Let’s Get Back to Basics!
The Netanyahu government’s judicial reform proposal caused political gridlock in Israel earlier this year…
PASSOVER
‘It Is Finished!’
It was 12 o’clock noon in Jerusalem, the time for the Passover sacrifices to begin. An unusual darkness covered the land (Mt. 27:45; Mk. 15:33)…
From the Editor Sep/Oct 2021
Growing up, Passover was my favorite holiday. It arrived just when New England’s harsh, snow-packed winter was finally giving way to spring…
The Seven Biblical Feasts
Of all the holidays celebrated throughout history, only these seven were given by God to His people Israel…
Behold the Lamb!
Many non-Jews think Hanukkah is every Jewish person’s favorite holiday. But they would be wrong. Hanukkah is not the Jewish equivalent of Christmas…
‘Do This in Remembrance of Me’
At sundown on March 27, Jewish families the world over will gather in homes as they have for thousands of years to instill…
Constantine’s Pretext
Since Jesus died and was resurrected during the Passover season, you would think the celebration of Passover and Easter would be inextricably linked. They might have been, if not for a disturbing decision rooted in church-sanctioned…
Inside View Mar/Apr 2014
Communion at the Garden Tomb is always one of the highlights of our Up to Jerusalem tours to Israel. As I sat in the serene gardens on our tour last fall, preparing to celebrate…
The Greatest Sacrifice
With Passover beginning at sundown on April 14, grocery stores are stocking up on kosher items. Kosher literally means “fit and suitable,” and the laws of kashrut tell…
How it All Began
Of all the Passovers that have ever been celebrated, only one was the actual Passover. It took place more than 34 centuries ago when the God of…
The Four Cups
As we sat around the Passover table, my host took us back in time to the days when his grandfather conducted wonderful seders that would last for…
Setting the Seder Table for a Large Group
If you’re conducting a Passover seder demonstration for a large group, it’s efficient to set the tables as pictured above. Although this isn’t how an authentic…
Fun, Food, Family: The Traditions of Passover
Sweet treats and wonderful aromas always awaited me at my grandmother’s home on Passover. Even today, I have vivid memories of delectable…
How to Make Charoset
Charoset (also spelled haroset) is a mixture of apples, nuts, honey, and a little cinnamon. It is one of the elements on the seder plate, symbolizing the…
Why Unleavened Bread?
If there is one Passover food that can present a dining challenge, it would be matzoh, or unleavened bread. Though it really shines at breakfast when…
A Night to Remember
Preparations for the evening were ready. When the hour had come, Jesus and His disciples went to an upper room, where they reclined around a low…
Looking for Elijah
Every seder table has an extra place set for the prophet Elijah. A specially designated wine cup, Elijah’s cup, is filled to the brim for him. Malachi 4:5 says…
The Marvelous Afikomen
One of my most vivid childhood memories of celebrating Passover with my family is of finding the hidden afikomen and demanding my reward…
The Seder Plate
These are the elements that belong on the seder plate: Betzah (egg). The egg speaks of winter yielding to spring and life reemerging from seeming…
Zvi Mar/Apr 2013
I want to wish you all the best as we approach the great days of Passover. This is a holiday to remember how God delivered the Jewish people from their bitter bondage in Egypt. Today we are free, but many people would like to see us return to bondage and remove us from the land God gave to us as the descendants…
The Passover Lamb
Matzoh, matzoh, matzoh. There’s plenty of matzoh on Passover tables around the world. But something else is conspicuously absent.
My Seder Memories
One of my mother’s favorite singers is Barbra Streisand. A recording of her singing “The Way We Were” played in the background when we celebrated my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary…
Behold the Lamb
The great theologian Lewis Sperry Chafer wrote, “There is no point in human history where the divine sovereignty and human responsibility, or free will, come into more vivid juxtaposition than they do in the crucifixion…
A Tale of Two Holidays
Two Jewish holidays seem to have strikingly similar origins: A man arises who hates the Jewish people and decides they must be dealt with. One such enemy enslaved them, while the other sought…
Zvi Mar/Apr 2007
Many people are preparing for the coming days of Passover, April 2 through 10. For them it is most important to cleanse their homes of leaven and bring home much special…
Zvi Mar/Apr 2006
We are approaching the great days of Passover, which begin April 12. This holiday brings unity to our nation, as we give thanks for all that God has done for His Chosen People Israel. For those…
How We Got Easter Sunday
Christians originally observed the Jewish passover, which begins at sundown on the 14th day of Nisan. Thus they were called Quartodecimans, Latin for “fourteeners.”1 However, instead of feasting on lamb, they fasted until dawn…
On the Way to Canaan Land
George W. Bush had just won the presidential election for a second term. The confetti was still lying on the floor of GOP headquarters when Britain’s prime minister Tony Blair jumped forward…
The Passover Lamb
“Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29). Using clear imagery rooted deeply in the Jewish experience, God identified His servant the Messiah as a lamb…
Never Forget
From Masada to YadVashem to Arlington National Cemetery is a long road indeed. But how much has really changed? Less than you would think.
A Better Sacrifice, A Better Covenant
Learn the differences between the Levitical sacrifices and Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself while examining the covenants God made with Israel.
Zvi Mar/Apr 2002
On March 28 our holiday of Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew, will begin. It is a holiday that celebrates our redemption from slavery in Egypt. But more important, Pesach teaches of our redemption from sin…
Food For Thought
Food, with its various tastes, smells, textures, and visual appeal, is a powerful trigger in the process of remembering. Whether it is in the preparation, serving, or eating, certain foods seem to prompt many people…
Passover
Praised be Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Thy commandments, and enjoined upon us the mitzvah of kindling the Festival lights …
The Majesty of Herod’s Temple
The Temple of Jesus’ time was built by Herod the Great. Appointed by the Romans, Herod was king of Judea from 37 to 4 B.C. He had the dubious reputation of being the most unpopular…
“What Shall We Then Say To These Things?”
Each year Jewish people the world over observe the feast of Passover. The dinner on the first evening of the seven-day observance is very special. It is called the “seder.” And, for the children especially, it is a time of great excitement.
Moses – A Night Long Remembered
Deeply ingrained in each of our minds are certain unforgettable events. Perhaps it is the memory of the birth of a long-awaited child or a grim reminder of a terrible tragedy reported by an officer of the law.
PASSOVER: Redemption through the Lamb
Paramount to all other thoughts in the Passover is the one of redemption. As Jewish people the world round sit at the Passover table every year, they remember God’s faithfulness in delivering His people Israel.
Joel of Jerusalem Feb/Mar 1982
I would like to tell you about our Passover celebration last year. As in every other year, my home was completely full on the Passover evening. Ii was expecting about ten people, but many more than that came.