The Passover Seder

St. Mark's members gathered for the Passover Seder on Wednesday, April 12, 2006.

The Seder is the Passover Feast which commemorates the Jews flight from Egypt. Every aspect of the Seder has symbolic significance and, down through generations has acquired deep emotional and spiritual overtones.

Of all the Jewish festivals, Passover is the most vivid and dramatic. No other festival has developed as distinctive a home ritual - the Seder - with its special prayer text - the Haggadah. None has clustered about it such a host of Biblical reference, legend, ethical insight and messianic optimism as does Passover.

For Christians, Passover is of special interest since it provided the historical background for the great Christian festival of Easter, The Last Supper is linked with the Passover Seder, and such concepts as the Lamb of God and the wine and bread of Communion originated in the Passover ritual.