“Do you have some spare change?” said a grime-encrusted man before me. He held a sign which read, “Anything helps, God bless.”

I’m continuing my series on the Jewish feasts. Passover comes next.

On the Passover, the Israelites killed a lamb, roasted the meat over a fire, and ate it. Using a branch of hyssop, they spread the blood over their doorposts. Anyone in a house under the blood of the lamb rested safe. Outside, the angel of death killed the firstborn the Egyptians. Do you get the symbolism? Good.

The Israelites ate bitter herbs (traditionally grated horseradish and/or romaine lettuce) with the meal. Bitter herbs represented the bitterness of the slavery from which they escaped.

And of course, I’ve left out one of the main ingredients: unleavened bread. It celebrated the people leaving in haste (Ex. 12:34), though the yeast also symbolized sin, as it puffed up a loaf of bread. The unleavened bread represented the sinless lamb, who took that bread on the night He was betrayed and distributed it as His body, broken for us. Though not mentioned in Exodus, the Passover Seder also included drinking a few cups of wine (more…)