Judaism is one of the world’s
oldest religions dating back as far as Moses around 1450 B.C.[1]
Judaism “is a religion based on relationships: God’s relationship with the
human person, a person’s relationship with God, people’s individual
relationships with each other, and the chosen people’s relationship with other
nations. All these relationships are based on rules and traditions that are
said to have originated with God.”[2]
Judaism, like most other religions, has certain beliefs and traditions that
distinguish them. The traditions and beliefs that belong to Judaism are
commonly known as Feasts and Festivals. The history of Judaism is divided into
two Jewish Commonwealths. The first is dated back to Moses until the destruction
of Judah, and the second is dated to the rebuilding of the temple until the
Romans destroyed it again in 70 A.D.[3] Many
events in history have had special impact on Judaism and they led to
celebratory Feasts and Festivals every year. During Old Testament Biblical
times, three pilgrim festivals were required by male adults “to appear before
the Lord.”[4]
The three pilgrim festivals were known as Pesach, Sukkoth, and Shabuoth.[5] As
more events unfolded more festivals were added to the tradition. There are seven
main Feasts and Festivals known as the Pesach, Unleavened Bread, Shabuoth,
Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkoth. There is also the holiday of
Hanukkah that is of historical importance to Judaism. These Festivals and
Feasts along with the minor Festival of Purim and the weekly observance of the
Sabbath make up the entirety of Jewish culture. Most historical books on
Judaism deem the Pesach as the most important festival in Jewish history. The
Pesach is a complex and vastly important holiday that is celebrated every year
by Jews.
The
first month of the Jewish calendar is known as Nisan. The book of Exodus
declares from the Lord the month of Nisan as the first month: “The Lord said to
Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: ‘This month is to be the beginning of
months for you; it is the first month of your year’” (Exodus 12:1-2). Three
Festivals occur during the month of Nisan and the first of these being Pesach.
The Feast of Pesach means the Feast of Passover. According to the Encyclopedia
of the Jewish Religion the Passover Festival means “the festival of freedom”
and in Hebrew it means Pesah “indicating the ‘passing over’ or ‘sparing’ of the
houses of the Children of Israel during the plague of the first born.”[6] The
first Passover is recorded in Exodus 12. This Feast celebrates the memory of
the Israelites and the exodus from Egypt. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt
for over 400 years, but God sent Moses and Ten Plagues to free His people from
the Egyptians. The final plague on Egypt was known as the death of the
firstborn in Exodus 11, but the Lord made it able for Israelites to have the
death angel “Passover” their homes to protect their firstborns. Thus making a
moment in history that showed God’s faithfulness to the Israelites that would
never be forgotten. The first Passover is described in Exodus and describes how
the Israelites did as God commanded them.
“You
must have an unblemished animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either
the sheep or the goats… the community of
Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight. They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts
and the lintel of the houses where they
eat them. They are to eat the meat that night; they should eat it, roasted over
the fire along with unleavened bread and
bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or cooked I n boiling water, but only roasted over fire… Do not let any
of it remain until morning; you must
burn up any part of it that does remain before morning. Here is how you must eat it: you must be dressed for travel,
your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry, it is the Lord’s Passover”
(Exodus 12:5-11).
This is how the very first Passover
was celebrated and how it is remembered for the rest of time.
There
is also a legend behind the miracle of the Passover. Egypt was the home of the
Children of Israel and the land was known for many idols in their worship. Over
the years the false idols became part of the Hebrew’s lives as well and that
displeased God. According to The Legend of the Jews, Moses and Aaron received a
divine message from God about the redemption of the Israelites and they told
the people of Israel about God’s plan. But they replied with “How is it
possible that we should be redeemed? Is not the whole of Egypt full of our
idols? And we have no pious deeds to show making us worthy of redemption.”[7]
God promised redemption to them if they abandoned their false idols. God
commanded them to “sacrifice the paschal lamb.”[8] The
paschal lamb was either a lamb or a ram, both worshipped by the Egyptians. This
had crucial impact on the Egyptians because the Israelites were sacrificing
their idols, but the Egyptians, at the time, feared the Hebrews and did not
want to upset them. What made it worse was that the Hebrews took the blood of
the paschal lamb and smeared it on the doorposts. “The paschal sacrifice
afforded Moses the opportunity for inducing the children of Israel to submit
themselves for circumcision, which many had refused to do until then in spite
of his urgent appeals.”[9]
The legend says that God wanted the Israelites to stop worshipping false idols
and also become circumcised in order to receive redemption. The paschal lamb
persuaded the Israelites to come to Moses to partake in his paschal lamb, but
he would not allow anyone who was not circumcised. They listened to Moses and
decided to become circumcised which allowed every Israelite to be blessed by
the Lord. Finally, the legend of the paschal lamb ends with a miracle from the
Lord. “As no sacrifice may be eaten beyond the borders of the Holy Land, all
the children of Israel were transported thither on clouds, and after they had
eaten of the sacrifice, they were carried back to Egypt in the same way.”[10]
Jewish legend promotes this story over the Hebrew Bible’s story.
The
Feast of Passover starts on the fourteenth of Nisan. One day before the
Passover starts there is a custom known as the hiding of the Hametz. The Hametz
is hidden and must be found using the light of a candle.[11]
The Hametz can be eaten any day besides during the seven days of the Passover
Feast. The day before Passover all foods and bread containing leaven are
removed.[12]
A main tradition of Hametz is that when Hametz is permitted (not during the
Passover week) than a man can use it for benefit, but when it is not permitted,
“it is forbidden to derive benefit from it, nor may one light an oven or stove
with it.”[13]
Jewish tradition stresses the removal of Hametz from the household. They go as
far to mention the responsibilities of returning home if a man has forgotten to
remove all the Hametz in his household the day before Passover.[14]
The fourteenth of Nisan marks the day of the Passover Festival and can also be
considered a holiday. Men are to follow the local customs in order for things
to behave smoothly.
When
the Passover is done the Feast of Unleavened bread begins and lasts for seven
days. The three most important things to remember about Passover are:
“‘Passover, unleavened bread and bitter herbs.’ ‘Passover,’ because God passed
over the houses of our fathers in Egypt. ‘Unleavened bread,’ because our
fathers were redeemed from Egypt. ‘Bitter herbs,’ because the Egyptians
embittered the lives of our fathers in Egypt.”[15]
Today, Jews practice the Passover because “it celebrates the emergence from
bondage and idolatry.”[16]
The Passover led to the freedom of the Jews from Egypt. “In Jewish tradition,
freedom, in the modern sense, is scarcely a virtue; at best, it is an
opportunity. What matters is volitional dedication, and it is this and this
alone that forms the theme of the Passover story.”[17] The
release of bondage from Egypt was one thing, but the freedom of the Jews came
with the “yoke of the Torah; the only true independence is the apprehension of
God.”[18]
The history of the Passover for the Jews meant more than just a festival today.
The specific foods of the Passover had meaning in the Near Eastern culture of
the Jews. Since there was no way to preserve food in those days precautions had
to be taken when eating. Food had to be “eaten in a hurry” (Exodus 12:11). It
was so food did not linger under the sun and develop bacteria. The bitter herbs
were eaten with the food because it was “an effective cathartic against any
impurity that may inadvertently have been consumed.”[19] This
was how people of that day ate every day and for the Passover the same ritual
was to be followed.
There
was a ceremony in Jewish history known as the Pesah ceremony. This was
traditionally before the Exodus from Egypt. According to the Seasonal
Festivals, the ceremony was to eat in haste and to eat bitter herbs. It was to
commemorate the coming together of two companions by the eating of bread with
another.[20]
Once the meal was eaten the ceremony to join the companions in friendship or
loyalty began. “The usual method of doing this is to sprinkle some of the
animal’s blood on the foreheads of all present or on the flaps of their tents
or doorposts of their houses… this sprinkling of blood serves a further
purpose.”[21]
This marked the pact between the new companions between each other and their
god. This tradition was used before the Exodus in Egypt by the Israelites. However,
the Israelites took this tradition and gave it their own meaning, “thereby
relating it to their own historic experience and justifying its continued
observance.”[22]
The Israelites carried out the Pesah ceremony on the night of the Passover and
God saved them because of this act. However, many Jews believe in the Biblical
account of the Passover and not this tradition of the idea originating from the
Pesah.
The
Pesach or Passover was to be remembered every year and for the Jews it was a
joyous time. The Pesach was “originally a nature festival, an observance of the
coming of spring.”[23]
After the Exodus the Pesach became meaning for the Passover. There were many
ceremonies that were common for the Jews, but as time went on they began to
take on new meaning. “They are interpreted differently, given symbolic values,
and in this way become something almost entirely new.”[24]
Jewish life changed as history went on and as did the Festival of Pesach. In
fact, the Pesach and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were separate traditions,
but over time they began to be joined together into one holiday.[25]
All this happened before the end of the First Commonwealth and the first
destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Northern Kingdom was destroyed and
the Southern Kingdom of Judah was left. The Temple of Jerusalem became the only
place where a Jew could practice the ceremony of Pesach during that time. Here
is where it lost the tradition of smearing the blood of the lamb on the
doorposts since they could only sacrifice the lamb in the Temple itself.[26] The
Pesach became the greatest Jewish holiday in the time of the second Temple.
Oppression by the Romans was severe and the hope for a Messiah was in the
hearts of the Jews. They wanted God to deliver them like they did long ago in
Egypt. The Pesach now “became the festival of the second as well as the first
redemption; in every part of the world where Jews lived, especially in
Palestine, Jewish hearts beat faster on the eve of Pesach, beat with the hope
that this night the Jews would be freed from the bondage of Rome.”[27] Thus,
the Pesach was now celebrated in the Temple as well as the home. It was not
until the destruction of the second Temple that the Pesach was only celebrated
in the homes of the Jews.
During
the days of the Temple in Jerusalem there was certain rituals and practices for
Pesach making it the most celebrated time of the year. Jerusalem doubled in
population during the holiday.[28] Merchants
came for business and the dealings of livestock and the materials for the celebration.
Priests and Levites come from all over to gather in the Temple.[29]
Once all the unleavened bread or Hermetz was eaten or rid of, the Jews would
march through Jerusalem. They were caring with them sheep and goats in order to
make their way to the Temple to offer this Pesach sacrifice.[30]
Once the sacrifices are offered, families and friends all gather in each
other’s homes in order to start the celebration. Everyone is an equal and come
together to celebrate this faithful holiday. The celebration begins:
“In
the homes people lounge on sofas placed around the room. The left hand rests on
soft cushions, the right hand
takes food and drink from small, individual tables set before each feaster. One sits at the head of the
room and leads in the ceremonial observance. First a glass of win mixed with water is taken. Then the right hand is
washed and all partake of lettuce
dipped in a tart liquid. Then the sacrificial animal is served and is eaten
with matsoh and bitter herbs, dipped
in charoses, a mixture of ground nuts and fruits in wine. Then begins the second part of the ceremonial
of the evening; the reciting of the story of the
festival, and the discussion of the ceremonies that go with it. A second glass
of diluted wine is drunk and
the son of the household asks why this night is different from all other nights. His father answers him
with excerpts from the Bible telling about the deliverance
from Egypt and then explains the meaning of the sacrificial lamb, the matsoh, and the bitter herbs… And when he starts to
sing Hallel, they all join in loudly. They conclude
with the benediction for redemption are filled with the hope of immediate deliverance from their enemies and
the removal of the foreign governor and his foreign soldiers from the holy city.”[31]
The night concludes, but the
celebration continues for the Jews as they return to the streets of Jerusalem
and head to the Temple for prayer and praising. Matsoh, according to The Oxford
Dictionary of the Jewish Religion, means unleavened bread. It does not need
fermentation of the dough and thus is able to be made in haste.[32]
Hallel is “a generic term for ‘praise with psalms,’ of which there are three
known varieties: the Egyptian, the Great, and the Daily Hallel.”[33]
Today,
the practice of the Passover is still celebrated by Jews and others alike. They
begin the ritual on the 14th of Nisan on the Jewish calendar. The
sacrifice of the Paschal lamb is no longer done, but instead it is now called
the Seder. Seder “means simply ‘order of service’ or ‘former procedure’ – is at
once a substitute for the ancient paschal sacrifice and a fulfillment of the
Biblical injunction to retell the story of the Exodus to one’s children.”[34]
During the Seder ceremony there is the Haggadah, which is the “set form in which
the story of the Exodus must be told on the first two nights of Passover.”[35]
After the retelling of the story, the youngest of the family is able to ask
questions about the holiday. The Seder ceremony is during the Passover and is
“no mere act of pious recollection, but a unique and inspired device for
blending the past, the present and the future into a single comprehensive and
transcendental experience.”[36]
As the years went on certain traditions were added or updated and some
forgotten. The only constant tradition remaining for the Passover, even if it
is not the most important anything, is remembering the night where God redeemed
the Israelites in Egypt.
Christianity
and Judaism share a history together dating all the way back to creation. It continues
through Abraham and to Egypt and Moses. It goes through the Old Testament until
the coming of the Messiah. There is a schism among Jews and Christians that
resulted from different views on doctrine. The main disagreement is each
other’s belief in God. Judaism believes in the supreme monotheism of one God.
While Christians see their belief in God as monotheism, they also believe in
the Trinity of God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. “To the
unconditional monotheism of Judaism the doctrine of the Trinity is profoundly
objectionable, because it is a concession to polytheism or, at any rate, an
adulteration of the idea of the One, Unique, Indefinable and Invisible God.”[37]
Christianity refers to Genesis 1:26 when referencing the Trinity, “Then God
said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.’” Christians
take this verse as a direct pointer towards God in three-persons Trinity.
Judaism can’t imagine the Oneness of God as anything besides monotheism.
Another
distinction been Christianity and Judaism is the belief in Satan. Christianity
traces the role of Satan as the serpent in the Garden of Eden back in Genesis
3. Satan is the main deceiver and the hater of good in the world. However,
“Judaism knows of no Satan as a creative force of evil opposed to the benevolent
creative power of God.”[38] Therefore,
God created good and evil and man with the choice of being able to choose good
or evil. That means that Jews do not fear Satan because, “as a pithy Hasidic
teaching has it, if one fears anything besides God, one is guilty of idolatry,
fear being a kind of tribute to a power which one is afraid, and tribute should
only be offered to God.”[39]
The
Doctrine of “Original Sin” is another hot topic between Judaism and
Christianity. Christians believe that when Adam sinned the seed of sin was
forever passed down through Adam to all generations. Therefore, all mankind was
born in sin and was sinful by nature. Only by the power of God’s mercy and
grace were sins forgiven and salvation was achieved. Judaism does not believe
in “original sin” in the way Christians do. They believe more in free will. “Jewish ethics is predicated on the
trust in man’s ethical freedom, the faculty of choice between good and evil. The medieval Jewish philosophers therefore
postulated, on the strength of Biblical
and Rabbinic pronouncements, that there would be no room for commandments and prohibitions and for
reward and punishment if man were not free to choose
his conduct.”[40]
Man is not forced to go along a path
already chosen, but have the freedom to do what they want. In fact, “the
conviction that is ‘in the hands of his decision’ was especially insistently
sounded by the Talmudic Sages, who taught that ‘everything is in the hands of
God – except the fear of God.’”[41]
The main difference between Christianity and Judaism towards this topic is the
idea of ethical behavior. On an ethical level Judaism thinks they have the free
will to choose and behave the way they are, but that is not already
predestined. Christians, on the other hand, believe in an “ethical
predestination” that means man cannot “liberate himself from its compulsion by
his own ethical effort.”[42]
When
Christianity was first termed in Antioch in Acts the schism was official.
Christians believed that Jesus, the Son of God came down to earth as a man and
died for the sins of mankind and rose again three days later. Christians
believe that Jesus has now fulfilled the Mosaic Law and Salvation is achieved
through belief in Him. Christians now must have faith in Christ and believe
everything that He did was true in order to be saved. Jews do not believe in
Jesus as the Messiah like in Christianity. They do not think the Law has been
fulfilled and Jesus was just a prophet or rabbi. The Law supersedes all authority
and Jesus was not above it. They follow the Law before all and there is no
faith in Jesus as the Messiah.
There
are clear and significant differences between Christianity and Judaism just
like Christianity and any other religion. However, the benefit of these two is
their close relationship. This means there are easier ways into talking about
Christianity to a Jew, but that also means there are still clear differences.
Christians can use the influence of the similarities in history and beliefs to
be respectful to Jews and their beliefs while still talking about their own.
The Passover celebration is something that Jews take part in every year and
Christians can also participate to show their respect for the history of God’s
chosen people. As with any religion, Christians must show tolerance towards
Judaism in order to share God’s Trinitarian love towards them.
Bibliography
Corduan, Winfriend, Neighboring Faiths, Downers Grove,
Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1998 1st Ed. 2012 2nd Ed.
Gaster, Theodor H., Festivals of the Jewish Year, New York
City, New York: William Sloane Associates
Publishers, 1966.
Ginzberg, Louis The Legend of the Jews Vol. II,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Press of the Jewish Publication Society, 1954.
Schauss, Hayyim, The Jewish Festivals History &
Observance, New York City, New York: Schocken
Books, 1938.
Hertzberg, Arthur, Judaism, New York City, New York: George
Braziller Publisher, 1962.
Weiss-Rosmarin, Trude, Judaism and Christianity: The Differences,
New York City, New York: Jonathan David
Publishers, 1972.
Wigoder, Geoffrey, The Encyclopedia of the Jewish Religion,
New York City, New York: Holy, Rinehart
and Winston, Inc., 1965.
Wigoder, Geoffrey, The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion,
New York City: New York, The Oxford
University Press, 1997.
[1]
Winfried Corduan, Neighboring Faiths,
(Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1998 1st Ed. 2012 2nd
Ed.), 63.
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
Ibid.
[4]
Arthur Hertzberg, Judaism, (New York
City, New York: George Braziller Publisher, 1962), 121.
[5]
Ibid., 130.
[6]
Geoffrey Wigoder, The Encyclopedia of the
Jewish Religion, (New York City, New York: Holy, Rinehart and Winston,
Inc., 1965), 295.
[7]
Louis Ginzberg, The Legend of the Jews
Vol. II, (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Press of the Jewish Publication
Society, 1954), 362.
[8]
Ibid., 363.
[9]
Ibid., 364.
[10]
Ibid., 365.
[11]
Hertzberg, 124. Hametz was anything made
from or containing grain, flour or bran of wheat, barley, spelt, goat-grass, or
oats, which has fermented or is in the process of fermenting.
[12]
Corduan, 85.
[13]
Hertzberg, 125.
[14]
Ibid.
[15]
Ibid., 125-126.
[16]
Theodor H. Gaster, Festivals of the
Jewish Year, (New York City, New York: William Sloane Associates
Publishers, 1966), 31.
[17]
Ibid., 32.
[18]
Ibid.
[19]
Ibid., 34
[20]
Ibid.
[21]
Ibid.
[22]
Ibid., 35.
[23]
Hayyim Schauss, The Jewish Festivals
History & Observance, (New York City, New York: Schocken Books, 1938),
39.
[24]
Ibid., 43.
[25]
Ibid., 45.
[26]
Ibid., 46.
[27]
Ibid., 46-47.
[28]
Ibid., 48.
[29]
Ibid., 52.
[30]
Ibid., 53.
[31]
Ibid., 54-55. This excerpt is directly
from the book and depicts an average Pesach celebration in the home of a Jew.
[32]
Geoffrey Wigoder, The Oxford Dictionary
of the Jewish Religion, (New York City: New York, The Oxford University
Press, 1997), 446.
[33]
Ibid., 296.
[34]
Gaster, 38-39.
[35]
Wigoder, The Encyclopedia of the Jewish
Religion, 166.
[36]
Gaster, 42.
[37]
Trude Weiss-Rosmarin, Judaism and
Christianity: The Differences, (New York City, New York: Jonathan David
Publishers, 1972), 15.
[38]
Ibid., 16.
[39]
Ibid., 16-17.
[40]
Ibid., 41.
[41]
Ibid., 42.
[42]
Ibid., 45.
