A HOLY CONVOCATION
Many of our Christian/Hebraic-thinking friends join in each year with local congregations for formal Passover Seders.
These formal presentations can be such wonderful experiences. We’ve often done the same. The scripture says Passover and most Holy Days are to be a “convocation” so having a gathering is important.
The translation of the word “convocation” into Hebrew actually suggests a “calling together” or “a rehearsal.” It doesn’t necessarily mean to meet in a specific building; but it suggests that families gather together to consider important things that are happening.
Our family has 13 immediate family members who often gather around our table; and if Elijah decides to come join us; we will be 14 with only our immediate family. Often we invite others to join in with us. So we seem to already have a small convocation meeting each year inside our home.
The dictionary says a convocation is a gathering of people to perform a ceremony. Passover would certainly qualify for that definition. I think the definition of a “holy convocation” is whereever two or more are gathered together in the name of God.
A PLACE PREPARED
It is just a matter of preference. as to where you take the service. We like to keep ours cozy, yet welcoming, and do the Seder inside our family home; just like those of that very first Passover. Nothing wrong with either choice as long as you DO remember this very sacred and important night.
It is the LORD’S Passover!
THE FIRST PASSOVER WAS DONE IN HASTE
I’m gong to be brave and go ahead and say this out loud; but barely…….and very softly.
When you think of the Passover Seder; do you have that sense of the whole evening being long and tedious and formal; and (admit it) sometimes a bit repetitious and boring?
Do your adult guests savor every word and symbolic element, while your younger guests and/or children squirm and wiggle and disrupt the happenings at the table?
Do you feel that some people are there only in body but not in spirit?
It doesn’t have to be that way!
It really never should be that way!
JESUS KEPT IT SIMPLE
Jesus kept it simple; and so can we.
When we first started keeping Passover as a Christian family who thought like Hebrews; we were so excited to begin to observe the Seder inside our home as a family!
I thought you had to follow all the rigid, strict rules with every year’s presentation of Passover. 
YOU CAN WRITE YOUR OWN
I thought you HAD to use a certain Haggadah (the little book that guides you through the Seder service) and I didn’t know that each observant family was actually ALLOWED to write their own version of the Seder.
Of course, you just need to be sure to incorporate the 15 elements. They are: 1. Kaddesh 2. Urechaz 3. Karpas. 4. Yachatz. 5. Maggid. 6. Rachtzah. 7.Motzi. 8. Matzah. 9. Maror. 10. Korech. 11. Shulchan Orech. 12. Tzafun. 13. Barech. 14. Hallel. 15. Nirtzah
I hope I didn’t lose you with that last paragraph. It is not nearly as complicated as it sounds!
Do those sound really complicated to you? I’ll tell you a secret – they are not! You can do these things without taking the whole night too. I’ll be happy to walk you through an example here. It can be short and sweet and to the point.
Imagine my surprise when I realized we could individualize our own Seder to suit the personality of our family and that would be totally acceptable!
I didn’t know!
PREVIOUS THINKING CORRECTED
I used to torture the ADD-type members of my family by practically forcing them to sit through a LONG and complicated annual service, with a longer break to eat and then MORE LONG and formal services.
NOT TRUE ALL THE TIME
I think you have to look at your guests and decide what will be more effective for the time you are living in. Sometimes those long services are very warm and teaching and people respond openly and are amazed at the truth and concepts and how Our LORD and Savior Jesus is hiding in every motion, word and symbol. Sometimes people see Jesus in more of a relational, not so formal aspect and they don’t feel they need the long teachings. Both things are acceptable as long as you keep God’s requirements for remembering and celebrating. We do what works for the seasons of our lives.
As I said; at first I thought we ALWAYS had to keep the rigid, formal, time-consuming rules.
The first few times were novel and interesting and then I could see the glaze settling in over everyone’s eyes when I started setting the dates and making the plans the next year.
NOT MAKING LIGHT OF ANY OF THE SACRED THINGS
Now, I don’t mean to make light of Passover.
Not at all!
We take Passover very seriously at our home. It is a very sacred time and it is to be entered into with reverence and the right attitude.
You can do that though, with class and elegance and yet still make the service shorter, more interesting and original, and it might become a much better fit for your family members during some of the seasons of your lives. After which; you can simply return to the longer, more formal setting again; depending on the needs of your guests.
THE JOY RETURNED
After I slowly began to change up the order and relaxed the formality a bit; people at our house began to really cherish and appreciate the Passover.
I could feel them grasping new things again; and I could sense their new appreciation for the stories.
Witnessing the joy that had been a bit lacking in the beginning was so wonderful!
EVERYONE CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE PRESENTATION
We began to bring a portion of ourselves before God as gifts of love and not obligation, and we made a group participating form of worship instead of depending on just one person to lead us through a long continuous list of ritual routines.
THE STORY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART
Of course, certain elements should not change.
One of those elements is the telling of the story of The Passover.
This is the most crucial part of the whole evening.
God’s story MUST be told.
He has commanded that we always REMEMBER THE PASSOVER story and pass it down from generation to generation.
AN EASY WAY TO ENJOY THE STORY
I’ve found an easy, relaxing way for our family to enjoy the story.
We watch it being acted out.
We watch “The Prince of Egypt” on video.
This beautiful/kid-friendly movie seems to cover every element of the story and is a well done production that both children and adults can relate to. I catch myself humming along with the songs and I see wide-eyed children doing the same. They are suddenly fascinated with the story and the adult parents are fascinated with the details that went into the movie. Everyone relates and even better – they actually remember!
A MOVIE SCREEN AND A PROJECTOR IS A WORTH WHILE INVESTMENT
We simply put a movie screen and a projector up on our back deck before sundown.
When the evening starts we light the candles and say the Passover prayers.
We all gather around our dining room table (which is inside the house) and have a short/informal time of presenting and sampling the things from the Seder Plate and we drink the four glasses of wine with our prayers. We ask the 4 questions and then we all enjoy a delicious meal together outside under the stars as we watch the movie on the back deck of our house.
Afterwards we sit outside and discuss the movie over desert and more wine.
FAVORS CAN BE FUN TOO
I let my grandchildren help me beforehand to make some appropriate favors for everyone to take home as a reminder of the next Days of Unleavened Bread and Early First Fruits.
Some years I print out pretty devotions for each day and staple them together or put them in a notebook and hand one out to each person to enjoy later.
WHY NOT ADD SPECIAL MUSIC THAT YOUR FAMILY ENJOYS?
Before and after we play interesting music in the background with songs that are appropriate to the Passover. One of our favorites is “Go Down Moses” by Louis Armstrong.
A LOT OF PREPARATION DOES GO INTO THIS TYPE OF GATHERING
Before sunset on Passover we set a beautiful table, something elegant and colorful with our dishes that are set aside especially for Passover use.
Now; with just these little changes in presentation; the general, overall mood of this sacred time has become one of pure anticipation. As the night goes by I can sense that hearts are being changed.
It isn’t really very strange these days to enjoy a candle light dinner on the back deck of your home using your finest china. Once you add God’s commandment to keep His Holy Passover; it becomes a perfect time.
Instead of a stiff and formal affair; the mood fades over to a more relaxed, even slightly romantic mood. After all we ARE dating our Beloved whenever we gather in God’s name. We are meeting with the LORD inside of this very sacred time. The Church IS The Bride of Christ. The actual thought of romance is very appropriate; and I think He approves. I turn on the twinkling lights that my husband lined the rails of the deck with last summer. Their soft glowing light gives the setting an even more eclectic and delightful flair.
Both the “Martha” and the “Mary” side of me are happy!
A candle stick sits on each end of the patio table. I’ve covered it with a pretty table-cloth and it doesn’t look like a patio table at all. Our happy faces glow in the light.
IN THE DINING AREA INSIDE THE HOUSE
We place the Seder plate with all the appropriate foods in the center of one end of the inside dining table where we first gather. It contains portions of matzah, lettuce, parsley (karpus), horseradish, charoset and a shank bone. A plate of extra matzah sits next to the Seder plate. We place the pretty gold-embroidered afikoman cover for the matzoh on the table next to those plates. We place a bottle of wine especially selected for this night next to the seat of our host. There are wine glasses provided at each place setting. Pretty and appropriate but smaller plates are used on this table. We have other pretty china plates at the place settings outside where we will eat our meal and watch the movie. It would be perfectly fine to use paper products for this meal if you like. There are actually very pretty plastic disposable plates made these days that look and feel just as if they were real china. I just prefer the more formal china.
DON’T FORGET ELIJAH’S PLATE
Of course we put down the extra plate; just in case Elijah decides to pick tonight to show up and join us. Anyway it is always fun when that unsuspecting person points out that you have too many plates.
On the other side of the table is a bowl of water which is placed towards the center. It sits over a stack of funny looking napkins that we will use to count the ten plagues . A bowl of salt water is placed next to this bowl.
Besides the pretty candles on each end; those are all the things we need for our dining table; but I’ve also placed a pretty flower arrangement of tulips in the middle.
I just love flowers! Outside the deck is also scattered with yellow tulips in bowls and vases, just for the fun of adding some pretty pops of color everywhere that we will be on this special night.
USE MUSIC IF YOU LIKE
As we gather and mingle and make our way toward the dining area to start; some appropriate songs are playing. We have our favorites – one is “Go Down Moses” by Louis Armstrong. I’ve found that the addition of music in the beginning and the end adds a lot of inspiration to the moments. We’ve also used poetry and videos in times when we didn’t watch a long movie; but told the story ourselves by reading or presenting a play.
When everyone arrives; the woman of the house (that would be me) lights the candles and says the prayer to welcome in the high sabbath.
KIDDUSH
Then my husband proclaims a welcome to all and says another prayer (Kiddush) as he pours everyone some wine in their glasses. (Wine is used because it is a symbol for joy and happiness. I also have sparkling cider for the children so that they too can participate in each activity. We tell them when they are twelve they can have real wine at Passover.)
After the prayer we drink the first cup (instead of using four separate cups during the evening, we will simply take four sips of wine together when appropriate) As we drink our sips of wine we all lean to the left because free people always have the luxury of reclining at a meal.
URECHAZ
Next – while we are still around the dining room table – A bowl is passed for everyone to wash their hands before eating the karpus (parsley.) (Urechaz) There are extra napkins at each place for drying.
KARPAS
After washing hands everyone is told to hold a piece of the parsley and dip it into the salt water. (Karpas) We pass the salt water bowl and every one dips and eats their parsley.
My husband (anyone in your group can perform any of these actions that my husband usually does for us.) asks them if they remember why we do this?
Someone gives the correct answer: The salt water stands for the tears that God’s people shed when they were in the bondage to slavery in Egypt. We are remembering the tears of slavery.
YACHATAZ
My husband takes a large piece of matzah off of the plate and breaks it into two pieces. He puts the smaller piece back on the Seder plate.(Yachatz)
He asks: What does it mean to us when I break this piece of matzah?
Someone correctly answers: It is symbolic of the miracle that God performed when he parted the Red Sea so the people could walk across on dry land. Another voice speaks into the symbolism: It also represents the body of Jesus who died on the cross for us. His body was broken for us.
The larger piece of unbroken matzah is hidden inside the special cloth covering on the table.
We take up our cups again and my husband says another prayer and asks everyone to take a second sip of wine.
We begin to talk about the story of Passover.
MAGGID
My husband reminds everyone that the main reason for gathering tonight is to tell the story. He says we will watch the whole story in a few minutes as we take our festive meal outside; but first a preview of some the main points we should notice: (Maggid).
We ask the four questions about the story: Often my husband will tell the youngest child to repeat the questions after him; one at a time:
1. Why is this night different from all other nights?
2. Why do we eat matzah on this night?
3. Why do we dip the vegetable in salt water and eat bitter herbs?
4. Why do we recline at the table?
My husband tells the children and the adults that the answers to the questions will be found in the story that we will watch and hear as we watch The Prince of Egypt under the stars tonight. The movie tells the story of Passover and that is the later, longer part of this Maggid.
He mentions that we should all be watching as the movie shows the 10 plagues of Egypt. Tonight we will remember them, and we will also notice them right now by placing a drop of blood (really a drop of wine from our wine glasses) on our napkins to represent each plague.
My husband will then pass out the funny looking napkins that are sitting on the table. They have pictures of the ten plagues represented in the order they occurred. He will say that we will soon see a movie about a Pharaoh who would not let God’s people go out into the wilderness to worship Him. God sent plagues to Pharaoh as punishment until he changed his mind and decided to let the people go.
Does anyone know the first plague?
We will name all of the ten plagues that are pictured on the napkins and as we name each one we will dip our finger into our glass of wine and bring out a drop of wine to place on that particular represented plague.
Everyone will say the names together as they place the drop of wine on the napkin over the plagues:
1. Water turned to blood
2. Frogs
3.Lice
4. Wild animals.
5. Disease on livestock.
6. Incurable boils.
7. Hail and thunder.
8. Locusts
9. Darkness
10. Death of the first-born Egyptians.
My husband will remind everyone that we will see the whole story as soon as we go outside tonight. This will continue our Maggid.
He picks up the shank bone and says remember that in the time of the ancient people leaving on that first Passover, and also during the temple times, the sacrifice of the lamb was a reminder that the blood on the doorpost protected the people from the death of the first-born.
They, like us, were protected by The Lamb of God.
By the blood of the Holy Lamb of God we have been saved.
Every generation now must see themselves as having come out of Egypt by God’s mighty hand and we must sing the songs of praise that we will soon be hearing in the movie. It is a time to be thankful to our Great God for all the things He has done for us.
The ancient people were delivered from physical slavery; and we have been delivered from spiritual slavery.
It is the time to celebrate our deliverance.
(A prayer of thanks is offered)
We drink the second cup in honor of God’s deliverance of His people.
RACHTZAH
The bowl is again passed for the washing of the hands before the meal. Everyone dips their fingers into the bowl and dries them with the napkins provided. (Rachtzah)
MOTZI
A prayer will be said over the motzah. (Motzi)
My husband will then pick up three pieces of matzah. The piece in the middle will be broken. He will hold them all three up as he says a blessing. Then he will put the first unbroken piece back on the seder plate.
MATZAH
He will say another prayer. Then he will break bites from each of the two pieces that are left and give some of the matzah to everyone to taste. (Matzah)
We will eat while reclining to the left. This represents our freedom.
He will ask everyone: Why do we eat the matzah?
The correct answer will be given: When the people left Egypt they had to leave in haste. There was no time for the dough to rise. They ate matzah that did not contain leaven for bread. The matzah helps us to remember their flight from Egypt and how God sustained them in the wilderness. The matzah stands for faith which is obtained by being humble and obedient to God. Matzah does not rise; so it is considered the humblest of all foods. It has no leaven which represents sin. Jesus was like the matzah in that He committed no sin.
MAROR
We pass around the horseradish. (Maror) Everyone takes one tiny portion on a piece of matzah. My husband says “This is the maror. Do not recline when eating it. Do you know why?
Someone will answer: Because it is very bitter and it reminds us of the harsh, bitter times of slavery in Egypt. Slaves did not recline while eating.
KORECH
Then we are all given some of the charoset. My husband will ask: What is this?
Someone gives the correct answer: It is charoset; and the nuts and the raisins and the wine and honey all mixed together resemble the mortar of the bricks that the Israelites used to build with when they were bound in slavery. (Korech)
Everyone will then take some matzah and combine a little marar with some of the charoset between pieces of matzah. My husband will ask if the addition of the charoset takes away the bitter taste of the maror? Everyone will nod yes. Then he will ask if we can taste the sweetness? Everyone will nod yes. He then asks what the sweetness of the charoset means.
Someone gives the correct answer: That the sweet flavor stands for the hope of redemption. Even in the hopeless situation of slavery in Egypt the people of God looked for a coming Messiah.
At that point my husband will hold up the shank bone. He will ask what it means. Someone will explain that the bone stands for the lamb of God; the lamb that is symbolic of Christ. The lamb was sacrificed at the Passover in Egypt; and later Christ came to sacrifice himself for us. The shank bone stands for our redemption.
SHULCHAN ORECH
After this we will go into the kitchen to receive our food and take it outside to eat our festive meal. (Shulchan Orech)
We will hear the stories of God from the movie under the stars of our backyard and we will enjoy a festive Passover meal together as we watch the story unfold before us.
After a good meal and complete telling of the story we will have a time of fellowship and perhaps sip another glass of wine with our dessert.
TZAFUN
Then my husband will bring out the festive bag that contains the afikoman (the hidden Matzah.) He will show the bag to everyone and then go to hide it. When he is done the children will go search for the bag. The one who finds it gets a prize.
This tells us how the gospel can sometimes be hidden from us and we must search and search for it until we find it. We must search with all of our hearts and we will find the greatest prize of all. We will find The Messiah!
My husband takes out the Matzah hiding in the bag wrapped inside a linen cloth and He holds it up for all to see. To those who know Christ this represents the miracle of resurrection and the revealing of the true Manna from Heaven – Our resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ.
The word “Tzafun” means “hidden.”
BARECH
At the end of the evening; we will gather for a the third cup of wine. Then we will have a blessing to offer thanks for our meal. My husband will remind everyone that the Israelites traditionally prayed their “blessing” at the end of the meal instead of the beginning. He will offer up a prayer at that time thanking God for our meal, our time together, and most of all for Jesus Christ, the Precious Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This is when we will drink the third cup together.
We are reminded that the order of the Passover, called a Seder, was formed long before the coming of Jesus Christ. It was commanded by God to remember that first Passover where the Israelites put the blood of the sacrificial lamb over their doorpost and all of the firstborn sons of Israel were saved from death. Later Jesus came and before He was crucified as The Lamb of God, He took the Passover with his disciples as both a “firstborn son” and “The Lamb of God.” He took the cup that represented His holy and pure blood and blessed it and gave it to His disciples. We have called this cup The Blessing Cup. It is the cup that provides our Salvation. It represents the holy blood of Christ poured out for us.
HALLEL
Holding hands after the prayer we will sing a joyful song together. It is traditional in Jewish homes to sing a song with words from Psalms 114-118. The very word “Hallel” in Hebrew means a joyous praise song to God. This is where we get our word Hallelujah. The Hallel is often called The Great Hallelujah. If you know the song called Hallelujah; you will remember the words that say “there was a very special cord that David sang before the Lord” and that line is speaking of the Hallel that is always sung at the end of the Passover. The passages of the Psalms used here are very Messianic in nature. This would be the very song that the disciples sang together after the Last Supper (between the third and fourth cup) before they went out to the Mount of Olives.
At the time of The Last Super; Jesus said these words which are recorded in the scriptures in Mark 14:25; “Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God” Then later in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said: ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but thou wilt'” (Matt. 26:39). Also after that we hear of Jesus being offered wine mingled with myrrh as He hung on the cross; but He refused to drink. The Passover would not be officially finished after The Last Supper until the Lamb of God was hung on the cross. It would not be officially finished until after that fourth cup had been drank. Finally, right before He died, Jesus said “I thirst.” He was given wine to drink from a stalk made of hyssop. Hyssop was normally used by the ancients to sprinkle the blood of the Lamb by the High Priest at the altar on Passover. Then Jesus said “It is finished.”
The Passover is over. The Lamb has been slain. The sacrifice has been given and accepted.
This end of the Passover is the time when the fourth cup is traditionally poured out and drank. In a Jewish wedding the time that the bride takes of the cup of wine is the time that she commits to the marriage. In ancient times when a Jewish couple became engaged the man would negotiate a bride price. Then he would hand the bride-to-be a cup of wine and say “This is the cup of my covenant.” (Exactly what Jesus did at The Last Supper.) If the woman drank it meant “I do.” If she refused the wedding did not happen. At that point (when she drank the glass of wine) she had all rights of a wife but no marital intimacy until the wedding night. Then at the wedding, they would drink another cup of wine together in the House of the Groom’s Father.
Like those disciples that went out to the Mount of Olives; this is where we will all hug and depart from one another, each going to the next destination that God has ordained for them in this life.
Everyone will go home with their favors being handed out to them at the door as they leave. These favors will remind everyone that tomorrow is the first day of Unleavened Bread, and the beginning of the counting of the Omer.
NIRTZAH
NirtzahNi means “accepted.” This is God’s part. He accepts us as his people and continues living in our midst. There is nothing we do ourselves at Nirtzah; each person simply carries all that he has learned in his heart and goes out into the world as a witness for God. It is hoped that even in all the human aspects from this family Seder meal (which will never be absolutely perfect;) that we have still learned and grown in our relationship with our Creator. Knowing this fact will make the world we live and walk around in everyday a much friendlier, more hopeful and better place. We have worshiped our God in our gathering together on this night. We carry God’s blessings over us as we depart for the unknown.
YOUR PASSOVER CAN BE TAILORED TO YOUR FAMILY’S NEEDS
I hope you have enjoyed this little glimpse into how we sometimes do our Passover Seder. I pray that you were able to see that every little part tells the story of Messiah. Every year is slightly different; depending on how God leads us. This is okay; this is allowed as long as we remember the story.
Knowing the story of The Lord’s Passover is the beginning of joy. What begins in slavery; ends in freedom. What seems impossible; becomes evident. What started out sad; turned to joy. We will know more of this as the week progresses. You can’t know the end until you have absorbed the beginning.
Every moment of life with God is a teaching moment. It will have you living inside out and upside down.
I pray that God will lead and guide you in formulating just the right way to bring your family to His Passover table.
Blessings; and a beautiful and blessed Passover to all of you!
May the peace of God flood your homes as you are obedient to His will for your life.