a called Messianic (who may have been born the wine is transfigured into his blood. The salt Jewish but have adopted Christianity’s belief that water, which at a Jewish seder represents the He- was the ), wrapping it in a costume brew slaves’ tears, is re-interpreted to be the tears of Jewish symbols and diluted terminology, have Jews will shed when they realize they’ve killed their made a minor career out of bringing expropriated own Messiah. seders to many mainstream churches. The Jewish community wodd be smart to en- The Messianic ministries spread their charac- courage church leaders to invite a responsible Jew- terizations of the Jewish holiday into an eager, if ish religious leader to supervise a more approp misinformed, mainstream. Jews for Jesus’s South- ate model der. ern district leader, Tuvia Zaretsky, brings Better still, is the modd offered by Brooklyn’s his interpretation of a seder to about 35 churches a Midwd Jewish Cmter. For the last three years the year, as do each of the other seven missionaries on Conservative synagogue has joined with the neigh- his staff. borhood Catholic church to bring together both corn- Messianic Jews hijack the seder by applying a munities -which in this case msulted in guests re- sycretistic layer of fundamentalist Christian inter- citing the Four Questions in English, Hebw, Span- pretation to nearly every aspect of the ritual. In their ish and Creole and, mom importantly in neighbors view, the three matzahs represent the Father, the Son, who are Jews, Latinos, and immigrants from the Car- and the Holy Spirit rather than the Cohanim, L,evites ibbean getting to howone another for the first time. and Israelites. The afikomen, which is broken, hid- den and dramatically returned at the seder’s con- Debra Nussbaum Cohen mrks as a siaffwriter at the clusion, is re-cast to represent the Messiah Jesus, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, where she writes about reli- according to a brochure distributed by Jews for gion and issues related to Jm’shidentity. She has also Jesus. The matzah’s holes represent the puncture written for New York Magazine, The Village Voice wounds suffered by Jesuson the cross, and of course and many Jewish magazines.

Christians Celebrating the Seder Robert S. Somerville does not need Christianity to explain its Lord’s Supper or Holy Eucharist. existence but Christianity needs Judaism both to Approximately 300 people attend our seder explain its existence and what it teaches. banquet where a kosher meal is served. Clergy from numerous traditions such as Episcopal, Presbyte- s a congregational pastor and one who rian, Catholic and Assembly of God participate. widely lectures on Torah and New Testa- The sounding of a shofar opens the festivities. As A ment comparative studies, I have observed participants examine and sample elements of the an increasing interest on the part of in seder plate displayed at each table, the haggadah and the Jewish origins of their faith. For many years, I the symbols of the seder are explained in the light have conducted a Passover seder at various local of history, Jesus, and the gospels. Liturgical dances, churches and public facilities with the objective of special presentations, and singing of the 118th demonstrating that the sacrament of Christian Psalm by the entire group are part of the festivi- Communion originates in the Hebrew Passover ties. The evening concludes with a brief explana- seder. In the New Testament, Luke (Chapter 22) tion of the traditional proclamation ”Next year in provides the narrative. At a first century seder, Jerusalem” and the Priestly Blessing. Jesus used the unleavened bread and the third cup When I lead a seder, the emphasis is always on of wine (cup of redemption/blessing -1 Corinthians deliverance, a prinaple which lies at the very heart 10:16) to institute what has become known as the of the Passover celebration. As God delivered the

Sh’ma Passover 1999 http:/ /www.shma.com people of from Egypt's bondage, He, in like ing nunriber of Christian believers are becoming ag- mer,is capable of delivering all humanlun' dfrom gressively pro-Israel. I believe this growing sup- every enslaving condition. Celebrating the Passover port for the Jewish State is due in part to the is an occasion to rise above ethnicity and religiosity, church's gradual awakening to its Judaic heritage. and to embrace the gft of deliverance that is avail- In a sense, Passover might also celebrate the state- able to everyone from the God of all creation. If God hood of Israel. Why? The original Passover re- can miraculously deliver a nation, He can certainly sulted in the initial formulation and establishment deliver a city, a commhty, or an individual. of "national" Israel. Before the Exodus, the Jewish Many Christians have only recently begun to re- people were simply a family tree. The Exodus, alize that they are not simply Christim, but indeed however, paved the way for the Jewish people to be- Judeo-Christiansin their faith system, and that much come a nation and enter their pro of the Christian tenet was birthed from a Hebraic ma- From all of this, it should be obvious that the mo- trix, For this reason, Christians embrace a singular tivations for Christians to celebrate Passover are nu- book called the Bible, containing the teachings of both merous. The human instinct is to fear what we do . not understand. I believe that Through study one begins to Christim celebrations of Pass- realize that they are remark- over have generated greater ably compatible. For many The Haggadah and appreciationfor the universal years the tern Judeo-Chris- lessons of the holiday and tianfaithwasusedsparjngly the symbols of the have assured all concerned of unfortunately, I fear, because Seder are explained the purity of our intentions. of what some considered the The apostle Paul also indi- "Jewish" stigma. Now, many in the light of cated that the Passover cel- within Christianity are ac- history, Jesus and the ebration provided an oppor- B knowled*g with aatitude e tunity to demonstrate broth- vu their ties to Judaism; they gospel. erhood and unity (1 now gladly affirm the obvi- Corinthians. 11). Celebrating ous. In principle, Christians together invariably fosters tol- and Jews have an insepa- erance and a kindred spirit. rable faith of universal value. By celebrating Passover, my intention as a Chris- The moral, ethical, and spiritual lessons reflected tian is neither to masquerade as a quasi-Jew nor to in Passover are endless and timeless. Therefore, Pass- plunder Jewish customs and traditions; rather, I am over takes on broader meaning for Christians with- simply affirming those elements of our comonheri- out disturbing the original connotation. The last col- tage. The result is a growing appreciationand a sense lective fellowship that Jesus had with his disciples of gratitude for the Jewish contribution to my faith. before his death was the celebration of a Passover Because of my leadership at these inter-denomha- seder. The very promhent New Testament writer, tional seders, I have come to see the overall effect they Pad, draws a paallel between the Christianfaith and have for myself and others. Seders foster greater trust, the Passover seder when he says, " understanding, comhcatioqand appreciation of over was sagificed for us: tkere Christians tozkrard Jews. After nearly two thousand feast," (1c~rinthhns 5:7-8). For many years, the first years, I say with Hillel, "If not now, when?" Shalom! century church cmtinud to celebrate Passover as Paul requested, but with a &finite messianic frame ~~t S. Smrville is Executive Director of Awareness - of reference. The early Christians saw a distinct cor- Ministry, an international Bibk teaching and training relation between the elements of the Passover der p~~um~~in~on Old and New Testamt compara- and the messianic claims of Jesus, par#icularly the tive stuckies. For ovi?~thirty years he hus taught the inter- bread and wine as his body and blood. relationship of Christianity and Judaism. Robert and his In addition, one can hardly ignore the political wfe Faye live in Huntsville, AL, where he serves as pastor and prophetic dynamics of Passover. An increas- of Covenant of Peace Church and its Christian Academy. i Sh'ma Passover 1999 @ http://www.shma.com