When speakers on Judaism are invited to address groups
of Christians, they are often expected to bring visual
aids to illustrate what they have to say: a ram's horn
to reflect the Jewish New Year; a palm branch when speaking
about Tabernacles; a spice box to explain the home ceremony
that concludes the Sabbath.
The most popular of all such illustrations are the
symbols used at the Passover meal, the Seder: the shankbone
which is a reminder of the Paschal lamb offering; the
burnt egg representing the second, festive, sacrifice;
the bitter herbs to remind us of the bitterness endured
by the Israelites in Egypt; the salt water that tastes
like their tears; the charoset (a mixture of apple,
almonds and wine) that looks like the mortar out of
which the slaves were to build the pyramids; and, above
all, the unleavened bread and wine, often passed around
in the audience to provide a “taste of Passover.”
Whenever I am called upon to bring such visual aids,
I refuse - not because I wish to deprive Christians
of an experience of Judaism, but because I believe that
this kind of simplistic explanation offers a false experience.
It is as unhelpful as passing around wine and wafers
to give a Jewish audience a “taste of the Eucharist.”
Annual Reliving of the
Exodus
The fact that the Eucharist may have
its origin in the Seder which Jesus celebrated points
to the differences between the two religions more than
to the similarities. The only way in which Christians
can ignore such differences is by viewing Jewish Passover
celebrations as quaint customs from ages past, instead
of seeing them as intended: an annual reliving in the
present of the Exodus from Egypt, which thus becomes a
paradigm of Jewish history.
The book that is read at the Seder, the Haggadah, is
a Midrash (Jewish exegesis) on Exodus, not a straight
retelling of the story. The purpose of Midrash is to
breach the gap between past events and present reality.
The Exodus represents for the Jew the beginning of redemption
and every celebrant is expected to apply that experience
to himself and herself.
The aim of reliving the Exodus is to prepare ourselves
for the final redemption, the Messianic times, reflected
in the Seder by an extra cup of wine on the table -
for the Prophet Elijah, the figure which, according
to Jewish tradition, will herald the advent of the Messiah.
Our redemption began in Egypt and could be completed
very soon. Therefore, Elijah may come at any moment;
those who celebrate the Seder must be ready to receive
him.
Providing
a Setting
The quaint ceremonies that Christians
seem to love so much are indeed visual aids - but not
to illustrate Judaism at the time of Jesus. Their aim
is to provide a setting for the Midrash, and the setting
chosen is that of the classical symposium at which participants
would engage in serious discussion during the meal. That
is why the symbols are set out on a tray and the celebrant
is expected to lean on his left side - in the manner of
free Romans - to make the point, that after the Exodus,
the Jew, too, is a free person.
The Christian connection between Easter
and Passover seems to be another Midrash on Exodus and
redemption. We now know enough about Midrash to refrain
from adjudicating as to which one is authentic and which
one is false. All we can say about the two is that they
are different and that the differences are due to the
fact that Jews and Christians need to build different
bridges in order to link the past to the present.
To view Passover as a quaint relic
of the past telling us how Judaism was in the days of
Jesus is to rob the Jewish celebration of its contemporary
relevance. In the spirit of true inter-faith dialogue,
it is more helpful and wholesome for representatives of
the two religions to learn from each other's Midrash,
instead of trying to incorporate the one into the other.
That is why I prefer to talk about
the place of Passover in Jewish life today - including
the many contemporary additions and allusions in the numerous
editions of the Haggadah currently in use - instead of
concentrating on ancient symbols. What matters is what
those symbols mean now in the respective religions.
Symbols Mean Different
Things
Christians use unleavened bread
and wine at Easter and Jews use unleavened bread and wine
at Passover, which obviously points to a common origin.
But what is significant is how these symbols have co  me
to mean very different things in the two religions, pointing
to diametrically opposed notions of the Messianic future.
To study the different traditions of Midrash may be a
more helpful contribution to Christian-Jewish understanding
than consideration of the common origins. It is for such reasons that I have
been reluctant to act as leader, or even as “consultant,”
at Christian Seder celebrations, not because I regard
them as in any way offensive to Judaism, but because I
fear that they may be misleading.
At the same time, however, I have always endeavored
to invite Christian friends to the Seder celebration
in my own home and encouraged other Jews to do the same,
because sharing in each other's festive times, rather
than imitating them, is a way of forging close bonds.
On similar grounds I have been an opponent of Christmas
celebrations in Jewish homes whilst encouraging Jews
to accept invitations from their Christian friends to
celebrate Christmas with them. To know of each other's
Midrash sheds light on our own; to fuse the two into
a continuum causes confusion.
* This article first appeared
in Catholic New Times 24 March 1985 and is reprinted
here with kind permission.
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