The Kadesh is one of the fifteen elements that make up the Passover Seder. Kadesh in Hebrew means “blessing of the wine.”
BLESSING OF THE WINE
The wine is a very important and significant item at the table. This video gives the Jewish perspective, but the logic can roll over to our Christian meanings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZuVb-dUKo8. So many Christian/Jewish celebrations begin with a sip of wine. The wine has come to be a symbol of the joy in our hearts as God teaches us through each season.
JOY AND BLESSING AT KADESH
The Seder starts with wine and the wine starts with a blessing that praises God for creating the “fruit of the vine.”
On the surface we are blessing the wine inside each of our cups; but there is a deeper meaning to this blessing because the blessing is actually intended for every human who participated in the process of making the wine.
GOD PROCESSES OUR DESTINY
The making of the wine started with the sun provided by God. The amazing process continues with the tiny seed that He helps to grow. Then we note the person who planted and dressed the vines. There was also the one who picked the grapes and put them through the whole process of fermentation.
Silently many of us are pondering the fermentation of our own souls which begins with each new year turning its page just prior to The Passover.
STEPPING INTO NISAN WITH JOY
As we begin each new sacred year; we know that God is tending his vineyard. A few years ago we saw how that played out at Pentecost in one of our celebrations. https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/pentecost-in-a-vineyard/ However, there could be no Pentecost with a Passover first, so we must think of our Master Vineyard Owner tending to His Passover gardens. He is busy transforming his people. They are being shaped and formed into a great kingdom that will last through eternity.
This time on earth is preparing them, fermenting them, helping them to become the best of the best flavors.
SANCTIFICATION
The Hebrew word for Kiddush means sanctification.
This wine we drink at the Seder is symbolic of the blood of Jesus who sanctifies us and makes us whole.
We taste the sweetness of freedom in the wine that He provides for us. The wine lingers on our palettes as we savor the sweetness of each moment of our holy gathering.
A PRAYER TO BEGIN A NEW SACRED YEAR
Many say the prayer in Hebrew; and some of us like to use the English which we understand better.
“We praise you God, Ruler of Everything, who creates the fruit of the vine.
Praised are You, Lord, our God, Whose presence fills the universe, who has given us the gifts of life and strength and enabled us to reach this moment of joy. ‘