THE JEWISH FESTIVALS
by
Hayyim Schauss
(1938)
PASSOVER IN TEMPLE DAYS
Pilgrims in Jerusalem
At no time in its long and varied histoy was Jerusalem a
beautiful as in the years preceding the destruction of the second
Temple. In addition to the permanent dwellers, the three great
festivals would bring countless pilgrims from near and from far,
from every country to which Jews had wandered.
It is estimated that Jerusalem, at that time, had a
permanent population of close to one hundred thousand and that
this was more than doubled by the pilgrims who came for the
holidays, especially at Pesach. No matter in what corner of the
world Jews lived, Jerusalem was a holy place to them, and the
greatest wish of each and every Jew was to enter the inner court
of the Temple at least once in his lifetime and to pray to God,
to the accompaniment of the holy music of the Levites. At no
other time of the year did so many pilgrims descend upon
Jerusalem as at the season of Pesach, when nature newly carpeted
the brown earth with green, and the fields of Judah seemed a
tapestry of flowers gleaming and glistening in the sun.
Jerusalem was never so crowded as during the Pesach holiday.
Every inn was filled to overflowing, and whoever had a bit of
room in his house made it available to the visiting pilgrims,
never accepting any payment. It was customary, however, for the
pilgrims to offer their hosts the skins of the animals they had
sacrificed in the Temple. Many of the pilgrims set up tents in
the squares and open places of the town, living there during
their entire pilgrimage. Jerusalem was so crowded at this period
that the very fact that everybody was able to find accommodations
somehow, somewhere, was declared to be one of the miracles of
God.
These thousands of pilgrims did not form a single,
homogeneous group; they were as varied as the world and as full
of color.
There were Jews and Jewish converts from every country of
the known world, from Syria and Asia Minor, from Babylonia and
Medea, from Cyprus and Greece, and from Egypt and Rome. They did
not speak the same language; those from Mesopotamia and
thereabouts spoke various dialects of Aramaic; most of the Jews
who came from the west spoke Greek. There was, too, a great
difference in the outward appearance of these pilgrims. Side by
side one would see poor Jewish peasants who had traveled from
various districts of Palestine on donkeys, and rich Jewish
merchants or bankers that had arrived from distant lands by boat.
All these pilgrims did not come to Jerusalem solely because
of pious motives. Many merchants arrived laden with wares, ready
to do business, for a holy city that attracted so many pilgrims
offered a fine opportunity for sale and barter. Jerusalem was a
ready market, even during ordinary times. There was always trade
in cattle and other live stock, which were needed for the
sacrifices, and in raw materials and finished products of all
kinds.
Jerusalem was an especially fine sheep and cattle market
before Pesach, for so many animals were needed for the Pesach
sacrifices. There was also a large sale of the spices needed for
Pesach eve. Most of the cattle came from the immediate
neighborhood, but the spices were, in the main, imported from
Mesopotamia. Long camel trains from Mesopotamia, laden with
spices and herbs, were a common sight at this time of the
year.
Preparations for Pesach
Jerusalem is crowded with people and tumultous with their
noise. A steady succession of pilgrims pours into the town from
every side and through every gate.
Further confusion is caused by the near-by peasants, driving
their cattle and sheep to market. The Roman Procurator has
already arrived from Caesaria, with additional soldiers to guard
against any possible uprising during that period. He is quartered
in Herod's Palace, which is more than a dwelling, being built
like a fortress, encircled by a high wall, studded with soaring
towers.
It is early morning. The morning services has been completed
in the Temple and the worshipers have left the synagogues. The
market place, a broad street that stretches its way through the
entire town, is now filled with people. Both sides of the
thoroughfare are lined with booths, stands, and tables.
Everything is on sale here, whatever the eye can see or the heart
long for. Look! There are cakes made from wheat grown on Mount
Ephraim! And there, fish from the depths of Lake Kinnereth! A
third sells wine and a fourth calls to the passers-by to purchase
spices and condiments for the Pesach feast. Here is a booth
offering for sale jewelry and adornments which are the fashion in
Alexandria and Rome, and there is a street merchant offering a
syrup pressed from grapes. One dealer offers golden adornments
for the head, a specialty of the goldsmiths of Jerusalem, and he
calls, "Buy golden Jerusalems as a souvenir of the holy city."
(a golden souvenir which the goldsmiths of Jerusalem sold to the
people)
Not an inch of space is wasted. In front of the houses and
between the booths and stands sit tradesmen, using the street as
their workshop. A tailor sits cross-legged and sews fringes on a
coat; opposite him sits a shoemaker repairing the torn sandals of
a pilgrim; a blacksmith stands nearby, hammering away on the
handle of a sword.
Each of the little side streets that lead off the market
street has its particular trade. There is the street of the
butchers and the street of the wool-combers; each little street
has its specialty. But the big street, the really interesting
street, is the great market place. Every moment it becomes more
crowded and noisy, and the scene becomes more varied and
exciting. The buyers, the sellers, and the idlers crush and
jostle each other for space. Here comes a group of pilgrims from
Alexandria, dressed in Grecian garments and speaking Greek to
each other. In contrast, a group of pilgrims from Galilee, very
pious Jewish peasants from the north of Palestine, follow them.
Their voices are heard high above the tumult of the market place,
and by the Galilean dialect of their Aramaic speech it is
recognized where they are from.
Perhaps the greatest noise and the greatest crowds are in
the cattle market near the Mount of the Temple. Sheep and goats
are sold there by the thousands. Poor Jews bargain over the
prices of the animals; the richer pilgrims do not deign to
bargain and so pay higher prices for their sacrifical animals.
It is, however, not enough just to buy a sheep or goat in order
to be ready for Pesach eve. The sacrificial animal is not eaten
for one alone, but in groups that are made up in advance, for one
man cannot eat an entire animal and it is forbidden to leave any
part of the animal for the next day. So Jews rush about making
arrangements to form groups or to become part of one. A group
cannot consist of less than ten people, for it takes at least
that many to eat an entire sheep at one sitting. But some Jews
form huge groups, numbering so many that each member can get no
more than a mere taste of the sacrificial animal, a piece no
larger than an olive, entirely too small to satisfy one's hunger.
IT is customary, then, for such groups to slay another animal, an
additional festive offering called "chagigoh. This animal is
always useful. Unlike the official sacrifice, which had to be
eaten before dawn, the "chagigoh" may be held for a second day.
The Morning Before
Thousands of priests and Levites are gathered in the
Temple. There are twenty-four divisions of them on duty
throughout the land and, generally, there is only one
division present in Jerusalem to take care of the Temple service.
However, during the three great festivals, when there are so many
people in town and so many, to be sacrificed, all divisions come
to Jerusalem.
(What you are going to read now is the traditions of the
Pharisees, as they added to the word of Moses and even got the
wrong time to observe the eating of the Passover meal. The
correct observance is covered in detail in my studies on the
Passover on this Website - Keith Hunt)
The "chomets," the bread and sour dough, is cleaned out of „
the houses. The night before, by the light of oil lamps, every,
corner is searched and every bit of "chomets" removed. All the
people in Jerusalem wait for the official signal to burn the
"chomets." This signal is given by the priests in the Temple who
use two disqualified loaves of the thanks offering. These loaves
are placed on top of the outside colonnade of the Temple. As long
as these two loaves are in view, "chomets" may still be eaten.
When one loaf is removed, the people cease eating "chomets." When
the second loaf is removed, then the people begin to burn their
"chomets."
But this system of signals is not sufficient for all of
Jerusalem and another is arranged. Two kine are set to plowing
the earth on top of the Mount of Olives and as long as both are
attached to the plow, "chomets" may still be eaten. The
unhitching of one is a signal to cease eating "chomets" and the
removal of the second is a sign to burn "chomets."
(None of this tradition of course can be found in the books of
Moses. And the discription that follows is as the Pharisees
taught it on the daylight part of the 14th of Nisan - Keith Hunt)
Midday
The spirit of the holiday has permeated every nook and canny
of Jerusalem. By now all have ceased working; even the tailors,
the shoemakers, the haircutters, and washers have finished the
last piece of work for the pilgrims.
Thousands of Jews march through the town, this one with a
sheep, that one with a goat, riding high on his shoulder. All
direct their steps to the Temple, to be among the first to offer
their Pesach sacrifice. The regular afternoon sacrifice at the
Temple is offered an hour earlier than usual and at about three
o'clock the people begin the slaughtering of the Pesach
sacrifice.
The ritual is repeated three times. When the court of the
Temple is filled with the first comers, the gates are shut. The
Levites blow the ceremonial "t'kioh, t'ruoh, t'kioh" (a threefold
blast) on their trumpets and the sacrifice begins. The owner
himself slays the animal. The priests stand in rows, bearing
aloft gold and silver trays, each metal borne by a different row
of priests.
They perform their share of the ritual and the Levites stand
on a platform and sing "Hallel," Psalms of praise for holidays,
to the accompaniment of musical instruments. The elaborateness of
the ritual and the singing and playing of the Levites add dignity
and beauty to the scene, and the Jews gathered in the court are
filled with devotion and piety.
The first section files out of the court and the second
section files in. The same ritual is performed again. It is
repeated once more for the third and final section. Members of
the third section are called "Lazybones."
The entire ceremony and ritual is carried on in a
comparatively quiet and orderly manner. Once, in the time of the
famous Hillel, there was such a surge and crowding at the
sacrifice of the Pesach that an old man was crushed to death, but
that never happened again. So orderly is the crowd that all three
sections have finished in less than two hours, and the priests
are left alone to clean up the court.
(At the crucifixion of Christ with darkness coming from about
noon to His final death, the Temple curtain being split in two
that divided the holy place from the most holy place, there would
have been so much fear and confusion in the Temple, it is not
possible what you have read above, would have been administered.
And besides that, the books of Moses carry no such instructions
as needed in the Tabernacle or Temple as pertaining to the
Passover slaying. For it is clear from the books of Moses that
the individual groups could slay and eat the Passover, without
any priest being involved. No "out of the norm" ritual service
was needed in the Temple apart from that which was
designated by the laws of Moses, certainly the slaying of the
Passover lambs DID NOT have to be done in the Temple - Keith
Hunt)
Towards Evening
Thousands of Jews rush from the Mount of the Temple through
the streets of Jerusalem, each bearing on his shoulder the
sacrificial animal wrapped in its own skin. All are busy and
expectant, preparing themselves for the great night of the year,
the night of redemption. Darkness descends on the holy city.
Everywhere sheep and goats, spitted on fragrant pomegranate wood,
are roasting in the clay stoves which stand in the courtyards of
the homes. These stoves are called "Pesach-ovens" and are
movable; should there be heavy rain they are carried into the
house. The groups are now gathering. Relatives and friends
assemble from near and from far.
Every large room is a meetingplace for a group. Nobody is
omitted. The poor are invited to the homes of the rich and a
spirit of brotherliness, of national unity, binds all together at
the feast. All are partners: masters and slaves, men and women,
the aged and youthful. All are dressed in white, festive clothes,
much adorned and bedecked. The women, especially, wear jewelry in
honor of the occasion. The Babylonian women are easily
differentiated from the native women, since they wear brilliantly
colored garments; the Palestinian women, however, wear only
clothes made of bleached linen.
The celebration begins. All is quiet in the streets. The
full moon moves over the flat roofs of Jerusalem and bedecks
every thing in silver. 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 wine mixed with
water is taken. Then the right hand and 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. All listen to him with great
attention and devotion. And when he starts to sing Hallel, they
all join in loudly. They conclude with the benediction for
redemption and 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.
It is now quite late in the night. The third and fourth
glasses of wine have been finished and the feast, with its atten-
ant ceremonies, is over. The older members of the group, however,
still recline on their sofas and relate and interpret the story
of the Exodus. Here and there a member of the group nods, or
falls fast asleep. Some of the younger element would like to
celebrate further, but their elders restrain them. After eating
the sacrificial animal, no entertainment is allowed, such as is
common after ordinary feasts. The feasters must satisfy
themselves with going from one group to another, greeting and
hailing friends. Once more the streets of Jerusalem are filled
with promenading Jews, natives and pilgrims side by side. Many of
them are on their way to the Mount of the Temple, for the Levites
now open the gates of the Holy House and Jews spend the rest of
the night there, praying and singing hymns of praise to God.
......
Such was the observance of the Passover as the Pharisees had
formed it over the centuries after the Jews came forth from the
Babylon captivity. Many things had been added and adopted, the
two worst being the added Temple slaying of the Passover lambs,
and secondly, even more incorrect, the Passover being on the 15th
day and not the 14th, hence the blending of the Passover meal
with the first holy day of the feast of Unleavened Bread, which
then blended what was originally TWO feasts, making up 8 days in
total, into a Feast of 7 days. Truly the words of Christ in Mark
7 about "traditions" making void the commandments of God, come to
clear view in the Pharisee teaching on how and when to observe
the Passover - Keith Hunt
To be continued
Unusual Passover Observances!The truth about the Samaritans/Passover JEWISH FESTIVALS
History and Observance
by
Hayyim schauss
(1938)
UNUSUAL OBSERVANCES
Change of Emphasis
After the destruction of the second Temple, the custom of making
Pesach sacrifice was, of course, discarded. But Pesach did not
lose its status as a great national holiday. The celebration,
however, was exclusively in the home. In some places Jews still
partook of roasted meat on that night, exactly as they had done
before the destruction of the Temple, in certain places outside
of Jerusalem. But in general, only a reminder, a symbol of the
Pesach sacrifice, remained. It was customary in those days for
two main courses to be served at festive banquets of the rich,
and these two courses were served at the Pesach feast of every
Jew. But after the destruction of the second Temple, these two
courses were interpreted as reminders of the Pesach sacrifice and
the "chagigoh," the second or supplementary sacrifice. These two
courses usually consisted of a piece of roasted meat on the bone,
and a roasted egg.
The holiday still remained for Jews the festival of
redemption. The freeing of Jerusalem from foreign rule became the
main item in the Messianic hope after the destruction of the city
by the Romans, and Rabbi Akiba therefore added a prayer to the
benediction for redemption in which was expressed the hope of the
Jew to live long enough to observe Pesach in a new, free
Jerusalem.
Far from declining through the destruction of the Temple,
Pesach now attained still greater importance as the anniversary
of deliverance from the first and as the mdel for delivery from
the last exile.
The ceremonial of Pesach eve was made even richer and
fuller. Jews would sit till late in the night, repeating and
discussing the story of the Exodus; often the coming of dawn
found them still gathered discussing the miracles of the
occasion. The plagues visited upon the Egyptians grew and grew
from the original ten to hundreds. The Jews spoke of Egypt but
they meant Rome. They spoke of the discomfiture of Pharaoh and
the Egyptians, hoping at the same time for the identical plagues
to be visited upon the Roman emperor, his governors, and his
soldiers, who had laid waste the holy city, destroyed the Temple,
and spilled oceans of Jewish blood
In the main, the basic rite of the Pesach eve ceremonial
stayed the same as it had been in the days of the second Temple.
But the ritual for the evening became more set and formalized. In
the course of time various items of the ceremony were removed and
others added. We shall discuss this further when we speak of the
customs and ceremonials of Pesach. It is enough to say here that
the Jews of the Middle Ages celebrated the holiday almost as it
is observed by the Jews of today.
The Festival of Fear
The ceremonial remained the same, but the attitude during
the Pesach festival changed in the latter part of the Middle
Ages. A new and evil force came from the outside and left its
imprint upon the old spring festival and observances, making of
it a time of fear for all Jews, a time of horrible visitations, a
time of terror and panic in the Jewish sections. At that time the
Church had the peoples of Europe completely under its control.
Fanatical priests and dark forces of reaction continually fanned
hatred against the Jews and spread the wildest charges against
them. The most horrible of these was the blood libel.
The blood libel began to spread in the thirteenth century,
and countless numbers of Jews perished as a result. Due to the
ignorance and superstitious beliefs of the masses of those days,
the blood libel became bound up with Pesach, especially with the
Pesach eve ceremonial. It was charged that Jews killed Christian
children to get blood for the baking of matsos.
Pesach was, therefore, a time of great fear for the Jews of
the Dark Ages. It was so easy to spread a rumor that Jews had
murdered a Christian child; there were many cases where some
individual enemy of the Jews would plant the body of a dead
Christian child in a Jewish home and give the signal for a raid
on the Jewish quarter on Pesach eve. Such an event is described
in Heine's historical romance, "The Rabbi of Bacharach."
This superstition that Jews use Christian blood at Pesach is
not entirely a thing of the past. We, of this generation, have
memories of such charges in various European countries, and to
this day there are Jewish enemies who spread this accusation of
the Middle Ages in the very heart of Europe. (Remeber the author
is writing in 1938 - Keith Hunt)
Even in America, only a few years ago, in Massena, New York,
the rabbi of the town was questioned on the blood ritual libel
when a little girl happened to disappear. The girl was found
unharmed the next day, and the mayor, the instigator of the
questioning, made a public apology.
The Marranos Observe It.
At the end of the European Middle Ages there was evolved a
notable method of observing Pesach among the Marranos, the secret
Jews of Spain and Portugal. These Marranos were entirely
separated from Jews and from Jewish life. They had no Jewish
books, and the only book on which they could draw for rules of
Jewish life was the Latin Bible of the Catholic Church. Basing
their ideas about Jews and Judaism on this one book, their
conception of Jewish life became an entirely false one. They
tried to live not as the Jews of their day did, but as the Jews
of the time of the Kings and the Prophets. They knew nothing of
the development of Pesach through the ages; they practiced the
Pesach described in the Bible.
The question arises: How did these Marranos, who had no
Jewish calendars and no contacts with other Jews, know when to
observe the various Jewish festivals? Actually, they did not;
they reckoned the Jewish holidays by the calendar in general use,
applying the Jewish days to the secular month. Thus they observed
Yom Kippur on the tenth day after the New Moon of September and
Pesach at the full moon of March. When the spies of the
Inquisition discovered these observances, the Marranos of Spain
advanced the dates of the festivals, observing Yom Kippur on the
eleventh day following the New Moon of September and celebrating
the Seder (the ceremony of Pesach night) on a Pesach eve that
came sixteen days after the appearance of the New Moon of March,
instead of fourteen days.
On this sixteenth day they would bake their matsos; on the
two preceding days which, according to their curious
Jewish-secular calendar, were really Pesach, they ate neither
bread nor matsos. There was no ceremony of the burning of the
chomets. Instead they burned a piece of the dough prepared for
the baking of the matsos. In the evening they observed a secret
Seder in their homes, eating an entire roast sheep, all the
participants wearing their traveling shoes and bearing staves in
their hands, exactly as described in the Bible. There were even
Marranos, those of Mexico, who followed the old biblical
injunction to smear the blood of the sheep on their doorposts.
One noteworthy custom grew up among these Marranos: the
custom of beating the waters of a stream with willow branches,
which they interpreted as a reminder of the separating of the
waters of the Red Sea. It is interesting to note that to this
very day the Jews of Morocco make their way to a stream on the
last day of Pesach and there recite prayers and blessings. It is
possible that this was an old Spanish Jewish custom and that the
Marranos took it over and added to it the ceremony of the willow
branches which rightly belongs to Sukkos. That holiday they could
not observe at all, since one of the requirements of the festival
is to sit in booths in the open.
The Pesach of the Marranos is not entirely a thing of the
past. There are, to this very day, Marranos in Portugal who still
observe Pesach in the manner just described.
(As this book was written in 1938 I have no idea if this way of
observing Passover is practiced by anyone today in 2010 as I
enter this - Keith Hunt)
The Samaritans and Falashas
Marranos observed ancient forms of the Pesach ceremonial
because they were forcibly separated from the Jewish life of
their time and were forced to seek instructions from the books of
the Bible. External conditions forced the Marranos to return to a
primitive form of observance. There are, however, in our own day,
groups of Jews that never came in contact with the masses of the
Jewish folk; the never had anything to do with those Jews who are
the bearers of Jewish history and Jewish life. They, therefore,
observe Pesach exactly as it was observed two to three thousand
years ago. Such Jews are the Samaritans of the city of Nablus in
Palestine, and the a Falashas of Abyssinia.
***Modern historical research has proved that the Samaritans are
not descendants of the heathen colonists settled in the northern
kingdom of Israel by the conquerors of Samaria, as was once
assumed. Nor are they to be identified with Nehemiah's opponents
of the Persian period. Actually, the Samaritans of today are a
small and poor remnant of an old and great Jewish sect that
appeared in Palestine about the beginning „ of the Greek period.
They form the oldest Jewish sect in existence. They were always
strongly religious Jews who beieved in one God and strictly
observed the Law of Moses. The only religious books that they
possess, however are the Pentateuch and Joshua. They never
recognized the books of the Bible beyond Josh as holy. Moreover,
they denied the sanctity of Jrusalem. They believed that Shechem,
the present Nablus, was the holy city and that the holy mountain
was not Zion, but Mount Gerizim. They built a temple on top of
that mountain, which was later destroyed by the Hasmonean king,
John Hyrcanus. The Samaritans and the Jews became blood-enemies
who hated and despised each other just as in later years the
Karaites and the Rabbinic Jews hated each other.***
(Please NOTE what was just stated by the author, read again
between the *** stars I entered for emphasis. The "Jewish
Encyclopedia" has a many page entry on the "Samaritans" - who
claim they are the descendants of the tribe of Ephraim. That
possibility could be true. It is quite possible that when the
House of Israel [in Samaria] was taken captive by the Assyrian
forces, SOME Israelites escaped, as is nearly always the case
when people are overrun by other people, and taken captive. What
is certain is that the Samaritans of Jesus' day and those of
today, were NOT pagan Gentiles that adopted some strange old
Samaria teachings and observances - Keith Hunt)
In the days of the second Temple almost the entire central
part of Palestine, between Judah and Galilee, was thickly
populated with this Jewish sect of Shechem; there were also many
followers of the sect in southern Syria and in other eastern
lands. Today, however, there are barely two hundred left; they
speak Arabic and inhabit a special quarter in Nablus. They have a
synagogue there and a High Priest, who is their teacher and
spiritual leader. (I have not done any research today in 2010 to
see if such Samaritan sect is still in existance, I guess a
search on Google would soon tell us - Keith Hunt)
These two hundred Samaritans observe Pesach to this day (the
author was writing in 1938 - Keith Hunt) on Mount Gerizim, in a
manner that other Jews ceased practising thousands of years ago.
The custom of offering sacrifices has died out with the
Samaritans, except on the fourteenth day of Nisan, when they
offer the ceremonial Pesach sacrifice.
Exactly as do other Jews, they clean the "chomets" out of
their homes the night before Pesach eve, according to their
calendar which closely resembles the Jewish. The next day they
make the pilgrimage to Mount Gerizim and there set up their
tents, one for each family, outfitting them with furniture and
utensils. There, on the slope of the hill on whose top once stood
their temple, they observe Pesach, living there for the entire
festival.
The Samaritan Practice
A study of their ceremonies and observances during the
festival is of special interest to us, because they practically
duplicate the rites of the Jews of the very old days. What
certain knowledge we have of Pesach and its rites dates only from
the last century of the second Temple; of what happened before
there are no exact records. We can learn much about the holiday,
however, from the observances of the Samaritans of today; they
are for us a living record and monument of the old life lived by
the children of Israel on Mount of Ephraim.
Much of the Pesach that was observed in the days of the
second Temple is still unknown to the present Samaritans. They
know nothing of the use of wine, of the "charoses," of eating the
sacrificial animal comfortably from a table, of reclining at
one's ease, and of many other observances, because these customs
came into Judaism in the latter part of the second Temple days,
after the Samaritans had already separated from the rest of
Jewry.
The main ceremonial in the Pesach observance of the
Samaritans is the sacrifice of a sheep and eating it at night, in
great haste, together with matsos and bitter herbs. They begin
the preparation for the feast late in the afternoon. The Mount of
Gerizim becomes a center of activity. All the males of the sect
are gathered there, dressed in white, festive clothing, stoking
the fires in two huge pits, the one for the roasting of the
sheep, the other for the burning of the offal and all the remains
after the feast. A huge cauldron of hot water is also ready.
Half an hour before sunset the ceremony starts. The High Priest
leads the assembled congregation in silent prayer; the worshipers
fall to their knees, their faces toward the peak of the hill, the
spot where their temple once stood. The High Priest raises his
voice and all join him in a series of chanted prayers.
Exactly at sunset (Note - it was sunset, not in the middle
of the afternoon; the Samaritans had retained the correct time of
the slaying of the lamb - Keith Hunt) the High Priest faces
westward and reads that portion of the Pentateuch which orders
the slaughtering of the Pesach sacrifice. About twelve or
fourteen of the younger Samaritans busy themselves, meanwhile,
with preparing the sacrificial animals. They form a circle about
the pit of fire, holding the lambs between their legs, and as the
High Priest utters the words, "And the whole assembly of the
congregation of Israel shall kill it at dusk," they utter a
benediction and throw the lambs, throats to the pit, where they
are slaughtered by two ritual slaughterers. Six or seven sheep
are slaughtered. An extra animal is available, should a physical
defect be found in one of the sacrificial animals.
The slaughtering is a signal for general rejoicing.
Greetings are exchanged in the oriental manner; the participants
kiss one another, first on the right shoulder, then on the left.
This ends the first part of the ceremony. The second part,
which takes place late at night, is the roasting of the animals.
First, the bodies must be cleaned and spitted and prepared
for roasting. The fire made for the offal burns and smokes as the
insides of the animals are cast therein.
At about ten o'clock the High Priest issues forth from his
tent and orders the roasting of the sheep. Six or seven men
bear the spitted animals on their shoulders and the High Priest
leads them in prayer; then all the sacrifices are cast into the
pit together. The bodies are covered first with leaves and grass
and then with caked mud. For three hours the roasting process
goes on, the Samaritans meanwhile passing the time in prayer or
in talk. Some go to sleep; but most of them rest on their cots,
for rest is needed so that the participants will feel fresh and
ready for the third part of the ceremony, the eating of the
sacrificed animals.
At one in the morning all are awake and ready. Hands and
feet are washed and white garments donned. With girded loins and
with staves in their hands, they gather in one assemblage. The
roasted animals are in baskets and placed upon the earth. Matsos
and bitter herbs, that were gathered on the Mount, are placed on
the sheep and later portioned out by the High Priest. When all is
ready, the Samaritans form groups about the sacrificed animals
and, after uttering the prescribed blessing, fall upon the roast
meat, pulling it hastily to pieces with their hands. Portions are
brought to the women and children in the tents. Everybody eats
rapidly and in twenty minutes all that is left is a mound of
bones, which are thrown into the offal pit together with the
baskets and utensils that were used and with any matsos that
happen to be left. Matsoh is not prepared in advance for the
entire festival. The Samaritans bake a fresh supply every
morning.
(What we have been reading about the way the Samaritans observed
the Passover is near enough the way of the original Passover in
Exodus 12. It was just about an all night meal ceremony; the
killing, preparing, and roasting and eating of the lamb, would
take many hours. Hence in Exodus 12 THAT NIGHT was the "night to
be much observed" - for it was a special night, wherein the
Israelites would have stayed up all night. With such a meal,
taking many hours to perform, starting at sunset, the death angel
passing over at midnight to kill all the firstborn; with the
miracle and excitement of that night, except for small children,
it is inconceivable that anyone would have slept. This practice
by the Jewish sect of the Samaritans proves the time and night of
how the original Passover was observed - Keith Hunt)
The burning of the remains does not, however, end the
ceremony. The Samaritans stay awake till dawn, reciting prayers.
(Again, showing that the original Passover of Exodus 12 was an
all night observance - no one was going to go to sleep on that
great and splended night when God would deliver Israel from the
bondage of Egyptian slavery. Truly a night to be much observed -
Keith Hunt)
Another Jewish Sect
There is still another Jewish sect that makes the ceremonial
Pesach sacrifice: the black Jews, the Falashas, of Abyssinia. Who
these Falashas are we do not know for certain, nor do we know
what percentage of Jewish blood flows in their veins. There are
some who claim that the Falashas are Jews who intermingled with
the Africans. Others, however, contend that the Falashas are
African natives who, a long time ago, became converted to the
Jewish faith. Their Judaism is based on the laws and practices of
the Bible, which they read in an Ethiopian translation, and they
observe, therefore, only the old biblical holidays and festivals,
according to the laws laid down in the Pentateuch. They gather in
their synagogue on the fourteenth day of Nisan, before sundown,
and in the name of the entire community, an animal is sacrificed
and eaten according to the laws of the Bible, to the
accompaniment of chanted prayers. They also clean their homes of
"chomets" and prepare special dishes and utensils for Pesach.
Dramatic Presentations
The Jews of the Caucasus region observe Pesach night sitting
on the ground, dressed in their festive best, with a spear and
sometimes a pistol by their sides. The women adorn themselves
with jewelry of all kinds and the young girls weave flowers in
their hair. The most interesting part of their Seder, however, is
the dramatic presentations acted there. These are introduced when
that part of the services is reached which states that in every
generation each Jew must feel as if he himself was redeemed from
Egypt. The Chacham (the rabbi), who leads the services, thereupon
wraps a piece of matsoh in an old cloth, places it upon his
shoulder and paces off four cubits, saying, "In this way our
forefathers went out of the land of Egypt, their
kneading-troughs, bound up in their clothes upon their
shoulders." He makes quick gestures at the same time to
demonstrate the haste with which the Jews left Egypt.
The young men, meanwhile, go to another room and choose one
of their number to play the part of the fugitive Jew who has just
returned from Jerusalem bringing word that the redemption is
near. The others clothe him in rags, place a sack on his
shoulder, put a staff in his hand, and send him out. In a short
time a knock is heard at the door. There stands the masqueraded
youth, begging for permission to enter. The following
conversation takes place:
"Who are you and what do you want?"
"I am a Jew and I wish to observe Pesach, our time of
deliverance, with you."
"How are we to know that you are a Jew?"
"I wear a four-cornered garment with fringes."
"Anybody can put one on. What other proof have you?"
"I have not cut the corners of my hair. See my side-curls."
"That is not enough, either. If you are a Jew, why do you travel
so late at night? Don't you know this is a festival?"
"I come from Jerusalem, the holy city; the road is long and
filled with obstacles. Everywhere our enemies await us; like an
iron wall they stand between you and me in an effort to keep me
from celebrating the festival with you."
The masquerader breaks into tears. Those in the household
still make no move to admit him. They remain silent and deep in
thought; occasionally one sighs deeply. Suddenly the leader of
the services gives a sign and the masquerader is admitted. He
stands amongst them with a sword by his side, a belt girt about
his loins, a staff in his hand, and a sack on his shoulders. His
sandals are roughly soled and his clothes are covered with dust.
The household suddenly becomes joyous and the masquerader is
showered with questions:
"What is happening in Jerusalem, the holy city? How fare our
brothers? Is the Messiah coming soon to free us from exile? Have
any omens appeared pointing to our redemption?"
The traveler tells them of Jerusalem, of the sages and
saints that live there, of the fields and villages that surround
the city, of the mountains and holy graves; and he assures his
listeners that the sages of the city have seen signs which point
to the coming of the Messiah, who will shatter the iron wall that
keeps them from entering the holy city. They listen with rapt
attention and at the conclusion they raise their hands high and,
sighing deeply, call out again and again, "Amen: So be His will."
The Jews of Morocco are also fond of dramatization on Pesach
eve. After the reciting of the Seder services, every male in the
household slings a rod and pack over his shoulder. They rush out
of the house and run up and down the street, shouting, "In this
manner our forefathers went out of Egypt, their kneading-troughs
bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders."
These Moroccan Jews carry away with them from the Seder a
piece of the "afikomon," the matsoh saved for the end of the
meal. They carry it as a safeguard on ocean voyages and throw it
into the waters in time of storm, claiming that it has powers to
calm the sea.
The last day of the festival is visiting day. The
congregation makes its way to a stream on that day and offers
prayers. Toward evening the people go in groups from house to
house to say farewell to the holiday and to wish each other a
happy year. The day after Pesach they march outside the town and
recite blessings over the trees.
.............................
INTERESTING INDEED! ESPECIALLY INTERESTING IS THAT ABOUT THE
JEWISH SECT OF THE SAMARITANS, AS THEY PRESERVED WHAT WAS CLOSE
TO THE ACTUAL PASSOVER NIGHT OF EXODUS 12.
Keith Hunt
March 2010
To be continued
The Jewsih Festivals Passover custom, ceremony, and traditions THE JEWISH FESTIVALS
History and Observance
by
Hayyim Schauss
(1938)
You will see here the added beliefs and traditions over a period
of time as the Jews observed Passover - Keith Hunt
CUSTOM AND CEREMONY
The Baking of Matsos
It's Thickness
We have already referred to the prohibition of "chomets" and
to the two kinds of matsoh used at Pesach: "Matsoh shel mitsvoh,"
which must be eaten at the Seder on Pesach eve; and the ordinary
matsoh eaten during the remainder of the festival because the
eating of "chomets" is forbidden.
In olden times matsos were enormously thick. In Talmudic
times there was a controversy as to whether the matsos could be
thicker than the breadth of four fingers. (There was no question
as to the legality of matsos up to that measurement.) Matsoh at
that time was baked by three women, one to knead, one to roll,
and one to bake. Such matsoh, to be edible, had to be baked fresh
daily. A point of controversy, therefore, arose as to when to
bake matsoh if the day before Pesach came on Saturday; whether to
bake it on Friday, or on Saturday evening, just before the Seder.
In the Middle Ages the thickness of the matsoh was limited
to the breadth of one finger. As time went on, the matsoh became
thinner and thinner and, at the same time, crisper. Thin, crisp
matsoh could be prepared in advance for the entire festival.
There was a time when it was customary, in some quarters, to
make figured matsos. Such matsoh was not regarded as strictly
correct and kosher because of the extra time it took to make it.
(The longer the dough stands about, the greater likelihood is
there of fermentation.)
It is a precept carried over from olden days that the water
used in the making of matsos must be drawn beforehand and kept in
a utensil overnight. There was a belief that the sun, setting at
night, went under the earth and heated the water in the depths of
the wells, making the water tepid and more likely to ferment the
dough in which it was used. Thus, keeping the water overnight
cooled it and made it safe to use.
There is an old custom known as early as the fourteenth
century, which is worth mentioning. Jews would heat the ovens
used in the baking of matsos with the willow branches used at the
Sukkos festival of the past year; that is, with something that
had previously been hallowed.
The process of baking matsos was revolutionized with the
invention of the matsos machine, which came about a halfcentury
ago. At first there was a great controversy about the kashrus
(ritual correctness) of matsoh made with a machine. But technical
progress scored a victory here as everywhere else, although there
are still, isolated, over-pious Jews who eat only matsoh made by
hand.
The flour of which the matsos are baked is made from wheat.
There were, however, in previous generations some super-pious
Jews who ate only matsoh made from barley flour. It is likely
that this custom is still prevailing here and there. Among the
Karaites, the use of wheaten flour for matsos is strictly
forbidden, barley flour being compulsory.
We may infer from this that matsoh made from barley flour
was the older form, that wheaten matsos were an innovation and,
therefore, not acceptable in some super-conservative circles. The
preference of some super-pious Jews for the inferior matsoh made
from barley flour may also be due to the fact that matsoh is
referred to in the Bible, as "the bread of affliction."
The Seder
In the course of time the Seder, or Haggadah as the
ceremonial of Pesach night is called by the S'fardic Jews, became
a religious institution, prescribed, with an exact set of written
regulations. But this ritual, which is for us today out of the
ordinary and antiquated, was at one time the ordinary procedure
at a festive meal in upper, aristocratic circles. It was
customary, in those days, to partake of a feast while reclining
on sofas, the left hand supported by soft cushions, with a small
table at every sofa from which food was served. The menu started
with a glass of wine and a toast appropriate to the occasion,
after which it was customary to wash one hand and then to eat a
bit of lettuce, dipped in tart sauce. The Pesach feast in those
days differed from ordinary banquets in only three things: no
bread was eaten; dipping the salad green in spices was performed
twice instead of once; and only roasted meat was served.
The mode of life changed with the times, and it was,
therefore, imperative that the questions asked at the Pesach
feast by the youngest son should also change. When dipping the
salad greens became obsolete, the third question was emphasized
further, and became, not only a question as to why it was done
twice, but also why it was done at all. Originally one of the
questions dealt with the reason for the sacrificial animal, when
the sacrifice was abolished this question was eliminated and a
substitute was inserted, the reason for the reclining position, a
question that would never have been asked in the old days. In the
course of time the custom of reclining at feasts went out of
fashion. There were rabbis even in the Middle Ages who wanted to
eliminate the custom from the Seder ceremony, arguing that it was
no longer a symbol of freedom, but rather a sign of illness and
weakness, but the custom remained, and is observed to the present
day. (Remember the author is writing in 1938 and such may not be
observed today, but by a very few, if any - Keith Hunt)
A fourth question was added regarding the bitter herbs. On
the whole, it is not a very important question, for other herbs
besides the bitter ones are eaten on Pesach eve. But it was felt
that there had to be four questions, since so many things about
the Seder went in fours; four glasses of wine, four types of food
(matsoh, lamb, bitter herbs and charoses), four types of sons who
ask questions; so four questions were absolutely necessary. There
was a symbolic, mystic quality about the number; it had always
been a sacred number for Jews and many other eastern peoples.
Elijah's Cup
One of the most interesting of the customs added during a
later period to the Pesach eve ceremonial is related to the
legendary figure of the prophet Elijah.
Even in very old times, following his death, there was a
widespread belief that the prophet had not really died but had
ascended to heaven in a fiery chariot, drawn by fiery horses.
Later the belief arose that Elijah would return as the forerunner
of the Messiah and, therefore, the Elijah legend spread far and
wide. It was because of this that the festival of redemption
naturally became associated in the Jewish mind with the
forerunner of the Messiah, whom the Jews awaited to bring the
signal of the coming deliverance.
(The truth of Elijah going to the heaven where God lives is
explained in detail, as well as the subject of "death" and
"resurrection" on this Website. The prophecy of the "Elijah to
come" before the day of the Lord, is TWO FOLD - it was fulfilled
once through John the baptist and another will come and "restore
all things" before Jesus comes again - see what Christ said in
Matthew 17:9-13, note the words carefully in verses 11,12 "Elijah
truly shall come and restore all things" and "Elijah is come
already" - see my study "The Elijah to Come." The last words of
verse 13 make it clear that the Elijah that THEN was, was John
the baptist. Neither of this dual prophecy will be the literal
Elijah - he is dead and awaits the resurrection - Keith Hunt)
This, then, helps to explain the cup of wine that is poured
for the prophet on Pesach eve. It was an old belief of the Jews
that shortly before the coming of the Messiah, Elijah would solve
all difficulties and doubts, and settle all confusions and
differences of opinion. When a dispute arose and no decision
could be made, it was customary to say, "It must be left for
Elijah's decision."
(The Elijah to come before the day of the Lord, will not be some
"judge" answering people's questions per se, nor will he be the
literal Elijah of the Old Testament, as the Jews believe, but it
will be someone doing a similar work as John the baptist -
teaching and preaching truth that has become corrupted, and
leading people to true REPENTANCE and salvation, the Kingdom of
God being also the message as it was with John - Keith Hunt)
The Talmudists could not decide whether four or five cups of
wine were necessary for the Seder, so a fifth cup is poured and
left for Elijah, as though to say, "He will decide whether this
is necessary or not." As the years passed, the fifth cup of
wine, standing on the table in Elijah's name, was associated in
folk lore with the personal appearance of the prophet in Jewish
homes. Far back in Talmudic days the belief arose and spread that
the prophet often showed himself to people on earth. And it was
natural to expect the forerunner of the Messiah to show himself
on the eve of redemption and to drink from the cup that bore his
name. In the course of time it became the custom to open the door
on the Seder eve, which, people said, was done to facilitate
Elijah's entry.
(All fairy-tales. The Jews did not know or acknowledge the Elijah
of Jesus' day. Even most of Christ's disciples did not know who
he was until Jesus told them. So it will be at the last day. Most
will not know the end time Elijah until Jesus reveals it to them.
But he will have come and will have restored all things - Keith
Hunt)
But the origin of the custom of opening the door remains
obscure. It is obvious that the opening of the door had nothing
to do with the Elijah legend. Originally, in fact, it was
customary to open the door before the start of the Seder. The
head of the household stepped out into the street and called out:
"He that is hungry, come and cat; he that is needy, come and join
our Pesach." But often Jews lived amongst non-Jews and were not
in a position to call the poor of the street to their tables.
This custom died and in its place grew up the custom of "mo-os
chittim," described earlier. It is therefore possible that the
opening of the door was transferred from the beginning to the end
of the Seder. The custom is also explained as a demonstration
that Pesach eve is a "night of watching unto the Lord" and one
need have no fear of evil spirits that night.
But it seems that all these interpretations were thought of
in later times, when the original meaning of the open door had
been forgotten. We know that the doors of the Temple were opened
the second part of Pesach eve, and it is possible that the
present custom remains from those days, since the doors of homes
are also opened during the second part of the evening, after the
Seder. But the real reason has vanished and today there lives
only the folk-fancy that it is tied up with the coming of Elijah.
The Afikomon and "Kittel"
An important part in the Seder ceremonial is taken by the
"afikomon."
Various customs and beliefs are bound up with the afikomon.
Other Jews, besides those of Morocco, take along a piece of the
afikomon as a charm against misfortune when they travel. It was
the custom to bore a hole in the afikomon and to hang it up as a
charm in the synagogue or home. The Jews of Palestine were
accustomed to present (some, perhaps, still do) dramatic scenes,
such as are acted out in Morocco and the Caucasus, each
participant placing the afikomon, wrapped in a napkin, on his
shoulder and reciting from the Pentateuch the passage: "Their
kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their
shoulders." The master of the house traverses four yards and he
is asked, "From whence comest thou?"; to which he replies, "From
Egypt." Then he is asked, "And where goest thou?"; to which he
replies, "To Jerusalem." At which all assembled shout, "May we
celebrate next year in Jerusalem."
What the ceremony of first hiding the afikomon and then
eating it really is, is not entirely clear, but there is a clue
in the meaning of the word. The famous Hebrew grammarian of the
sixteenth century, Elijah Levita, was the first to rediscover the
Greek origin of the word. The Greek word described the joyous
revelry and entertainment after a banquet, the song, dance, and
games that naturally followed a feast. It is, therefore, probable
that in the days of the second Temple feasting was followed by
joyous entertainment, in the Greek manner. It is also probable
that the word took on, for the Jews, the meaning of the sweet
desserts that were eaten after a feast. But after the Pesach
feast no song or dance was allowed, nor was it permitted to eat
sweets after the eating of the sacrifice. In later times, when a
sacrifice was no longer served, it became the custom to finish
the meal with a bit of matsoh, instead of a bit of the
sacrificial animal. This piece of matsoh inherited the name
originally used for dessert, a "afikomon." The original meaning
of the word had, by that time, been long forgotten.
The custom of trying to steal the afikomon was no doubt
instituted in order to keep the children awake during the long
service. The custom of hiding the afikomon under a pillow can be
somehow explained by the precept, "And ye shall guard the
matsos," a quotation which the Jews in the Middle Ages took
literally.
The custom of conducting the Seder while dressed in a
"kittel," a long, white robe, shows how people forget the
original meaning of certain rituals and ceremonials and how er-
roneously they re-interpret them later. It is declared that the
kittel is worn as a reminder of the white shroud of the grave. It
would be very curious for mementos of the grave to be introduced
into the spring festival. In actuality it is a vestige of the
days when the festive clothing of Jews was always white; it has
nothing to do with burial robes or death.
The Haggadah
It is impossible to picture the Seder night and all its
ceremonies without the "Haggadah." This book has a long history
behind it, dating back almost two thousand years. The latter
parts, the old folk songs, are no more than our or five hundred
years old, it is true; but there are parts that the Jews recited
in the days when the second Temple still stood in Jerusalem.
The four questions are among the oldest parts of the Hag-
gadah, though, as we learned before, they differ from the
original text. To the oldest parts of the Haggadah belong also:
the passage beginning with the words, "a wandering Aramean was my
father"; the explanation for the Paschal lamb, the matsoh, and
the bitter herbs; the passages beginning with the words, "In
every generation," and "So it is our duty"; the Psalms of praise,
and the final benediction. All these passages are to be found in
the Mishnah. Other passages were added from the Aggadic parts of
the Talmud and the Midrash. To the Midrash we owe the discourse
on the four types of sons, a very important part of the Haggadah.
These four sons became a source of many homilies, witticisms,
"bon mots," and illustrations that greatly enriched the book. In
latter years these four sons have also been dramatized.
For a long time the Haggadah was a part of the book of
common prayer. It was not till late in the Middle Ages that it
became a separate book.
Many commentaries have been written on the Haggadah, by such
noted figures as Rabbi Isaac Abrabanel, Rabbi Loew of Prague (the
legendary creator of the Golem), the Gaon of Vilna, and a host of
other more or less famous scholars. But the commentary of Rabbi
Jacob Krantz of Dubno became the most popular and beloved. He was
a popular preacher who lived in the time of the Gaon of Vilna and
Moses Mendelssohn. He had a remarkable gift for interpreting
passages in the Bible and in the Haggadah through the use of
homely parables.
The Haggadah is a book that has been tied up with Jewish
life for ages. And such a book, which is bound up with so many
reminiscences of Jewish life of days gone by, can be best
appraised, not by its content, but by the history through which
it lived. The great poet Heine, in his novel, "The Rabbi of
Bacharach," has this to say about the Haggadah:
"The master of the house sits at the table and reads from a queer
book called Haggadah. Its content is a marvelous mixture of
age-old legends, miracles of the Exodus, curious discussions,
prayers, and festive songs. The master reads this book with an
old, traditional chant; again and again the others at the table
join him in chorus. The tune of the chant is a fearfully hearty
one; it lulls and soothes, and at the same time it rouses and
calls, so that even those Jews who long since turned from the
faith of their fathers and seek strange joys and foreign honors
are touched when the well-remembered chants of Pesach happen to
reach their ears."
Heine was right. It is not the content of the Haggadah that
stirs one, as much as the chant with which it is sung, the
ceremonies with which it is bound up, and the images the
ceremonies evoke. One is also moved by the interpretations and
bon mots, the stories and parables, the anecdotes and witticisms
which the folk gathered about the Haggadah in the course of
centuries.
In addition, the Haggadah played a great role in the
development of Jewish art. Illustrations were made for the book
at a time when art in its various forms was unusual among Jews.
We also have the Haggadah to thank for saving us two old Jewish
folk songs, "Who Knows One," and "A Kid, A Kid." There were,
apparently, many such folk songs that, in time, were forgotten.
All that is left to us of these are the above two songs, and for
that the Haggadah is responsible.
......................
End of this section on the Passover from Schauss' book "The
Jewish Festivals" (1938).
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