Passover is one of the celebrations that has changed and evolved over time. In the bible we are told to celebrate the freeing of the Hebrews from Egypt but we are only told this in vague terms, "For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast." (Exodus 12:15). Now, however, we celebrate this with Passover. Passover is a seven night celebration of the freeing of the Hebrews. Many of the things we are asked to do in the bible are the same today, such as during Passover, we only eat unleavened bread. But many things have been added. One addition is to leave out a cup of wine for the prophet Elijah and leave a door cracked open so he may enter the house. another addition to the celebration is reciting of the words of the four children.
Another celebration that has changed is Shabbat. Shabbat is the celebration of the Sabbath on Friday nights. In the Bible we are told to rest and not do any work on the Sabbath, "but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall
not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or
female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your
towns" (Exodus 20:10). The way the sabbath is celebrated is very different. We still do no work, but we have a special dinner to celebrate the sabbath. We eat a special bread called challah, and we light candles and drink a ceremonial cup of wine.
We have thousands of years of history and that has caused us to change the way we partake the celebrations and ceremonies described in the bible. It gives one the feeling of being involved in the way we interpret the bible.
We have thousands of years of history and that has caused us to change the way we partake the celebrations and ceremonies described in the bible. It gives one the feeling of being involved in the way we interpret the bible.
I find Gabriel’s post insightful; it encourages me to look at the way I’ve celebrated many of the Christian traditions, and how these have changed from the time that the Bible was written. For example, attending church Christmas Eve is one of my favorite and most spiritual moments of the year. The Bible’s changing interpretation over time may have had something to do with the shift in churchgoing. Other changes around the world, particularly with our change in speed of life and use of technology, in addition to beliefs being aired over social media, has radically altered how many Western people relate to church.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't think of the name of the prophet that the wine is left for, thanks for mentioning that, and describing all those other traditions. Having challah and wine on Sabbath reminds me of Eucharist at church. These ceremonies of breaking and eating bread together seem to me as a way of reminding people of the goodness of organization and cooperation. There needs to be a farmer to grow and harvest the wheat and a baker to create the dough. There needs to be a farmer to grow the grapes and harvest them to create the wine, a process involving many people. The point I think these ceremonies are trying to make is the importance of community and togetherness. That are celebrated through the enjoying of wine and bread, some of the greatest gifts created by human hands.
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