Page 6 - Passover Sedar

Hebrew for Christians
https://hebrew4christians.com Worthy is the Lamb

Passover and the Spring Holidays

Leader: The Biblical New Year begins at the appearance of the first “new moon” of
spring, that is, when the waxing crescent of the moon is first sighted. Biblically, this new
moon is called Rosh Chodashim (שׁאר םיִשָׁדֳח), “the head of the months,” and its observance
is considered the very first commandment given to Israel before the great Exodus from
Egypt took place: “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months:
it shall be the first month of the year to you” (Exod. 12:2). In the Torah, the month of
Nisan is counted first for the purpose of counting the days, months, and the holidays of the
Biblical calendar as well as for reckoning the dates for the reigns of the kings of Israel.

The very first word of the Bible indicates the significance of time, namely, the Hebrew
word bereshit (תיִשׁא ֵרְבּ) - "in the beginning..." (Gen. 1:1), and the very first commandment
given to the children of Israel was to declare the very first month of their redemption. In
other words, Passover month, called “chodesh yeshuah,” was to begin Israel’s year, and
later the sacrificial system itself (i.e., the Tabernacle) was consecrated precisely on this
date (Exod. 40:2). Note that the Hebrew word for month (i.e., chodesh) comes from the
root chadash (שָדָח), meaning "new," and therefore the Passover redemption was intended
to mark a "new beginning" for the Jewish people. And indeed, God marks the start of our
personal redemption as the beginning of our life as a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), just as
Yeshua is the "first of the firstfruits" of God's redeemed humanity (1 Cor. 15:45-49).

Each of the three spring festivals overlap and run into each other: Passover (Pesach),
Unleavened Bread (Chag Hamotzi), and Firstfruits (Yom habikkurim). The Torah then
instructs us: to “count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath (of Passover), from
the day that you brought the sheaf (omer) of the wave offering (bikkurim). You shall
count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath and then you shall present a grain
offering of new grain to the LORD” (Lev. 23:15-16). This marks the fourth and climactic
spring festival of the calendar, the “jubilee” of “Pentecost” (Shavuot) which is observed
exactly fifty days following the Passover. Note that the spring holidays of Passover,
Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits provide a portrait of the death, burial, and resurrection
of the Messiah: Yeshua was crucified on erev Pesach, buried during Unleavened Bread,
and was resurrected on Firstfruits. The feast of Pentecost was the day the Ruach
HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) fell on believers in fulfillment of the promise given by our Lord.

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