtake his kingdom. So he ordered that all newborn Israelite boys be drowned. Our ancestors know only tears and sorrow.

Leader: They cried out to God and begged him to remember the promises he made to Abraham. God heard them, and through the actions of a wise mother and her sister, he saved the life of one baby boy. That was Moses. When Moses became an adult, God sent him back to Egypt to deliver his people from slavery.

10 Reader: When Moses asked Pharoah to free his people, Pharaoh refused. So God sent 10 plagues on the land of Egypt.

Action: The Leader takes the 2nd cup of juice and holds it.

Leader: As we recount the 10 plagues God sent to Egypt, we place a drop of juice on the plate.

Action: As each item on the list is read, the everyone dips a finger into the cup and places a drop of juice on the plate.

Leader: Blood. Frogs. Lice. Swarms. Cattle Disease. Boils. Hail. Locusts. Darkness. Death of the Firstborn.

Reader: Pharaoh still refused to let the people go. So God sent the plague of death. God instructed the people to sacrifice a lamb and to paint the blood of the lamb on the doorframes of all the Israelites. Those who had the blood of the lamb on their doors were “passed over” when the plague of death came through the kingdom.

Action: The Leader removes to zeora (bone) from the seder plate and holds it up for everyone to see.

Leader: This is the symbol of the lamb, sacrificed so our children would live.

Action: All taste a bit of the meat. Next, the Leader takes the egg from the seder plate and holds it up for all to see.

Leader: The egg is a symbol of sadness and grief. It reminds us the temple of our ancestors is no longer standing. The egg has no beginning and no end. So it is also a symbol of life and hope. It reminds us the love of God is unending and cannot be confined to a temple.

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Action: Everyone tastes some of the egg.

Reader: Even as the children of were leaving, Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his armies after Moses and his people. God told Moses to lift his staff over the sea; he did so, and the waters of the sea parted, allowing the children of Israel to pass safely through. When Pharaoh’s armies tried to follow, God allowed the waters to close over them. When the people saw what had happened and knew they were free, they rejoiced, praising God and saying…

People: Praise God. Praise God, Creator of the universe. God hears his children cry and brings them out of slavery.

THE 2nd CUP: THE CUP OF DELIVERANCE

Leader: With the second cup we celebrate the deliverance that God has brought to us. We are privileged to thank God, to praise Him, to reverence Him, and to rejoice in His grace.

Leader: He has brought us forth from bondage to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from darkness to light, from slavery to redemption.

People: I am the Lord; I will deliver you from slavery [Exodus 6:6]. We praise you O Lord our God, who has freed your people.

Leader: We praise you O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the earth. Let us drink the Second Cup.

Action: Drink 2nd cup

Leader: Tonight we eat unleavened bread because our ancestors in Egypt had to leave in a hurry and could not even wait for the bread to rise. It baked while it was still flat.

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People: “Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt” (Deuteronomy 16:3).

Action: The Leader breaks one matzo into smaller pieces. Each person at the table takes a piece of the matzo and dips it into the maror (horseradish).

Leader: Tonight we eat the bitter herbs, maror, to remind us of our lives as slaves. No matter how sweet life gets, we must never forget the bitterness of slavery.

People: “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly” (Exodus 1:12-14).

Action: Everyone tastes the matzo and maror. When all have eaten, the Leader takes another piece of matzo, breaks it for the members of their group. The leader then dips it in the charoset (the apple mixture). Everyone does the same…BUT DO NOT EAT YET J

Leader: We dipped in the maror to remind us of life’s bitterness, and now we dip in the charoset to remind us life is also sweet and God can bring sweetness into the bitterest of circumstances.

People: How sweet are your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; Therefore I hate every wrong path.

13 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light for my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, That I will follow your righteous laws. I have suffered much; Preserve my life, O Lord, according to your word. (Psalm 119: 103-107)

Action: Everyone tastes the charoset.

Leader: Tonight is a celebration. We eat with special rituals because each generation must feel connected to the slaves who came out of Egypt. We tell the story because God has forgiven us and kept his promises. We can sing a new song.

People: We were slaves but now we are free.

THE 3rd CUP: THE CUP OF REDEMPTION

Leader: This cup is for Elijah the Prophet. Elijah did not see death but was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire. It has been the hope of God’s people that Elijah would come at Passover, to announce the coming of the Messiah, the son of David. As the prophet Malachi said: "See, I will send you Elijah the prophet before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes." [Malachi 4:5]. This cup has traditionally been left untouched, awaiting the time when Elijah would appear to share the Passover.

Leader: We will now open the curtain to welcome Elijah to the Passover.

Action: Select someone in the group to open the curtain Leader: It is now time to reveal that which has been hidden. We will find the afikomen, Greek for “that which comes after” so that we may conclude our meal. The afikomen has traditionally symbolized hope for the future, a symbol of redemption, as God again acts in history to proclaim good news to the poor,

14 release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor [Isaiah 61:1-2 quoted in Luke 4:18-19].

People: I am the Lord; I will redeem you with an outstretched arm [Exodus 6:6].

Leader: As we have found the afikomen that has been hidden, we celebrate the fact that our long hoped for Messiah has come, and brought us a new freedom from a very old slavery. “Jesus said, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." [John 8:31-34] To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his grace and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. [Revelation 1:5-6]

Leader: Jesus stood in the synagogue of his hometown of Nazareth and read from the Isaiah scroll that promised a new work of God in the world. When he had finished reading, he said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" [Luke 4:21]. We still live in the "today" of that fulfillment, and so we celebrate the coming of Jesus the Messiah, and the faithfulness of God in working throughout history to bring deliverance and freedom to his people.

Reader: Jesus has brought to us a new freedom from the chains of oppression and sin that enslave us. Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples on the night before he was betrayed and delivered up to be crucified. He commanded that his disciples partake of the bread and the wine as emblems of his broken body and shed blood. We partake of these elements to participate in the new life, in the new birth that God in Jesus the Christ has provided for us.

Action: Leader lifts up Elijah's cup for all to see.

15 Leader: I have taken Elijah’s cup because we no longer wait for Elijah. We celebrate in joy today not only because Elijah has come, but because Messiah has also come!

People: Blessed is He who has come in the name of the Lord!

Reader: We praise you O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you, O God, for giving to us your only Son, who suffered and died and rose again, that we might be reconciled to you. How great a love you have bestowed upon us! As we now eat this bread and drink this cup, may you forgive us of any sin that we secretly harbor in our hearts, may you give us the freedom that comes as you transform us into the image of your Son, and may you fill us with your presence through the Holy Spirit that we may truly become your people.

Leader: Let us all take a piece of the afikomen.

Action: Each table leader with break pieces of the afikomen for each member at the table.

Leader: This broken bread of redemption reminds us of the broken body of our Lord Jesus Christ that was broken for us. Take and eat this, remembering that Jesus died for us, and in so doing accept the grace of God that brings freedom from bondage to sin.

Action: Eat the bread

Leader: This cup reminds us of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ that was spilled because of us and on our behalf. Drink this, remembering that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, and in so doing accept the grace that transforms us and brings us from darkness into His marvelous light, and allows us to be people of God.

16 Action: Drink from the cup

THE 4th CUP: THE CUP OF THANKSGIVING AND HOPE

Leader: Our Seder is now complete, just as our redemption is complete. We rejoice with thanksgiving, and yet are humbled by God’s love! I am the Lord; I will take you as my people and I will be your God [Exodus 6:7]. Yet the story of God’s redemption is not ended. We celebrate what God has done in our history, and what he has done for us, but at the same time we still await a new future. All creation still groans and longs for its final redemption. As Jesus left, he promised he would come again and restore all things. We have faith enough to believe that God will not leave the world the way it is, so we await the day in which He will again come and bring His Kingdom in fullness.

Leader: We raise our glasses a fourth time in Thanksgiving for God’s enduring grace and love to us. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has adopted us as your children, and allowed us to call you Father.

People: Our Father, who is in heaven, Holy is your name! Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Leader: We drink the Fourth Cup and give thanks!

Action: Drink the 4th cup

People: Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. Amen.

Leader: The traditional conclusion of the Seder is a hope for the future expressed by Jews throughout history: "Next year in Jerusalem." We will conclude our Seder

17 with the same expression of hope and faith in God, as we await the coming of a new Jerusalem.

People: Next year in the New Jerusalem!

18 APPENDIX

Maror

Ingredients

1 lb. horseradish root, peeled 6-8 oz. white vinegar 1/4 C. sugar 2 T. salt

Preparation

• Process all ingredients to desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings. (Caution: May get sharper as it ages.) (This recipe makes a rather enormous amount)

Charoset Ingredients

• 1 granny smith apple • 2 gala apples • ¾ cup chopped walnuts • 1½ Tablespoons raw honey • ½ teaspoon cinnamon • Dash of nutmeg • Brown sugar, to sweeten

Instructions

1. Peel apples. 2. Dice apples into tiny pieces. 3. Place diced apple in a large bowl. 4. Stir in remaining ingredients, except the brown sugar. 5. Taste and add brown sugar to further sweeten. 6. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

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