IMAGES FOR HOLY WEEK 5

Maundy Thursday 

The Seder Plate.

This photograph was sent to a friend, by cousins from whom she is parted at this special time. The Jewish festival of Passover began last night and continues until the 16th, coinciding with the Christian festival of Easter. Today is Maundy Thursday and tonight Christians commemorate the last supper, when Jesus and his disciples gathered in an upper room, maybe above a dwelling, a meeting place or an animal shelter, to celebrate Passover. He added a new ritual, the sharing of bread and wine to represent his body and his blood, as he knew that his life was soon to end. Jesus was a Jew and the meal which he shared with his disciples would have been their equivalent of today’s symbol rich Seder meal. 

I was introduced to this by a local church when my children were growing up. Each year we celebrated the Seder, on the night before Maundy Thursday, the first night of Passover. Sometimes my daughter was the youngest person present, and in line with Jewish tradition she had to ask the set questions which elicited the elders to share scriptural responses explaining the story of the Exodus. 

The Seder is a ritual performed by multiple generations of a Jewish family or community, involving a retelling of the story of the Israelites long and difficult journey to escape from slavery in ancient Egypt. This is told in the Book of Exodus, which is an important text for followers of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The Seder is based on the commandment "You shall tell your child on that day, 'It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" (Exodus 13:8) Traditionally, Jewish families and friends gather in the evening of the first and second evenings of Passover to read the ancient texts, sing special songs, eat symbolic foods and perform rituals passed down to them. This year will be very strange as Jewish people celebrate Seder in their isolation.

In this difficult time when we all fear for our own safety and that of our loved ones because of Coronavirus it is all too easy for us to forget the plight of modern day slaves and refugees. People living in camps have no opportunity to wash their hands and self isolate. Their death toll will almost certainly be disproportionately massive. 

The six foods on a Seder plate are variations around: 

Maror: A paste of bitter herbs (often horseradish), symbolizing the harshness of the slavery which the Jews endured.

Chazeret : Fresh bitter herbs such as endive or dandelion greens, in keeping with the biblical instruction ‘with bitter herbs they shall eat it’.

Charoset: A sweet, brown, pebbly paste of fruits and nuts, representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build for their masters in Egypt. 

Karpas: Usually parsley or celery, which is dipped into salt water to symbolize the tears that the Jews shed in their slavery.

Zeroa: A roasted lamb bone, symbolising a lamb which was offered in the temple, before being roasted and eaten as part of the Seder meal.

Beitzah: A roast egg symbolizing the festival sacrifice, offered in the temple before being eaten as part of the Seder meal.

(Thanks to Times magazine & Wikipedia and friends for information)