Messiah

April 9, 2021 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

What Everybody Is Missing in Their Definition of Antisemitism!

I have been studying, teaching against and writing about antisemitism for almost 22 years. It has become a fight that I cannot abandon, for the sake of my people. It didn’t come naturally to me. For the first forty years of my life, my frustrations and fears related to the longest hatred were somewhat suppressed. I particularly remember growing in France and hearing my parents rehash memories of the war, the Holocaust and how much the world hated us. My mother in particular, always told me that when I was making new friends at school, I should tell them that we are Jewish so that there wouldn’t be any late “surprises.” It always rubbed me the wrong way, but I was oblivious to the fact that my mother saw her dad taken by the Gestapo when she was 16 to only learn much later that he died in Auschwitz-Birkenau. I now understand this scarred her deeply, and it was a scar she bore until her very last day on this earth.

Then, in 1999, I started to gather data on the resurgence of antisemitism for a research paper while I was working on a degree. Twenty-one years later, I am still gathering data, and teaching in churches and conferences on that very topic more than ever. My research gave birth to three books on the topic, and, sad to say, antisemitism doesn’t show any sign of stopping. As a matter of fact, there isn’t one week when I do not have something to report or write about.

Early on, I felt it was necessary to define antisemitism. Not that it had never been done before, but since it has been morphing over the years, it really needs to be fine-tuned. I found many definitions that I felt were adequate, and for a while, I adopted the one from Edward H. Flannery from the classic volume The Anguish of the Jews. His definition is “Antisemitism is attitudes, words or actions that embody a hatred or contempt of the Jewish people as such.” Frankly, no definition is flawless, especially when it comes to explaining a hatred against the Jews that has lasted millennia.

Eventually, I developed my own, which was close to that of Edward Flannery. For close to a decade, I defined antisemitism as “Antisemitism is the hatred of the Jewish people, characterized by thoughts, words or deeds against them.” I felt that it was important that if someone simply had negative, denigrating, or destructive thoughts about the Jews, that it had to be labeled as antisemitism. Their thoughts might never evolve to words or deeds but could easily be the soil in which more active Jew-hatred could grow.

As I continued to study and gather data, I started to realize that my definition was missing something. I noticed that more and more antisemitic acts were committed by people joining forces against Israel, Zionism, and the Jewish people globally. The odd aspect of this team effort was that some of these people working together to ostracize and demonize the Jews would never agree on anything ideologically if it were not for their common hatred of the Jewish people. The adage “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” was really coming to life. How could we possibly imagine Liberals agreeing with radical Islamists, except of course if it is about the need to stop the Jews from “taking over the banks or the world.”

So, I saw the need to add one word to my definition. The needed word was “irrational” as in the “irrational hatred” of the Jewish people. It is irrational on two levels. First, because it joins different groups of people who ideologically would never even think of teaming up, but also because what the world is believing about the Jews and Israel increasingly becomes more irrational each day that passes. Thus, I revised my definition to read “Antisemitism is the irrational hatred of the Jewish people, characterized by thoughts, words or deeds against them.”

How else could people in 2021 still believe the lies about Jewish people using blood to make Passover matzah? Who can still believe that Jewish people need to kill Christian babies during Holy week? Who can still read the now-debunked 1904 hoax The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion and believe it to be a true plan to take over the world by a Jewish cabal? What about the medieval Black plague supposedly started by the Jews poisoning the wells of Europe, which logically (read “irrationally”) makes them instant prime suspects for the creating and spreading of COVID-19? More people than you think, across the globe, are still buying into those irrational lies. All these lies are vivid illustrations of the irrationality of the “New” antisemitism. It is not new as in “better”, rather it is new as in “morphed” into something more dangerous and more acceptable to the many who do not check facts.

A bit after I felt the need to adjust my definition, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance came up with their own definition of antisemitism in 2016. They posit that “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” In order to help people to understand and adopt that new definition, the IHRA added eleven bullet point items to further define what they meant, and they still call their definition a “non-legally binding working” definition. While I agree with that definition, I find it a bit vague, which explains the need for all the subpoints and examples. I strongly believe that it lacks the irrational component that became evident to me within the last decade.

Then, in the first quarter of 2020, a new group of scholars in antisemitism studies and related fields got together and penned the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA). They have over 200 signatories. Their definition goes like this, “Antisemitism is discrimination, prejudice, hostility or violence against Jews as Jews (or Jewish institutions as Jewish).” I like the fact that they identify antisemitism as animosity against “Jews as Jews” which is similar to Edward Flannery’s definition of “contempt of the Jewish people as such.” It reinforces the idea that antisemitism makes no sense at all.

While I will not pretend to be familiar with all the signatories of the JDA, I cannot agree with some of their conclusions, especially point 14 of their guidelines (longer than those of the IHRA). It states that “Boycott, divestment and sanctions are commonplace, non-violent forms of political protest against states. In the Israeli case, they are not, in and of themselves, antisemitic.” While I am not against the ethical use of boycott, divestment and sanctions, the BDS movement against Israel and the Jewish people is anything but ethical. It only targets Israel and Israeli products and corporations when there are many countries that commit crimes against humanity and are completely ignored. The sole targeting of Israel justified by fabricated stories shows the hypocrisy of such a movement. Not to mention all the Israeli products and inventions that BDS proponents use daily, turning a blind eye on the “Jewish Apartheid State” out of convenience. I cannot agree with a definition that doesn’t see BDS as antisemitic.

All these definitions, good and bad are lacking a key component that must be seen as the root of antisemitism, and that is the spiritual element. I don’t expect everyone to believe in God or even have any spiritual leanings, but I believe that without the spiritual component, antisemitism cannot be fully understood, and even less combated.

There is no doubt in my mind that Satan is at the core of antisemitism. For those who don’t believe that Satan exists, this will make my argument difficult to accept but bear with me.

From the moment he got involved with humanity Satan showed his true colors. He is THE deceiver who hates all that God loves and loves all that God hates. It might come as surprise to many, but Satan knows the Bible very well. He knows the past, tries to alter the present and is also aware of his future. He also understands how much God loves Israel, the unconditional eternal covenants He ratified with the Jewish people (Genesis 12:1-3) and the promises He made to never destroy or forsake Israel (Jeremiah 31:35-37).

Moreover, Satan is aware that the Second Coming of Yeshua depends upon Israel’s repentance and cry for Him to return as He promised in Matthew 23:37-39. He will come back when Israel cries out Baruch Haba Bashem Adonai, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” As prophesied in Zechariah 12:10. At that moment begins the end of Satan’s career of deception and lies on earth. His final abode is the Lake of Fire and Brimstone for eternity, not as its boss like Hollywood would like you to believe but as one of the first ones thrown in for eternal torment with no hope of relief.

Satan has been instrumental in rewriting history and promoting irrational antisemitism for as long as Jewish people have existed. He also knows that he cannot rewrite the future. His destiny is set in stone, but he will do anything he can to postpone it. If he could prevent the Jewish people from recognizing Yeshua of Nazareth as their Messiah, which he thinks would buy him some time; and that is exactly why he invented antisemitism. For centuries, antisemitism has been infiltrating the Christian Church on many levels.

To be sure, antisemitism is not only coming from the Church. It is coming from the extreme Left, the extreme Right, radical Islam, atheists, Hollywood, academia, the media, politics and more, which all reinforce the irrationality of antisemitism. Who else but the Jews has ever been accuse of both Communism and Capitalism?

Finally, when one sees the spiritual component of antisemitism, it should make it clear we need to pray for it to cease. We might never be able to completely erase the irrational hatred of my Jewish people, but once we recognize its source, it is critical for us to pray against it – while educating people about it. Scripture also tells me to love my enemies and pray for those who persecute me (Matthew 5:46), and I believe in the power of prayer. Somehow, this has been the focus of my past 22 years. I have a feeling that it will continue to be the focus for the next 22, if the Lord tarries.

Incidentally, on April 8, 2021, Israel commemorated Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) with a country-wide coming to a stop at 10:00 AM for two minutes of silence. Because my grandfather didn’t die in vain, I remember and speak up. May his memory and that of the six-million be a blessing!

April 1, 2021 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Jesus the Palestinian…Really?

Saying that Yeshua (Jesus) was one of the most controversial figures of all time is not an exaggeration. He was a revolutionary, a rebel and a rabbi. His existence is seldom put into question by anyone, even those who don’t believe in God. Another aspect of Yeshua that until recently was never argued was His human origin. He was born of human parents–a human mother to be exact, and an adoptive father. His ethnicity is also a slam dunk. Since His mother was Jewish, He was Jewish. Well, I wish it was that simple, but unfortunately, He has recently been painted as a Palestinian. Let us look at how and why such a claim is made and if there is any validity to it.

First, let me start by defining the meaning of Palestine. While the exact origin of the name “Palestine” is still debated, there are aspects of the word’s meaning that we can know for sure. It once possibly described a people group known as the Philistines, but that people group was in no way connected to the current era Palestinians – not ethnically, not linguistically, not historically and not culturally. In A.D. 132, the Jewish Bar Kochba revolt took place against the Romans. Things didn’t end well for the Jewish people; and in addition to a bloodbath of gigantic proportions, Israel was renamed Palaestina by the Romans. The rebranding of the land with the name of their enemies, the Philistines, was an effort to undermine Jewish history and humiliate the Jewish people further. Jerusalem was also renamed Aelia Capitolina by emperor Hadrian. The name Palestine stuck and continued to be used after that time. It is nowhere to be found in the Bible.

When the British were in control from 1922 to 1948, the area was governed under what was known as the British Palestine Mandate. In the original text of the Mandate itself, dated 1922, we can read: “Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country.”

We should not have an issue calling Israel “Palestine” as long as it is a description of the landmass of Israel prior to 1948. Up to that time in history, the term “Palestine” simply described a piece of land in the Middle East. Even after Israel became a State in 1948 and the name Eretz Yisrael started being used, the word “Palestine” was not an issue for anybody; it was more or less an outdated name for the land of Eretz Yisrael. It is after that time, and under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, that the definition for Palestine went from geographical to political, in an attempt to describe a displaced people group named “the Palestinians”, in need of an “ancestral” homeland. Before the 1960s, historical documents were replete with descriptions of Israel as Palestine, such as the British Palestine Mandate already mentioned. Israeli stamps, coins and newspaper said “Palestine”, and nobody cared. Palestine was always synonymous with Israel, the Jewish State. Arabs in neighboring countries never called themselves Palestinians, but rather Syrians, Lebanese, Jordanians, Egyptians, etc. Most Arabs in the early 1900s would have argued that Palestinian Arabs were simply Syrians as Mitchell Bard documents in his well-researched book Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict. He writes: “Prior to partition, Palestinian Arabs did not view themselves as having a separate identity. When the First Congress of Muslim-Christian Associations met in Jerusalem in February 1919 to choose Palestinian representatives for the Paris Peace Conference, the following resolution was adopted: We consider Palestine as part of Arab Syria, as it has never been separated from it at any time. We are connected with it by national, religious, linguistic, natural, economic and geographical bonds.”

God used different names for the Land of Israel such as “The Land of Canaan” (Genesis 17:8), “The Promised Land” (Genesis 50:24), or even “The Land” (Exodus 6:8), nowhere in the Bible is Israel ever called Palestine even once. Even the Qur’an (Sura Maida 5:21-22) mentions the “Holy Land” in the context of Moses and the spies preparing to enter the Land of Canaan; but never does it call it Palestine. Jerusalem isn’t even mentioned by name in the Qur’an.

Today, nobody questions the etymology of the word “Palestine” and that is a shame. What is really sad, is that the Arab refugees who were forced by their own countries to remain in Israel post-1948 ended up having children who then had children. These innocent subsequent generations have been labeled “Palestinians” for political gain. They are real people who deserve a real home and a decent life. Backtracking to pre-1948 “Palestine” would connect them all with one or another of the neighboring Arab countries, but that doesn’t serve the current antisemitic agenda of Israeli occupation, colonization and ethnic cleansing, does it?

This would be bad if it stopped there, but it doesn’t. To garner more support from Christians who might not check the accuracy of what they are told, there is now a movement to paint Yeshua as a Palestinian and not a Jew. This is part of what can be called Christian Palestinianism.

In his book For Zion Sake, Dr. Paul Wilkinson writes about the grave danger posed by Christian Palestinianism: “Christian Palestinianism is an inverted mirror image of Christian Zionism. All the basic elements of a Christian Zionist eschatology are reversed so that the Bible is seen to be Christian, not Jewish, the land of the Bible is Palestine, not Israel, the son of God is a Palestinian, not a Jew, the Holocaust is resented not remembered, 1948 is a catastrophe, not a miracle, the Jewish people are illegal occupiers, not rightful owners, and biblical prophecy is a moral manifesto and not a signpost to the Second Coming.”

To some, this might sound like an exaggeration that nobody will take seriously. I wish it were true, but there are groups of Christians who actually buy into that lie. Such a group is SABEEL. While I honestly understand the desire of such a group to minister to Arab Christians, I strongly disagree for it to be done at the expense of historical truth. Another venue where “reconciliation” between Jews and Arabs who believe in Yeshua is claimed, is Christ at the Checkpoint. That venue seems to preach a reconciliation that looks a lot like a one-way street towards complying with antisemitism and Christian Palestinianism.

Additionally, Yeshua was born in Bethlehem, Judea (Micah 5:2), not Bethlehem, Palestine, and it would be another 700 years before Arabs would get to the Promised Land and invade it. At the time of His crucifixion, Yeshua had a sign nailed above His head that read, Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm meaning “Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews” in Latin. It never said King of the Palestinians.

Victimhood and social justice go hand in hand, and if we can lead some people to believe that the Messiah was a Palestinian, it would go a long way to help further the myopic Palestinian agenda. To that end, in 2013, Mahmoud Abbas declared in a Christmas message that “Jesus was a Palestinian messenger who would become a guiding light for millions.” Linda Sarsour, who describes herself as a Palestinian-Muslim-American, tweeted in 2009 that Jesus was a Palestinian from Nazareth. It is important to note that neither Abbas nor Sarsour cares about what Yeshua represents as they both claim to be Muslims. Even if Yeshua is mentioned in the Qur’an, He is never recognized as Messiah. Fortunately for them, from a public relations standpoint, “Jesus the Palestinian” sells well!

It doesn’t help when UNESCO decides to call the Temple Mount only by its Muslim name. So, the Kotel or western wall is called al-Buraq wall, and the area in front of it the al-Buraq plaza. It is also claimed that the Al-Aqsa mosque on top of the Temple Mount is the mosque that is referred to in the Qur’an (17:1). There it talks of a journey Muhammad made at night from the Sacred Mosque (Mecca) to the “Farthest Mosque”. Muslim scholars have later identified “The Farthest Mosque” with Jerusalem, but there was no mosque in Jerusalem at that time. Additionally, the al-masjid Al-Aqsa mosque was built in AD 705, which happens to be 73 years after the death of Muhammad. Here we have a historical anachronism conveniently ignored.

Setting the record straight from the Jewish Bible, Yeshua is from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10). Judah was one of the twelve sons of Jacob who was not a Palestinian. Yeshua is from the line of King David, one of Israel’s most famous biblical kings (2 Samuel 7:14). David was never called the king of Palestine. Yeshua was born in Bethlehem, Judea (Micah 5:2), long before the world bought into the concept of the “occupied territories” that I prefer to call the “disputed territories”. Yeshua was also to be a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19), and Moses was not a Palestinian prophet. Yeshua was also circumcised (Luke 2:21) on the eighth day, per Jewish law (Exodus 12:48; Leviticus 12:2-3).

History, geography and archeology all testify to the Jewishness of Yeshua. Anyone trying to cancel his Jewish roots is ignoring it all and is guilty of historical revisionism. Unfortunately, in the age of canceling anything and anyone that might be offensive to the current politically correct agenda, making Yeshua into a Palestinian doesn’t seem so far-fetched. Calling Him a Palestinian will not change who He was and who He continues to be. It will only lead people astray from the true Yeshua and His simple message of redemption and salvation, as well as encourage anti-Semites to further cancel anything Jewish in order to ostracize and demonize our people.

By the way, I have often received criticism from my own Jewish people for being a follower of Yeshua, but NEVER because He was a Palestinian. Just sayin’!

March 26, 2021 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

How Christian is Christian Antisemitism?

There is a recurring accusation, especially within Jewish circles, that the New Testament is antisemitic. The justification for such an accusation is found in 2,000 years of Jewish history that have been punctuated by a myriad of antisemitic acts–many of them apparently rooted in Christianity and its teachings. So, the question bears asking, how Christian is Christian antisemitism? Furthermore, is the New Testament antisemitic?

It is really unfortunate that our Bible (Old and New Testaments) would be divided into two parts. Things would be a lot simpler if we looked at the whole counsel of God from Genesis to Revelation. Since the two are separated by the “400 years of silence”, we have the Jewish Scriptures (written in Hebrew) and the Greek Scriptures (written in both Greek and Aramaic), thus starting the chasm between the two. Words and concepts are not completely transferable from Hebrew to Greek, and the two different cultures added further challenges to God’s message through the ages.

Nobody can deny that the coming of Yeshua onto the scene changed everything. The Jewish leadership of His day felt threatened, intimidated and at times even humiliated. The guardians of the Mosaic Law were being challenged by one who came to fulfill that Law, and yet never broke one of its commandments. Additionally, even though He first came for His own according to the flesh, He included Gentiles. It wasn’t long before the very Gentiles who had been excluded but were now grafted in, started to take over and slowly forced the erosion of Jewish traditions within Christianity. By AD 325 at the council of Nicaea, much of the Jewishness of Christianity was further diluted or completely removed; thus, creating a faith that no longer could relate to its roots.

Early Church Fathers had started to deviate from a literal, historical/grammatical approach to the Bible. Their allegorical interpretations slowly led them to see Israel as a demonized people who had been replaced by the Church. The uneducated masses gladly followed suit and the Jews became a burden to those around them. Suffering the Crusades and Pogroms until the “final solution to the Jewish problem” (a euphemism used by Nazi Germany) in the Holocaust, Jews have been treated as a sub-human race. Who was responsible for this? Ask a Jewish person and they’ll say “Christianity”. But was it? An honest approach to the issue would prove otherwise.

• The New Testament is a very Jewish Book
From the very first words of the first book in the New Testament, everything is Jewish as it records the genealogy of the Jewish Messiah: ” The record of the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.” (Matthew 1:1-2). The audience is Jewish, the writers are Jewish (Luke being the possible exception). The context is Jewish, the culture is Jewish and much of the geography is Jewish. As a matter of fact, it is nearly impossible to fully understand the richness of the New Testament without reading it in its Jewish context. Most believers spend their whole life reading the Bible in “Black and White” until they look at the Jewish perspective and all of a sudden, the same story appears in “color and HD”. Don’t quote me wrong, reading our Bible is vital, even when it is not done with an understanding of its Jewish backdrop, but it is greatly enhanced once we look at the Word through Jewish eyes.

• The New Testament Uses Strong Language
How do we reconcile words like “the synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9, 3:9) or “your father the devil” (John 8:44) or even “you brood of vipers” (Matthew 3:7)? They are indeed very strong words directed at Jewish people. Those accusatory words were definitely used in the New Testament to describe the hypocrisy and sin of some of the Jewish leaders contemporary of Yeshua. They were accurate words to be sure, but what has been missed and has led to so much damage is the fact that they were used to denounce people who happened to be disobedient sinners first and Jewish second. Their ethnicity didn’t play a role in their guilt. This is what we could call the “Great Christian Departure”. The Church started to attach the sins of early (Jewish) believers to their non-related Jewishness, and before long, being Jewish became a crime.

• The Old Testament Also Uses Strong Language
Why is it that when similar language is used to describe the disobedience of Israel in the Jewish Law and the Prophets, nobody–especially in the Jewish community–has a problem with it? In Deuteronomy 9:7, Moses calls the Jewish people “rebellious.” Is he antisemitic? In Deuteronomy 9:13, God calls the Jewish people “stubborn” and wants to kill them all. Is God antisemitic? Nonsense! Ezekiel calls Israel “stubborn and obstinate” (Ezekiel 3:7). The descriptions are perfectly in line with the actions of the children of Israel described all throughout the Tenach, and they are no different than those of the New Testament, except that they come from the Jewish Scriptures, prior to Yeshua’s first coming, and somehow, that makes them acceptable. Is there a double-standard here?

• The Jews Didn’t Kill the Messiah
The most common accusation against the Jewish people that continues to this day, is that of deicide (the killing of God). Jews the world over continue to be called “Christ Killers” by Christians and non-Christians alike. There are two problems with that accusation. First, even if some Jewish people were guilty of the crucifixion of Yeshua (and they are not), it would never make sense to paint with broad strokes and render all Jews of all time guilty of the same crime. By the same logic, all Germans would be Nazis and all Muslims would be terrorists. This is ludicrous! However, and more importantly, Yeshua gave His own life in obedience to the Father as we read in John 10:17-18, “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” So, in reality, we are all sharing the guilt without exception.

• Context is Everything
The very fact that many early Christians took the Scriptures out of context and allegorized much of them doesn’t make the New Testament antisemitic, it simply makes it misinterpreted and misapplied. Can Christians be antisemitic? I think that history speaks clearly on that matter, yes, they can! But are they antisemitic because they follow the teachings of Yeshua of Nazareth? Absolutely not! 2,000 years of Scripture twisting to accommodate and justify human behavior against the Jews have left a bloody stain on mankind in general and the Church in particular. But it is not based on anything taught in the Bible.

So, it is fair to say that Christian antisemitism is not Christian at all. If one takes the Bible literally, all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). “All” means Jews and non-Jews alike with no exceptions. Christian antisemitism is simply antisemitism committed by Christians who read their Bible improperly and use it as an excuse to ostracize and demonize the Jewish people. The Christians who paint–with broad strokes– the Jewish people as a sub-human group are as guilty as the Jewish people who claim that all Christians are antisemitic and so is the New Testament. It is time to keep things in context and approach God’s word in context with humility and sincerity.

March 19, 2021 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Passover: Prophetic Fulfillment or Ancient Jewish Tradition? – Part 2

Last week, we looked at the first part of the Passover Seder all the way to the family meal. As I mentioned, God being a God of order (Deuteronomy 7:9; Proverbs 7:9), we can fully appreciate that aspect of Him as we navigate through the different steps of the Passover Seder – much of which has remained untouched throughout the ages and around the world. Now, we continue with the celebration, all the way to the final “La Shana Haba B’Yerusalaim! “Next year in Jerusalem.”

The many steps of the Passover Seder take us through the story of redemption from slavery in Egypt, provision and protection through the wilderness wanderings and blessings in the abundant Promised Land. It also shows believers that Passover transcends ages, generations and people. For us, modern-day disciples of Yeshua, Passover takes on a much deeper meaning of redemption from slavery to sin and real freedom in Messiah.

Something took place during the second part of the Passover that, to this day, would remain a tradition for believers around the world. In the last liturgical part of the Passover, everything we were exposed to up to now falls into place and forms a beautiful message of hope. So, let us look at the last part of the Seder and particularly what happened in the Upper Room 2,000 years ago between Yeshua and His disciples after they had enjoyed the Shulchan Orech, or “set table”.

Tzaphun (Eating of the Afikomen): According to Jewish tradition, this is the first thing that takes place immediately after the dinner is finished. The children are sent around the room to hunt for the afikomen. One child will find it and proudly bring it back to the leader who unwraps it, breaks it into small pieces and gives one to each of the guests. To fully understand the rich meaning of this part of the Seder, we must go back to the beginning.

A bag called the maztotash (matzah bag) or commonly known as the unity bag, was filled with several full squares of matzah, three to be exact. Every matzotash in use comprises three distinct compartments within on large bag or pouch. Each of the compartments is filled with a sheet of matzah from which we will partake at various times throughout the Seder.

It is always from the middle compartment that we pull one full sheet and break it in half during the part known as the yachutz. One half is placed back into the matzotash, and the other half is wrapped into a white linen napkin of some sort and hidden in the room while the children cover their eyes.
The half that is wrapped becomes known as the afikomen. The meaning of the word varies depending on who you ask. Many people believe that it means “the last piece” or “dessert”, as it is the last piece of edible food that is taken by all. Yet, others including myself, believe that the root of the word means “I have come” (Psalm 40:6-8), a meaning that is in line with the ministry of the Messiah, especially within the context of His redemptive career.

When asked about the meaning of the three separate compartments inside the unity bag, Jewish people have various answers. Many don’t even have an explanation for this strange tri-compartment bag.

Some say that the three compartments represent the Jewish patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. While this sounds beautiful, nobody can dogmatically affirm it, and why would we break Isaac into two halves? Others see the three compartments representing the three kinds of Jewish people of ancient times: the High Priest, the Levites and the Israelites. This also sounds great but why would we break the Levites in two? Nobody really knows!

There is one explanation that fits the picture better than all the others, and that is the one that sees the three parts of the unity bag as the three persons of the triune Godhead: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. While I also cannot be dogmatic about that version, I am convinced that it is the best-fitting one for the matzotash. The bread is unleavened, and we know from the Bible, leaven is a symbol of sin. The bread is also pierced and striped (Isaiah 53:5).

It is always the middle matzah that is broken in half, representing the broken, sacrificed body of the Son, Yeshua who died for the sins of the world. Then, according to Jewish tradition, we wrap the afikomen in a white linen napkin. This continues to fit what happened to Yeshua as he was wrapped inside linen burial cloth by Joseph of Arimathea upon being taken off the cross (Matthew 27:59).
Amazingly, Jewish customs ask us to bury the afikomen in the room and forget about it for the time being. When we hide the afikomen it corresponds to the burial of Yeshua in the tomb (Matthew 27:60). Now, we are on the other side of dinner, and as we eventually recover the “hidden matzah”, it is a symbol of the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah after three days.

None of the steps followed in the traditional Jewish Passover Seder were invented by Christians. They were established by Jewish people over the centuries and continue to be celebrated in the same order at the same time during the Seder. Simply put, the Jewish tradition of the afikomen is best explained by the Triunity of God which can also be found in the Tanach if one seeks it with an open mind and a desiring heart (Isaiah 48:12-16; 63:7-14).

It is at that very moment in the Upper Room that Yeshua decided to institute something new for His disciples. Something that continues to this day, known as the Lord’s Table, the Lord’s Supper, or Communion. He told the disciples that the broken matzah represented His body when we read in Luke 22:19, “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
Yet, this was only half of the story, as He immediately took the cup to finish His powerful new explanation.

Ha-Geulah (The Third Cup: The Cup of Redemption): As I previously mentioned, Passover includes four cups based on the passage in Exodus 6:6-7. They always have the same name; they always appear in the same order and same placement in the Seder. The first two, the Cup of Blessing and the Cup of Plagues are always consumed prior to the dinner, and the next two, after dinner. In Luke 22:20, we read, “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” This is a clear indication that Yeshua would have taken the first cup after dinner or the third one, also known as the Cup of Redemption. The celebration of redemption out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land of Israel is still very meaningful to us Jews around the world, but to me, as a Jewish follower of Yeshua the Messiah, it has a greater significance. It means that now I can also celebrate my redemption from the bondage of sin because of His atonement on my behalf, which included His resurrection and ascension until He returns one day in the future to establish the messianic kingdom.

Eliyahu HaNavi (The Prophet Elijah’s Place): From the start of the Seder, a place setting is kept at the family table for Elijah. At the end of the evening, we send a child to open the front door and see if Elijah is on his way. The child returns and confirms that Elijah is not coming. The reason why we invite Elijah has to do with his role in ushering in the Messiah (Malachi 3:1). The majority of Jewish people are still waiting for Messiah to come. If Elijah would show up, it would mean that Messiah is not far behind him. So, it is on a sad note that the Seder almost comes to an end since Elijah hasn’t come yet. As a modern-day disciple of Yeshua, I have more hope because I believe that someone did come in the spirit and power of Elijah and ushered in Messiah Yeshua 2,000 years ago (Luke 1:16-17). The cup of Elijah was fulfilled by Yochanan the Immerser who immersed and introduced Yeshua at the onset of His public ministry.

The Hallel (The Fourth Cup: The Cup of Praise). This is the final cup that everybody drinks, and it is known as the cup of praise. Incidentally, Yeshua might not have partaken of this last cup during the Last Supper as He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” (Luke 22:17-18).

La Shana Haba B’Yerushalaim (Next Year in Jerusalem). Finally, when all has been said, shared and consumed, the family joins in unison for the final joyous greeting La Shana Haba B’Yerushalaim. It is the tradition to wish one another that next year we will celebrate Pesach or Passover in Jerusalem. This had even a greater meaning before the birth of Israel as a modern nation in 1948.

Many people have been to Jerusalem or will visit in their lifetime, and many others never will, but one thing is guaranteed from the Word of God – those who have placed their trust in the death and resurrection of the Yeshua the Lamb of God, will one day be with Him in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21).

There is nothing better than celebrating Passover and recognizing that it speaks of the redemption of the children of Israel out of Egypt, but also of Yeshua’s followers’ redemption from under the bondage of sin. I have applied the blood of the Lamb of God to the doorpost of my heart and as a result, I fear not the upcoming judgment because I am certain that God will pass over me.

Passover is a beautiful Jewish tradition that also has a powerful prophetic fulfillment. Please make sure God will pass over you so we can celebrate in His kingdom together.

March 13, 2021 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Passover: Prophetic Fulfillment or Ancient Jewish Tradition? – Part 1

Passover 2021 is just around the corner, and very soon, Jewish people all over the world will gather around the family dining table– the best they can in the age of Covid restrictions–to celebrate the traditional Passover Seder. This ancient Jewish tradition is found in the Bible (Exodus 12, Leviticus 23) as it pertains to the departure of the children of Israel from Egyptian captivity and the journey to the Promise Land through the wilderness wanderings.

From one family to the next, one country to the next, and across the spectrum of Jewish religious practice, Passover is celebrated religiously, traditionally and creatively, and yet some things never change.

I remember the first few Passovers I attended in France over 50 years ago. Much was happening in front of my eyes as I sat bewildered and overwhelmed by the various elements we touched, smelled and ate. Much of what was happening, punctuated by prayers, storytelling and songs, was very foreign to me. All the ancient traditions of our forefathers were being reenacted around the table with many parts of them remaining obscurely unknown – even to the leader of the Seder. It was beautiful and sad at the same time.

Could the Passover Seder have a deeper meaning than what is taught on the surface in a Jewish home? I am not speaking of a mystical meaning that only the most enlightened spiritual people could grasp, but could there be a prophetic meaning within the Feast of Passover for people through the ages and especially today? I believe there is, and I also believe that it isn’t until we unpack the prophetic meaning of Passover that we can truly appreciate the full, rich message of provision and redemption God is trying to share with us throughout the entire Bible.

Our God is a God of order (Deuteronomy 7:9; Proverbs 7:9), and we can really appreciate that aspect of Him as we navigate through the different steps of the Seder; much of them having remained untouched throughout the ages and around the world. All Jewish people used a booklet that contains the order of the service (seder means “order” in Hebrew), and helps us to move forward with the celebration, all the way to the final “La Shana Haba B’Yerusalaim! “Next year in Jerusalem.” The booklet is known as a Haggadah, meaning the “story” or the “telling”.

At first glance, the many steps of the Passover Seder take us through the story of redemption from slavery in Egypt, provision and protection through the wilderness wanderings and blessings in the abundant Promise Land. The original requirements, as found in Exodus 12, were pretty basic. Our ancestors were to acquire a lamb, apply its blood on the doorposts of their homes, stay inside as the destroyer passed through their villages. The lamb was roasted and consumed, with bitter herbs, unleavened bread and four cups of the fruit of the vine were drunk throughout the evening.

Much was added by way of traditions over the years, and the Haggadah was born to guide Jewish families through the rich celebration of redemption. What if the Passover was a type of something or someone greater than the sacrificial lamb and various elements? Let us go through the main parts of the Seder and discover how they are connected and how they all point to a specific part in the redemptive career of Yeshua the Messiah.

Bedikath Chametz (Search for the Leaven): Before Passover can take place, a Jewish home must undergo a thorough search for anything containing leaven, and it must be cleansed of it all (Exodus 12:19-20). Interestingly enough, when used symbolically, leaven in the Bible represents sin (1 Corinthians 5:6-8, 11:28).

Brechat Haner (Blessing over the Candles): The official starting point of the Seder is the lighting of the Passover candles to separate the mundane from the holy, much like what takes place every Friday night for Shabbat. It is the role of the woman to light the candles, say a prayer and invite the presence of God into the room.

The Kiddush (Cup of Blessing): The first cup of Passover, or kiddush or “Cup of Sanctification” is filed to the point of overflowing (a symbol of joy in Judaism). It is one of four cups based on Exodus 9:6-7. We recite a prayer and drink the cup leaning to the left, sitting on pillows for comfort to symbolize that we are no longer slaves. Incidentally, no one really knows why we lean to the left.

The Urchatz (First Handwashing): One of two hand washings now takes place, where young children go around the table with a pitcher, basin and towel to ceremonially wash the hands of all guests, starting with the leader of the Seder. This symbolic handwashing takes us back to the cleansing of the priest and Levites at the Temple. This is the time that Yeshua chose to wash the feet of all the disciples (including Judas Iscariot) as He knelt down in a powerful display of humility and servanthood (John 13:1-11).

The Karpas (The Parsley): Now comes the time to grab a sprig of parsley, dip it in very salty water and eat it after a prayer is recited. The parsley is known as a symbol of the green of springtime (Passover season) and the saltwater symbolizes the tears shed in Egypt and possibly the water of the Red Sea. Looking at Exodus 12:21-22, the parsley more powerfully symbolizes the hyssop used to dip in the basin filled with the blood of the lamb and to apply on the doorpost for protection. Believers in Yeshua–The Lamb of God– have symbolically applied His shed blood on the doorpost of their own heart so that when the time comes for judgment of all mankind, we will be passed over.

The Yachutz (Breaking of the Middle Matzah): At the onset of the Seder, three sheets of Matzah are carefully placed in a pouch (matzotash) divided into three compartments. Now comes the time to take the middle matzah, break it in half, place one half back in the matzotash and wrap the other half carefully in a white linen napkin. We then proceed to hide it in the room and forget about it until a later time when we send children hunting for it. More on the middle matzo later.

The Maggid (The Retelling of the Story of the Exodus): Guests around the table take turns in retelling the story of the Jewish exodus by reading various passages in the Bible. Exodus 12:1-13 being the main passage. Some of Psalms are also read throughout the evening (Psalm 113-118, the Great Hallel) as they were in the days of Yeshua and before.

Ma-Nishtanah (The Four Questions): The youngest child able to do so, rises and asks four traditional questions about why we eat matza, why we eat bitter herbs, why we dip our food and why we lean as we drink the cups. The leader explains why. The four questions are traditionally done in a song reminding us of the reasons why this night is so different from all the other nights. It is usually followed by the story of the four different sons to whom Jewish fathers retold the Passover story, symbolizing four different kinds of people (wise, wicked, innocent and simple-minded.)

The Makkot (The Second Cup or Cup of Plagues): Remembering that a full cup is a cup of joy and since we shouldn’t rejoice over the fate of our enemies (Deuteronomy 32:35; Matthew 5:43-48), a tradition was developed where we fill the cup and then take a drop out with a spoon for each of the ten plagues, thus symbolically reducing the cup and making it one we won’t rejoice over. This second cup is then placed back on the table to be consumed later, slightly before the dinner is served.

Dayenu (It would have been Enough): Time to be creative and sing the Dayenu. This is a joyous song describing all the things that God did for His chosen people and how a couple of miracles would have been enough, but He kept adding many more.

The Rachatz (Second Hand Washing): Once again, the guests are invited to do another symbolic handwashing.

The Maror (The Bitter Herbs): As we remember how bitter our lives were made during the slavery in Egypt, we all dip a piece of matzah in the bitter herbs (usually grated horseradish) and that makes us cringe and even shed a tear from the strong taste. It also reminds us, believers, of the time we were slaves to sin before Messiah Yeshua redeemed us

The Korekh (Bitter Herbs with Sweet Mixture): We all then break two small pieces of matzah from the matzotash and put bitter herbs on one side, charoset or “sweet mixture” on the other and close it in a small sandwich. The sweet mixture is overly sweet to overpower the bitterness of the maror and remind us of the sweetness of redemption and dwelling in the Promise land. It also reminds us believers of the sweetness of redemption from our sins by the sacrificial death and resurrection of Yeshua the Lamb of God (John 1:29).

The Shulchan Orech (The Set Table): Finally, comes the time for a festive dinner for the whole family. Everyone sets their haggadot aside and rejoices in the fellowship and sharing of a copious dinner (made without yeast).

After dinner is finished, the second liturgical part of the Passover celebration takes place. It is definitely the time when all the parts of the Seder come together, and this is also the time when Yeshua chose to institute a very important ritual that continues to take place to this day. As we will see, Passover is both a Jewish tradition and an event filled with prophetic significance.
This will be the topic of Passover Part 2, published next week.

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