SPECIAL FEATURE: PESSAH AND EASTER
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
PESSAH IN THE JEWISH TRADITION
The �zimun� or �invitation prayer� at the beginning of a Jewish meal in the presence of three persons shows an extraordinary point of similitude with this transforming process that allows us to eat of God�s products of the creation and to receive Himself as the Creator : �Barukh HaShem sheakhalnu mishelo� : �Blessed be God / Who �. A] �Whose [products] we eat as of His�. B] The same phrase can be translated as meaning : �of Whom we eat of Himself�.
For the Christian believer, it is of no use to eat special ingredients would were gathered into an exceptional night meal. What is really important is the change that is operated and operates in the living Body of Jesus Christ and which is the entire CHURCH. Therefore the recount process is required in the course of the celebration of all Divine Liturgies, especially the marvelous Divine Liturgiy of Saint Basil the Great, used during Lent for the consecration of the Holy Gifts. Other Divine Liturgies, espcially of Saint John Chrysostom in the Byzantine Tradition as well as the normal Eucharist and Divine Liturgy of Saint James [Mar Ya�kov] in the traditional Church of Jerusalem.
Easter focuses then on the accomplished Unity of all humankind, which is really a challenge. We may quarrel about anything and nothing without decency or just as ordinary people during our days. And right out of a sudden become the pious faithful in the world when we are in church. Or, on the contrary, we might continue our fights � it has been and is still the case until now. In that particular case, we wipe out of our memories that Jesus was abandoned by all and that we thus also often dare claim that we feel abandoned. Is it fair?
Moses Mendelsohn, the German Jewish philosopher used to say about the Hebrew Written and Oral Laws that they were in accordance with the natural and evident way of his daily life. He could accept any commandment with full trust because, there was nothing that was beyond his own forces to believe.
A Christian has to face another reality : Nothing is evident in the Christian faith if not received by faith and the insufflation of the Holy Spirit. 0nly the Holy Spirit can let us confess Jesus as the Messiah [1 Corinthians 12:3] as only the same Holy Spirit enables us to say �Abba, Father [Daddy]� to Our Father Who is in Heaven [Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6].
The account of the Liturgy leads the faithful to believe in something that is not only of this realm but just a little more, more and though never impossible to reach.
The perfect Christian Meal consists in eating �the Body and Blood� of Jesus Christ. In Aramaic, especially in the first liturgical traditions which have been preserved in the Eastern Byzantine Churches, these words are prononced as �Hana�u fag�r./ han�u dem�. In Hebrew these word as usual : �Bassar vadam � flesh and blood� and they refer to a mortal human being, as �fagr� in Aramaic.
Shortly, we can say that these words and expressions are the fulfillment of the Pessah and the Easter accounts. In Hebrew, B-S[h]-R means : to proclaim, to be the messenger, but also gladness, radiance, fulness of joy; meat [what normal Israelis daily perceive about this word], and �Bessurot tovot�, the Good News or Tidings proclaimed as thanksgiving at the end of each meal and the fact that this expression is is sometimes used for �Gospel�.
On the other hand, �Dam� is �blood�, but is connected to a series of words compiled by the Jewish Tradition : �Dom� is �silence� [and we can think of the silence of Jesus pouring His Precious Blood in silence on the Cross] because He was the Last and Perfect AdaM, the Last Man created as stated in the hymn of the Philippians in order to make every human being anew.
THE DATE OF THE FEAST OF PESSAH AND EASTER
A] Pessah
We have seen that the Jewish Tradition defines the Feast of Pessah according to Spring. All Jewish prayers express a concern about Eretz Israel, The Land of Israel and its welfare. Therefore, on the 14th day of the Month Nisan, the Community switches from the �rain� to the �dew� prayer. At the time of New Year or Rosh HaShanah and more precisely on Sukkot Day, the Jewish faithful pray for an abundant rain. Now, it is Spring time and a period of first harvest. Therefore the land is not considered in such a need of water and on the first day of Pesah the prayer of the blessing asks : �He causes the wind to blow and the dew to descent �morid tal�.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PAGE 8
HOW to contact us?