Watch “The Maccabeats – Les Misérables – Passover” on YouTube

First Born from the Dead

The first born…First Fruits of Barley Harvest…the Resurrection…first born/fruits from the dead!

In the Hebrew this is spelled in the ancient picture letters as family-arm-hand-addition-head person….so a head person has been added to the family…an arm and hand…both open and closed hand pictured here…giving and working in the family!  Meditate on these concepts to see if YHWH shows you more.

Matzah…Crossing the Red Sea….Yeshua in the Grave

 

 

Who knew Matzah carried with it so much meaning?  Leaven implies not only sin, but also rising…so no leaven is static…no life.  Crossing the Red Sea passing through death into life occurred during these days.  Yeshua in the grave during this time.

Matzah is spelled (pictographically in the ancient Hebrew) as passing through the birth canal…on a journey revealing our deepest needs and desires…journey or trail is another meaning for the middle letter tzadi.

Consider the word lists for each picture-letter and meditate on the story told by the ancient spellings.  This is a window into the original meaning of the words.

The Spring Feasts Unpacked Letter by Letter…Pictograph by Pictograph…

I have spelled each feast letter by letter and explained each letter in the pictographic form.  You take each concept for a word, then begin to pray and consider what the meaning originally was.  So for Pesach/Passover you have the source or beginning which is your decision to agree to the marriage …a support turning you in the direction you should grow (as a tree by a gardener)…then you have the inner chamber which is the goal of your betrothal!  That is how to spell the first feast of the year.

Next Matzah is spelled behold! the journey is birthed!  I don’t have journey listed as one of the meanings of the middle letter because I was looking at a different chart, however when you think of the Exodus…it was a journey where you really were caught away being led step by step so it has the same thought behind it.  When one is caught by a hook…one is on a new journey.

First Fruits (Resurrection Day) has as its root word bekor which is first born.  So it is spelled  family-head – addition-arm- covering…so the family’s 1st addition who covers with his outstretched arm…one way to look at it.

Betrothal and Passover…death to self

Passover…Hebrew ‘pesach’…pronounced ‘pe-sock’.

The paleo Hebrew word pictures tell us what the word meant to Moses.

The pictures spelling the word are of a human mouth or source of a river , a prop or support for guiding a tree the correct direction, and a fence or wall delineating an inner chamber and separating it from the outside.

The seven feasts are a progression of a betrothal and marriage process.  Passover reminds us of a girl choosing to drink the cup of betrothal offered to her in her father’s house which is the beginning or source of her new life, choosing a new direction and looking toward entering the inner chamber with her bridegroom one day.

Bitter Herbs in Ancient times…

Just before Passover, I found an article about bitter herbs in ancient times and throughout the world…enjoy!

Copied from:

http://users.bestweb.net/~om/~kombu/konnection/reflux.html

Throughout the world – bitter herbs, in one form or another are part of everyday dining. One of the best known bitter herbs is gentian (nicknamed ‘bitter root’), this herb remains bitter even at 1 part per 20,000 dilution. Gentian is the main ingredient of of popular cocktail flavoring ‘Angostura Bitters’. Herbal aperitifs, such as the elecampane cordial are still served before the evening meal in many European homes. Greeks dine daily on horta, a bitter mix of chicory and dandelion greens sprinkled with olive oil. French and Italian families enjoy steamed or fried greens such as dandelion every day. The ritual Jewish Passover meal, eaten by Jewish people the world over includes bitter herbs(in biblical times, these were probably hyssop, wild lettuce, chicory, dandelion and sorrel). In Germany, centaury (gentian’s distant relative) is used to make a popular bitter drink. And in North America, we drink bitters without even knowing it – the primary ingredient in beer is the digestive bitter known as hops. Other bitters include goldenseal, Oregon grape root and blessed thistle. Note: you will not receive the same effects from capsules containing these bitter herbs. Ordinary black pepper will also help to encourage the production of stomach acids.
If you often suffer from indigestion after a high-protein meal, this may be because you need more of the enzymes that help your body digest protein. These can be found in papaya peels, pineapple, cucumbers and ginger. Since they are destroyed by high temperatures, you should consume them raw. If pineapple causes pain, you might have an ulcer. We’ll discuss ulcers in the September Kombucha Konnection newsletter.
An excellent treatment for low stomach acid problems is to take herbal bitters, which encourage your stomach to produce its own acid. The moment these herbs touch your taste buds, a message is sent to your brain, and your digestive fluids, including acids, are activated. Most health food stores will carry several types of bottled herbal bitters, or you can make your own.

 

Herbal Bitters

3 teaspoons tincture of gentian rhizome
½ teaspoon tincture of dried orange peel
½ teaspoon tincture of cardamom seeds
Combine ingredients and put a few drops in warm water and drink. It doesn’t take much.

References

American Journal of Chinese Medicine(;17(1-2):51-6
New England Journal of Medicine;340(11):878-9
Parasitology Research;76(8):653-6
Journal of Family Practice;35(6):673-81
Journal of Surgical Research;15(6):385-90
Digestive Diseases &Sciences;40(3):580-3

Passover Dates to Consider

Monday March 25 at sundown according to Rabbis…but Wed March 27 according to sighting of new moon from Jerusalem and found Barley ripe enough for the wave sheaf offering on Resurrection Sunday….during Passover week…NOT EASTER

Easy Biblical Passover!

Quick, easy and biblical Passover! Choose one or two bitter herbs (horseradish, romaine,endive are most common choices), and matzah (corn chips are fine) and also grape juice to say yes to your Betrothed in both the bitter and the sweet times! This is usually done before dinner. You may add traditional elements as you wish. I always enjoy the diced apples, walnuts, raisins or dates pureed with a bit of grape juice for the brick mortar…it goes so well with the horseradish!!! Take the blood of Y’shua (grape juice) symbolically for the doorposts of your heart and home.

I encourage you to read through the passages in scripture about the plagues and leaving Egypt during this week prior. http://www.openbible.info/topics/passover

So hopefully you can un-leaven yourselves for that next 7 days (possibly have no-yeast crackers, corn chips or wraps rather than bread) and meditate on the meaning of the three feasts of that week…Passover is one night, but Unleavened Bread is the next 7 days and the Sunday during that is Resurrection Day/ First Fruits of Barley and the wave sheaf offering. And on that day begins the 7 Sabbath count to the Torah (Betrothal ketubah) on Mt Sinai on Shavuot/Pentacost..and the Ruach ha Kodesh/Holy Spirit!

Passover, Last Supper, Preparations, Explanations…Watching!

There is a locust plague in Egypt this week which is rather timely! (Previously, written…)

 

Bring your Passover questions to our discussion time after WFM Israel Session (3-5pm Sat).  Our discussion begins promptly at 5.   If you cannot attend feel free to email your questions to me and I will do my best to respond within the week.  I will also be open to questions on end times, the Temple, etc.  

 

Please let Jenny Rogers or me know if you or anyone you know wishes to attend or need help creating a Passover experience at your church or home this year. I have included a video Passover if you wish to just use that and follow along.  The Rabbinic date for the seder is the evening of March 25 and Unleavened Bread/ Hag ha Matsah continues through the evening of April 2.  For strict scripturalists, the date can also be more accurately determined by the new moon sighting and barley harvest assessment (for wave sheaf offering) later this week by a combined Karaite and Messianic team searching in the dangerous PA areas of Israel (please pray for Nehemia and Keith who risk life to do this prophetic act).  If the barley is not ready we could have a leap month added.  I celebrate with others on the Rabbinic date and personally celebrate the other date if they are different. The Karaite Korner website can be checked after Tuesday March 12, when the barley search has concluded. 

 

Surprise at the end for those brave to read my ramblings!

 

Was Jesus’ last supper a Passover seder?  Highly likely.  However people question the discrepancy between the synoptic gospel accounts (Matt, Mark, Luke) that put it on the Passover day and John who puts the crucifixion at the time of the slaying of the Passover lamb.  But it is not a discrepancy if one understands the nature of different Jewish sect’s interpretations of Passover.  There was division and debate among the Pharisees (modern ultra-orthodox Rabbis who believed in obeying God to repair the world), Saducees (modern Karaite scripturalists), Zealots (freedom fighters against oppressors), Qumran (wanted to preserve original priesthood and methods), and numerous other sects on the timing and halakah (‘walk’ – how to walk out scripture in real life). This debate included the timing/dates of the sacrifices and celebrations and methods used (as you will see later in this article:).  So you could have Y’shua celebrating Passover on one day and the high priest (appointed puppet priest by the Romans…not the real one who was in Qumran) celebrating the following day!

 

Right now in this time of preparation, search the scriptures for themes concerning leaven, sin, setting yourself apart, repentance.  Consider you are accepting the offer of marriage…you have much to consider…much to release from your life…changes, decisions of what is really important…what to take with you and what to leave behind you.  You remove the leaven from your home, your life …and all things are new!  Passover is the young woman drinking the cups of betrothal to a completely new life.  Don’t keep the old baggage of the previous one to weigh you down.   Literally removing leaven from your home and only eating unleavened (no yeast…also many avoid baking soda/powder and other agents that puff up baked goods for that week such as throwing out starters, etc.) crackers or tortillas…homemade (I have recipes!) or store bought matzah has been shown to be a prophetic act that YHWH blesses by teaching through first the physical prophetic act, then the spiritual lesson derived from the act.  I have been ‘doing’ then listening to hear his teaching from this since 2002.  I still learn something new from YHWH each year about myself and about my bridegroom. So ‘do’ prophetically and not with condemnation attached.

 

These are the 4 cups of wine of the Passover (Exodus 6:2-8):

“I will take you out”,

“I will deliver you”,

“I will redeem you”,

“I will acquire you.”

Actually there is also a 5th cup~

“I will bring you into the land.” The cup of Elijah is not drunk, but watched by the children to see if Elijah has come to herald our final ascent into the Land for the wedding feast!

The first fruits (Hag ha Bikurrim, day after the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread) is the resurrection day as well as the day we begin the 7 Sabbath count to Shavuot/Pentacost for our betrothal agreement/Torah given on Mt Sinai…and the Ruach ha Kodesh/Holy Spirit to fall fresh on us embuing us with power to overcome!

I am attaching links and documents to several Haggadahs so you can learn and decide on your own how to spend this feast of ‘watching for Elijah’ according to how the Lord leads you this year.

 

from Wikipedia:

“The Haggadah (Hebrew: הַגָּדָה‎, “telling”) is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of thePassover Seder. Reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the Scriptural commandment to each Jew to “tell your son” of the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt as described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah. (“And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: It is because of that which the LORD did for me when I came forth out of Egypt. ” Ex.  13:8)”

 

This order of service was not set in writing till 170 CE/AD.  However, it was orally handed down and standard practices developed by the time of Y’shua…with changes happening through the years.  I am including links to a WIDE VARIETY of haggadahs. Do not think I am endorsing them in their entirety.

 

I am also attaching a haggadah written by my dear friend, Laura Argo, with whom I began my journey into Hebraic ideas beginning in 1999 when we met, continuing through the start of Sabbath Torah studies in her home in early 2003 and beyond as we met others and knit together a network of lovers of YHWH’s Torah.  Laura’s haggadah includes new elements which bring children and Y’shua together into the seder more overtly than traditional ones.  She includes an asparagus spear for the spear in Y’shua’s side among other amazing ideas. Her seder is called ‘Passover Seder with Yeshua’.  She includes two further attachments related to this if you choose to use it.  Let me know if you have any trouble opening the zip file attachment.

 

http://www.karaite-korner.org/haggadah.shtml

Karaites are scripture-only Jews who do not accept the Talmud, nor do they have sight of…remember they are blinded to Y’shua as Messiah.  They are the ones who look for the new moon and barley ripeness for God’s calendar.  They tend to look mostly to a literal interpretation of scripture so they do not see the hidden prophecies of deeper interpretations, nor do they get into Kabbalah.

 

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1735/jewish/The-Haggadah.htm

I have attended a Chabad Pesach seder in Iowa City and it is very meaningful.  I do not endorse Kabbalah found on this website so weigh everything according to scripture and the discernment of the Holy Spirit.  However, this is a traditional seder of one of the most orthodox Jewish sects that I wanted to share with you and they have a very interesting view of scripture and the world.  You will find every sect has a slightly different seder and elements, but then you will see a common thread develop.

 

http://velveteenrabbi.com/2006-Haggadah.pdf

So many choices…but this gives the choices to you.  The seder is traditionally very long and can be boring if not handled well.  This is written in today’s language and is full of options if one wishes to omit some things or rearrange a bit…it is very liberal in its view of the world which I also do not endorse.  However it shows you how to make the whole thing more modern…just leave out anything that seems contrary to scripture.  

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=gBGz3k37kDE&NR=1

Jews for Jesus video passover seder for you to learn from ahead of time or to use on Passover if you feel you need coaching through the evening.

 

In preparing for your seder, make sure you have the basics plus anything else recommended in the seder you choose:

– a goblet of wine or juice for Elijah 

– salt water on the table (in which participants will dip the green veggie;)

– wine or grape juice for everyone, enough for four symbolic cups apiece;

– matzah (at least three pieces; plus enough for everyone at the table to taste;)

– a seder plate.

A traditional seder plate includes five items:

– zeroa, a roasted shank bone representing the Paschal lamb, the holiday offering

made in Temple days (vegetarians today often use a roasted beet for its blood red color, or a roasted sweet potato for the pun of calling it the Paschal Yam;)

– beitzah, a roasted egg (with various symbolism; many see it as a symbol of

re/birth. I recommend hardboiling it, then pricking the shell, before roasting;) [Dee does not recommend the egg due to possible pagan influence adding this]

– maror, the bitter herb (usually horseradish), symbolizing the bitterness of slavery;

– karpas, the green vegetable, symbolizing spring growth and renewal;

– charoset, a mixture of apples/nuts/cinnamon (following the Ashkenazic recipe)

or dates/nuts/honey (following the Sefardic one), representing the clay or

mortar used by the Israelite slaves.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_glMo9FtYQ

Who Let the Jews Out Song on You Tube:) 

 

Thank you,
Dee Ann Stover

 

 

 

Kol Kevuda Bat Melech Penima
All the honor of the daughter of the King resides within
Psalm 45:13a

Joke O’ the Day – Creation According to Groucho Marx

“In the beginning, there was nothing. Then God said, “Let there be light”. And there was still nothing but you could see it.” – Groucho Marx