There are two events that the Hermann family celebrates every year as a throwback to my father's upbringing and our Jewish heritage. Those events are Passover and Hanukkah. I am pretty sure I've written about Hanukkah already...so let me now take a minute to fill you in on the feast of Passover.
If Hanukkah is kind of like Christmas a celebration with gifts and food and lights, then Passover is kind of like Good Friday/Easter. And maybe I'm just drawing the comparisons because of the proximity of the events during the calendar year.
Passover is the commemoration of the Jews redemption from Egypt. Good Friday and Easter are the Christian commemoration of the redemption from sin and death. So maybe there's more of a parallel than just the dates on the calendar.
But that's what's so amazing about the Jewish religion and the Christian faith...one prepares for the other. The Jewish religion points to the coming of Christ and the Christian faith. Which is why we celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover even though we're Christians. Because we know that Passover isn't just a celebration of an event that occurred centuries ago...it's a celebration of the constant redemption and renewal that God provides through faith in his Son.
This is the first year that we have not had Passover at my parents house. And it seemed a little bit strange to be in the fellowship hall of a church instead of the cramped and cozy quarters of my mom's kitchen/dining room. And the Hagada that we read was a little different than what we traditionally read- a shorter version that would fit into the allotted hour service. But the message was still there. And this year, there was a sense of a greater community of believers who also understood and celebrated the importance of the Jewish history in our present Christian lives.
Baby Aliyah's first Passover...she's fascinated by the unleavened bread :)
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