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Preparing for the Traditional Passover Seder

Preparing for your Passover Seder is a very special job. Whether your table is going to be big or small, this clip will give you an idea of what you need and how to conduct the seder. You can use your discretion as to what you will use from this video, to make the seder your own

      

 

The Seder Plate

From here you can get an idea of what the seder plate should look like. If you do not have a plate with divisions, do not worry because you can just use a normal large plate.

What is the Afikomen?

The Afikomen is a piece of the middle matzo (as shown in the video clip) that is wrapped in a linen cloth or afikomen bag for the children to find after the seder - it can sometimes be exchanged for a small gift or a sweet.  When the children know they will be involved in the seder by searching for the afikomen, it makes it more exciting for them - it is however not compulsory

Can I take medicine with yeast in?

This is a question that bothers a lot of people at this time of year.  The bible doesnt specifically talk about medicine in this context, however we can be logical in our thinking over this matter.  There are some medicines that are necessary to manage 'chronic conditions' and these conditions may be life threatening or detrimental to the health of the person if they are not taken every day.  Then there are 'alternative' medicines which we may take by our own choice such as vitamins & minerals, and medicine that we are taking to sort out a short term health problem. Not taking these medicines will not affect our health after seven days.

 

It is up to each individual to pray about this matter and do what you feel God is leading your to do, when it comes to medicines that are not for chronic conditions.  The Lord would not expect you to stop taking chronic medication and to harm yourself in the process.  We do not test the Lord our God by thinking "Well even if this medicine is keeping me alive, if I am following God's instructions, He will just keep me going"  If you feel stronly about the matter, go and see your GP and enquire whether there a medication you can take for seven days that does not contain yeast/yeast derivatives

Creating a Chametz Free Zone

The feast of unleavened bread starts on the 15th of Nisan, lasting seven days until the 21st day of the month (Exodus 12:15,18).  God commanded:

"For seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you have left Egypt in haste - so that all the days of your life may remember the time of your departure from Egypt  (Deut 16:3)

In the new testament, the apostle Paul said the following about yeast or chametz.

"Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast - as you really are.  For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrified. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth (1 Cor 5:7,8).  As believers in Yeshua, we follow the commemoration of his sacrifice (passover) by obeying God's commandment to rid ourselves and our homes of chametz which is associated with sin, error and evil.  It is an opportunity for us to show our appreciation for God's commandments and for seven days to cleanse ourselves of chametz.

 

For the ancient Israelites the instructions regarding the cleaning out of chametz was clear and understandable, but for us as modern believers it can be a bit more tricky to understand what constitutes chametz as the process of additives and perservatives have complicated matters. Here are some basic guidelines to create a chametz free zone:

 

#1 - If it says 'yeast' it's gotta go, simple...

#2 - Baking Power/Baking Soda/Sodium Bi-carbonate

#3 - Cream of tartar

#4 - Sour dough

#5 - Ammonium Carbonate/Bi-carbonate

#6 - Potassium Carbonate/Bi-carbonate

#7 - Ginger Beer

#8 - Grained Alcohol/beer/whiskey/malt

#9 - MSG (monosoduium glutanate)

#10 - Buttermilk

#11 - Keffir

#12 - Any flour, oats, rye, spelt or barley mixed with water must be mixed and cooked within  18 minutes to ensure there is no raising process

#13 - Malt vinegar

 

If you are unsure about anything, the best thing to do is google the ingredient and see whether it is a yeast derivative. Many of our processed foods contain a great number of the items listed, so its is best to steer clear from processed food

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