As with all things “new” (if you dare call the Torah “new”, that is!), you often wonder if you’re “doing it right”. In this case, since we are learning to observe the Torah so that we can honor God and walk in the blessings He provides, we’re even more concerned. And since Passover was this past weekend and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (or “Unleavened Cardboard”, as some are wont to call Matzoh!) goes on right now, I thought I’d take a few moments to share my experiences from my first-ever Passover. Feel free to compare yours with mine, etc. (and I welcome your comments).
A Word On Traditions
For starters, we decided that we did not want to trade one set of traditions for another set of traditions. Granted, it’s almost impossible to totally avoid all traditions (just look at any service in any synagogue or church; the format has evolved over the years from what God originally ordained as various traditions crept in and deviated from God’s instructions). As an example, we light candles at the start of our family Shabbat celebration every week and we’re not commanded to do that in the Bible. So when we approached Passover, why not incorporate a few traditions?
First, many of the things that God wants us to do are simply “do it”. Shabbat, for example, is simply to be “remembered and kept holy”. There’s a lot of leeway there, and a lot of tradition wants to tell us what to do. We like the candles, we love Challah bread (not this past Friday, though!), etc. — so we have developed our own way, or “tradition”, of observing Shabbat. It continues to evolve as our understanding of the Torah grows.
Passover, however, is a bit different. We are told what to eat (roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread). Nowhere are we told to eat a boiled egg (which I find personally offensive because it smacks of fertility rites — kind of like Easter eggs and their pagan tradition, which is why we are dumping holidays like Christmas and Easter and learning to observe the Torah in the first place!) or drink four cups of wine. This is how Passover has evolved over the years. If you want to observe tradition, that’s fine, but for us, we started observing God’s festivals and ordinances to be free from tradition. We have no desire to trade one set of traditions for another. We want to trade tradition for obedience.
How We Spent Our Weekend
So we invited some friends over this past Friday evening (Passover began at sundown Friday), ate roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and Matzoh (plus a few other things; it was kind of a pot luck dinner — but I will confess to not bringing in a lamb four days before Passover, etc.!), read the story of the Exodus, memorized the ten plagues, and had a superb evening. We remembered.
Our regular congregation — or at least the one that I think will become our regular congregation (Beit Adonai Yisrael, or BAY) — didn’t have a normal Shabbat service, so we visited a different congregation where I learned about counting the Omer (more on that in a minute). The BAY congregation met Saturday evening to close out the Shabbat and Passover, and we also read the story of the Resurrection of Yeshua from three of the Gospels. A very nice first Passover, and we are grateful to all of our friends who made it possible.
Simple is Good, in my opinion, and this first Passover was very simple. At the same time, I’m pretty sure that we observed it in a way that is pleasing to our Lord.
Counting The Omer
I mentioned a couple of paragraphs ago about counting the Omer. This is a “count-up” to Shauvot. You start counting the first day after Passover and keep counting until you’re there.
The Shauvot is actually a first fruits offering that is presented to the Lord. Many of the early crops (i.e. barley) are ripe about this time, at least in latitudes closer to the equator). I remember the grains being ripe, even in Germany, at some point in mid-June, so this sounds about right.
The verse about remembering to count the Omer is found in Leviticus 23:15-21, if you’re interested…
One quick word about Shauvot and Pentecost: Pentecost and Shauvot are the same; however, the church has “twisted” it so that Pentecost always falls on a Sunday. This is incorrect. Since you start counting the omer the day after Passover — which falls on 15 Nisan on the Jewish calendar and can therefore fall on any day of the week — Shauvot will always be on a different day of the week.
In other words, “Pentecost Sunday” is another oxymoron to add to your list. 
How Are We Counting The Omer?
Every evening, just before the children go to bed, we are saying a blessing, reading a passage from the book of Psalms (my almost 9 year old son is reading it; I love it!), and “doing the count” (i.e. “today is the third day of the omer”). We have a checklist and the children take turns checking it off.
Nothing fancy, once again; it’s pretty simple. But we are observing, we are doing. It is a blessing.
Jesus Did NOT Abolish The Law!
Again, as Christians, we are not required to observe the Torah. Instead, it is a privilege to observe it. While many will argue, nowhere in the New Testament did Yeshua tell us to stop observing the Law / Torah; indeed, He fulfilled it while pointing out how many of the traditions of His day made a mockery of the Law. The Law (allow me to switch words for a moment!) cannot condemn us, but we were never told to ignore it (and if we were, why did Yeshua go to such great pains to observe all of it?) — and the promised benefits and blessings of observing the Torah are still there for the taking.
If you’re wondering what God wants you to do with your life or if God seems far away, I want to encourage you to simply do what we are told to do in the Torah. While not all of the principles apply (i.e. Yeshua offered himself as the perfect sacrifice, once for all, so there is no need to sacrifice animals — although the prayers and other offerings associated with this are beneficial), many can be easily practiced and can make a huge difference in your life.
So why not start today?
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