(message put out to the group Thurs 6th Apr 2023)
Shalom everyone,
This evening, we hold our Seders, when we remember the story of the Exodus. One of the purposes of retelling the story, is to enable us to feel as if we came out of Egypt ourselves.
This aspect of the observances tonight is especially important for people who were not born into the Jewish community. No matter what your ethnic or national origin at birth, no matter what culture you were raised up in, the journey out of Egypt is the one event that helps give us all a common origin. It is a unifying event that binds all Israelites – Jew and Godfearer alike.
If you self-identify as a Talmidi Godfearer, it is important that you remember that a mixed multitude – various Egyptians, Nubians, and people of mixed Egyptian/Israelite ancestry, who all chose to follow Yahveh – came out of Egypt alongside the Israelites. Godfearers were with Israel right from the very beginning; you are part of Israel, and always were!
It is an undeniable fact that there are many Jews today who are ethnically Jewish – that is, they are descended from Jacob son of Isaac, and his 12 sons. However, Israel is not based on ethnicity. Over the millennia, non-Israelites joined Israel, and God even promised that when Israel and Judah came out of exile, that Gentiles would join them (Isa 14:1, 56:6). The nation of Israel is instead based on its worship of one God – Yahveh, and on its adherence to God’s Covenant with the House of Israel.
Consequently, the observance of the Passover rituals – the dressing up as if ready to leave on a journey, the waiting at the door, the eating of the unleavened bread with bitter herbs in haste – is all part of helping those who were not born Jewish, to attain a solid, common bond with those who were born Jewish.
On that very first Passover evening, the Israelites were told to daub blood on the lintel and two doorposts. One aspect of doing this, was to further add to the symbolisation of birth. The home where the Israelites ate their very first passover lamb was our symbolic womb, and the blood around the door made it a symbolic birth canal. This is also why it was only done on that first passover night, because the nation of Israel was only birthed once.
Whatever your original ethnic background, I pray that tonight you will take to heart that, by observing the Passover Seder, and by retelling the story of the Exodus, you are participating in the common experience of being born into Israel as a people. No matter what your birth origin, it is your adherence to Yahveh, your adherence to the Covenant, and your common experience of departing from Egypt, which make you part of the Assembly of all Israel.
I pray you all have a happy, blessed and enjoyable Passover Seder!
Peace and blessings in the Name of Yahveh, our One, True Saviour and Redeemer!
your brother
Shmuliq