This is the third and final installment to our “Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022” discussions. This installment is entitled “Keeping Passover by Way of the Renewed Covenant-In Spirit and in Truth.”

 

If by chance you did not read or listen to parts one and two of this three (3) part-discussion on “Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022, I would humbly encourage you to do so by clicking the link to that post in this post’s transcript.

 

 

Should we, under the auspices of the Renewed Covenant, keep the Passover/Pesach as laid out before us in Torah? Or should we, as many do each year, partake in a traditional Jewish Seder (or Jewish-type of Seder) on Passover? Or should we rehearse Yahoshua’s Last Supper as sort of a replacement of Passover as some have sought to do? Or should we simply follow the leading of Yah’s Ruach HaKodesh, and keep Passover/Pesach in some form of Spirit and Truth?

 

Well, let’s look at each of these questions one-by-one and see if we can come to some biblically-based, reasonable answers.

 

1. Should we, under the auspices of the Renewed Covenant, keep the Passover/Pesach as laid out before us in Torah? Well, as we’ve concluded several times during the previous installment, we cannot keep Passover/Pesach as Yah passed it down to our ancient Hebrew cousins. The ordinance as rendered at the time of the Exodus was related specifically to our departure out of Egypt. And Yah attached a number of requirements with that particular version of Passover such as slaying the Lamb that we selected back on the 10th day of the Month of the Aviv between the two evenings of the 14th of the Month of the Aviv. Applying the blood we collected from that slaughtered lamb upon the door posts and lintel of our homes so as to protect us; cover us from the destroyer as He went throughout the Land of Egypt to kill the firstborn. Each participating male of the Passover meal would have to be physically circumcised. Consuming the roasted Pesach that evening, we would be fully dressed with our staffs in hand and consume the meal in haste. And so forth (Exodus/Shemot 12). Everything would need to be completed before morning. And then at the 2nd anniversary of the original Passover, a second Passover is added to facilitate those of our community who for whatever reason were not in a position (either physically or spiritually) to properly keep Passover. And thus, purity regulations were added to the keeping of Pesach by Yah’s covenant people at that time (Numbers/Bemidbar 9).

 

Later on, Yah provided that once we were in the Land of Promise, we would conduct a pilgrimage to the Place where He chose to put His Name. And it would be at this place where He places His Name that we would select the Pesach, have it slaughtered, and then consume the Pesach as a community at that central location where Yah’s Name is placed. And then, when all is done and said, we would return to our temporary dwellings in the morning (Deuteronomy/Devarim 16).

 

It should be understood that the very last instructions Abba provided us in His Torah regarding our keeping of Pesach/Passover, should be the set of instructions that we would follow, at least up to the time that our Master came to minister to us (Deuteronomy/Devarim 16). But since we no longer have a functioning Levitical Priesthood to officiate the Pesach proceedings, and we no longer have a standing and functioning Temple in Yerushalayim, we cannot keep most of the elements of Pesach as outlined in Deuteronomy/Devarim 16. Not to mention that Yahoshua HaMashiyach fulfilled the role of the Pesach Lamb for us once and for all.

 

Rav Shaul wrote to the Messianic Assembly in Corinth regarding this aspect of Yahoshua’s ministry and person:

 

“…For our Passover is the Mashiyach, who was slain for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7; AENT).

 

Keefa/Peter wrote of our Master as our Pesach:

 

(18) …since you know that neither with perishable silver nor with gold you were redeemed from your vain doings which you had by tradition from your fathers; (19) but with the precious blood of that lamb, in which is no spot nor blemish, namely the Mashiyach…(1 Peter 1; AENT).

 

So beloved, there are no sheep to take into our homes; to slaughter on Passover; the blood of which to apply to our homes; and then consume in haste at night. Yahoshua our Messiah is our only Passover/Pesach. To do as rendered and outlined in scripture regarding lambs and such, would essentially ignore the sacrifice made by our Master. His sacrifice should be the Pesach sacrifice that we focus on during Pesach and Unleavened Bread. Oh, we should certainly reference with all the reverence we can muster, the Pesach of the original covenant. But that’s not where our redemption and salvation rests.

 

If, however, you are so led to keep Pesach as outlined in Torah, I say: Have at it. It’s not my place to judge or condemn any who are led to do anything they read in Torah. I’ve heard of at least one individual over the years—a prominent Messianic teacher on the internet—who made it publicly known that he intended to keep Passover as outlined in Exodus 12. And from what I understand, he ended up doing that very thing. Whether he’s done this each year since, I have no idea. But the point of my bringing this up is that this gentleman, who I highly respect and regard as a brother in the true faith once delivered, has a sizable following in the Messianic community. And although he made it known to his viewers and listeners that he was not encouraging them to follow his lead, no doubt countless individuals did follow his lead. And this is potentially a tragedy. It’s a tragedy because when we blindly keep Torah without keeping in mind and heart the Spirit and Truth behind each Torah instruction/mitzvah, regardless how pure our intentions may be, we end up being no different than the Pharisees and scribes who potentially leave undone the weightier matters of Torah: justice, mercy, and faith; and we nullify the full impact of our Master’s sacrifice. (Mat. 23:23). We must never forget that Yahoshua is the end (ie., the “telos”) of Torah—He is the focus; the fulfillment; the fullness of Torah that we must consider first and foremost in our operating and keeping Torah (Romans 10:4).

 

2. Should we, as many do each year, partake in a traditional Jewish Seder (or Jewish-type of Seder) on Passover? I stated in STAR-28 that I had serious reservations about what we know as Jewish Seders. Jewish Seder are supposedly fashioned in accordance with the elements of the first Passover of Exodus/Shemot 12. But like everything in else in Judaism, the Passover Seder is highly and has been highly regulated by the rabbis. In fact, the so-called Seder is a rabbinic invention that looks and operates nothing like the Pesach meal of Exodus/Shemot 12. Many of the elements that make up the Seder meal seem to carry with it pagan symbolism, none of which I will get into in this discussion. However, if you are interested in that which I’m alluding to here regarding the Jewish Seder, I would encourage you when you get the chance, to simply conduct an internet search and look up what constitutes the Jewish Seder. Compare and contrast what constitutes a Jewish Seder with that which is detailed in Exodus/Shemot 12 and Deuteronomy/Devarim 16 and I am confident you will agree with my assessment that it is not something that Yah’s elect should be involving themselves with during this sacred time of the biblical calendar year.

 

Which brings me to the third question or point: 3. should we rehearse Yahoshua’s Last Supper as sort of a replacement of Passover as some have sought to do?

 

Well, this is an extremely important point and question if you ask me.

 

We find in Matthew 26, Mark 14; Luke 22; and John 13 what many within and outside of our Faith community refer to as the Last Supper. It is the night that our Master Yahoshua was betrayed; when He instituted the ritual of what many call communion—the sharing of bread (in Matthew 26:26 we find that bread was actually leavened bread-”arton” in the Greek and “lechem” in the Aramaic; and if this were in fact the Passover/Pesach/Seder meal, only unleavened bread can be provided for the meal) and wine; where He washed His disciples’ feet in a show of humility that many have over the centuries revered as a ritual to be followed even today by Yah’s people.

 

Turns out that many within and outside our Faith community believe that Yahoshua was actually crucified on what would turn out to be Passover day for that year; Master Yahoshua literally playing out the role of the Pesach Lamb. But this time, He would be the Lamb that would take away the sins of the world. I happen to be one of those who believe He was crucified on Passover/Pesach, as well as I believe that the so-called Last Supper was held the night prior to Passover Day. However, I do recognize that there is vocal opposition to this theory, strongly advocating the theory that Master was crucified on the First Day of Unleavened Bread.

 

Both theories drum up some serious questions demanding answers. In terms of the theory that Master was crucified on Passover Day, is that Matthew 26;19, Mark 14:12, and Luke 22:7 all mention that the so-called Last Supper took place on the first day of Unleavened Bread or on Passover, which is the 14th day of the Month of the Aviv. Which if the text is accurate, makes for an impossibility that Master was crucified on Passover day because He’d yet had His last supper with His disciples. But then, these same texts also paint a problem for the crucifixion taking place on the first day of Unleavened Bread as well. For any orthodox Jew to have any participation in a crucifixion on such a high holy day would be also an impossibility. So, both theories have problems associated with them in terms of what the Gospel record states.

 

The one other theory that I’ve come across of late has Yahoshua Messiah being crucified not on Passover Day, but on a Fr-day, Preparation Day, during the week of Unleavened Bread. I can see some possibilities in this theory, but there remains a great more investigation to be had on my part before I abandon my current stance.

 

Because, as I just mentioned, I adhere to Master being crucified on Pesach/Passover. There are just too many parallels between the events that make up the crucifixion day and the events that routinely take place in Yerushalayim on Passover day. For the sake of time, we won’t go over those parallels here.

 

 

The point of debate as to when the so-called Last Supper was held and what day Y’shua was actually crucified falls heavily upon Matthew’s record of the events, found in 26:17:

 

“Now on the first (Greek of protos) day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Yeshua, saying to Him, ‘Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover” (NKJV modified).

 

The Greek term “protos” as used in this verse most likely means from a contextual standpoint:“the day in front of or before the Passover Day,” which is always on the 14th day of the Month of the Aviv, with the first day of Unleavened Bread always commencing at sundown on the 14th day of the Month of Aviv—virtually on the heels of Unleavened Bread.

 

Yochanan’s (aka John’s) Gospel record is slightly clearer on this critical point:

 

“Now before (ie., the Greek word “pro,” contextually meaning, the day before) the Feast of the Passover, when Yahoshua knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (13:1; NKJV modified).

 

To insist that Master’s last meal with His disciples was the Pesach meal and that it took place on Passover night, are ignoring some important, critical points that are often left inadequately addressed by those in opposition.

 

But in support of Master being crucified on Passover, given the Gospel record challenging this claim, I turn to Michael Rood’s Chronological Gospels for an explanation for the disparity here:

 

“Preparations began on the 9th day of the Aviv and continued through the late afternoon of the 14th. A rented upstairs apartment in Jerusalem (the famous “upper room”) was prepared for Passover and for their extended domicile through the Feast of Shavuot. The parenthetical summary details where the last supper would take place—not when the preparation was made. The night in which the last supper occurred was the last evening in which leaven could be consumed. This is also the disciples’ first night in Jerusalem after spending the previous week nights in Bethany on the Mount of Olives” (Rood’s Chronology).

 

Regardless what one may think about Michael Rood, I will say that I find his work of the Chronological Gospels to be a decent reference. A lot of research was put into its compilation, and I’m afraid that many in our Faith community discount the work because they don’t care for the author, Michael Rood. Well, that’s too bad. And if that’s indeed the case, then it is what it is. I will continue to reference this publication from time-to-time as needed, at least until such a time that its content is proved wrong or inaccurate.

 

But assuming that Master Yahoshua was crucified on Passover Day, then that would mean the so-called Last Supper took place the night before Passover, or Erev Pesach. And if this is in fact true and accurate, then what Yahoshua and His disciples engaged in the night of the Last Supper was NOT the Passover/Pesach meal, or as popularly referred to as the Seder. It was simply Master having a final meal with His disciples, during which He institutes the “renewed covenant in His blood for the remission of sin,” and the eating of the bread which represented His broken body. During that dinner the betrayer is revealed and Yahoshua washes His disciples’ feet. Also, Master reveals that Shimon Keefa would betray Him three times before the crowing of the cock the following morning. And lastly, He renders unto the 11-remaining disciples (after Judas departs) one last lesson before the group departs out to the Mount of Olives.

 

So, for me, it’s unlikely that Master Yahoshua kept Passover as any devout Jew of His day would that year. He didn’t keep Pesach that year because He became our Pesach on that Passover Day. He was removed from His execution stake, hastily cleaned up, and placed in the borrowed tomb before sundown, which would be the time of the Pesach observance for all observing Jews in Yerushalayim, as well as at sundown, the start of the seven (7) day long Chag HaMatzah or Feast of Unleavened Bread. Remember, during Master hasty trial before Pilate, the Jewish leaders were concerned about prolonging the trial too long into the day, such that they were up against a clock and could not risk being in a position where they could not keep Pesach/Unleavened Bread in accordance with Torah.

 

That being said, the so-called Last Supper would have nothing to do with the Passover Meal and any associated ceremonies that tradition might bring up.

 

But we’ll leave this debate alone for now and continue on with our discussion on keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in the Renewed Covenant.

 

 

 

 

_______________________________________________________

 

 Personal Thoughts and Reflections on Pesach and Unleavened Bread

 

So then, with all that we’ve just covered in this discussion, how are we—Yah’s redeemed and elect–to honor, celebrate, keep Pesach and Unleavened Bread. Well, we’re not expected necessarily to rehearse the elements of the so-called Last Supper, although many in our Faith Community do. Or folks in our Faith community simply default to participating in a variation or form of the classic Jewish Seder which Yah never ordained nor instructed us to do. And this brings us to the 4th option, which is to keep the Feasts in Spirit and in Truth.

 

Unless we’re focused on the greater meaning and shadows that Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread paints for us during this set-apart season, we run the great risk of blindly keeping the Feasts and missing or overlooking that which Abba so desperately wants us to take away from during our time together with Him.

 

First and foremost, unless we stop and truly recognize and appreciate the sacrifice that our Master Yahoshua made on our behalf; the cost of the atonement He made for our sins and the redemption that was paid for our release from the bondage and slavery to the gods of this world; unless we renew our vow to take-up our stakes and follow Him, giving all to follow Him; then Passover may very well be nothing more than a passing Hebrew holiday, a lamb meal and conceivably good times spent with friends and family. Our obligation, as Yah’s set-apart people is to keep Yahoshua at the forefront of our thoughts and hearts during this Passover/Pesach.

 

Master instructed His disciples, and by extension us today, to remember Him in whatever we do during Passover:

 

(17) Yeshua took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this cup and divide it among yourselves, (18) for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of Yehovah shall come.” (19) He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me (Luke 22:17-19; Rood’s Chronology).

 

I would be remiss if I did not encourage each of us to remember that which Yahoshua did for us, at the very least, by reading the Gospel accounts of the so-called Last Supper and His sacrifice/His passion. Maybe remember Him Yeshua as our Pesach by partaking of bread and wine during this set-apart time.

 

Shaul told His Corinthian readers that which He personally received from our Master regarding the night our Master was betrayed:

 

(23) …He…took bread: (24) And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, ‘Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: This do in remembrance of Me. (25) After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, ‘This cup is the new testament (new covenant) in My blood: This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ (26) For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s (the Master’s) death till He come (1 Corinthians 11:23-26; KJV).

 

So, we’re instructed to remember Yahoshua our Master and our Redeemer on Pesach. In terms of keeping Passover/Pesach in accordance with the instructions rendered unto us in the original covenant, we cannot keep it for the reasons previously mentioned. But that’s okay beloved. What we can do to honor, observe, keep, guard Pesach/Passover is to remember the Person and Ministries of our Master Yahoshua, at the very least, on that day.

 

In terms of the seven (7) day Festival/Feast of Unleavened Bread (aka Chag HaMatzah), Torah requires that we rid our homes of all leavened foods and leavening agents. And then, from the night of the Pesach/Passover on the 14th of this Month, through the last day of Unleavened on the 21st of this month, we (1) abstain from eating any leavened laced or infused foods, and (2) eat matzah sometime each day during the period of the feast.

 

And so, we do. But we do so with a purpose in mind. Not simply to do what we’ve been instructed to do, which we should and must. But rather, to do so with the distinct purpose in mind of addressing and dealing with the leaven that presently exists in our respective lives.

 

Leaven (in Hebrew it is “chametz” and in the Greek it is “zume”), otherwise known to us as yeast, in many passages of scripture is emblematic of sin; of mental and moral corruption; of hypocrisy; error; and perversion. One of the many reasons Yah analogized sin, corruption, error, perversions and such with yeast or leaven, is because yeast, although it may start off in very small amounts when added to foods, it has the potential of expanding to very great amounts. Rav Shaul (aka the Apostle Paul) simply described leaven to his Galatian readers in this respect:

 

“It takes only a little “chametz” to leaven the whole batch of dough” (5:9; CJB; cf. 1 Corinthians 5:6).

 

I dare say that most of us—those who listen to or read these posts—do not live sinful lives. I’m not saying that we do not sin from time-to-time. But we do not go out of way to live lives of sin. And this is what makes Shaul’s analysis of chametz or leaven so powerful to those of us who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts willing to do the Will of our Father in heaven.

 

It doesn’t take much in the way of leaven or sin, or corruption, or error, or perversion or hypocrisy in our lives to, over time, expand within us and lead us to living sinful lives. To cause us to break covenant with Yah. To put at risk our place in the Kingdom of Yah. So, it falls to us to search out the slightest remnants of chametz or leaven and have it purged from our respective lives.

 

The Psalmist wrote:

 

“Search me, O God (O El), and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts” (Psalm 139:23; KJV).

 

“Prove me, O LORD (O Yehovah), and try me; purify as with fire my reins and my heart” (Psalm 26:2; KJV).

 

This is exactly what we should be doing during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Not just consuming unleavened bread and avoiding leavened foods. But do these things with the purpose of mind, heart, and soul, to identify the leaven that exists in our respective lives. And then, seek to have those leavened elements purged from our lives.

 

Shaul understood some of the moral struggles that the Messianic members of the Corinthian Assemblies were struggling and dealing with. And it was right about the time of Passover/Pesach/Unleavened Bread that the apostle counseled and encouraged them to:

 

(7) Get rid of the old chametz (that is get rid of the old leaven; the remnant of sin/error/hypocrisy/corrupt that exists in their respective lives), so that you can be a new batch of dough, because in reality you are unleavened. For our Pesach lamb, the Messiah, has been sacrificed. (8) So, let us celebrate the Seder (actually feast of Passover/Pesach), not with leftover chametz, the chametz of wickedness and evil, but with the matzah of purity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:8-9; CJB modified).

 

You see, some of the assembly members were walking out their faith, carrying around with them, as Shaul described, leftover issues—leftover chametz—chametz of wickedness and evil that they had to get rid of if they wanted to make it into the Kingdom. For later on in this same letter, Shaul informed them:

 

(9) Don’t you know that unrighteous people will have no share in the Kingdom of God (that is, the Kingdom of Yah)? Don’t delude yourselves—people who engage in sex before marriage (ie., fornicate), who worship idols (ie., idolaters), who engage in sex after marriage with someone other than their spouse (ie., adulterers), who engage in active or passive homosexuality, (10) who steal, who are greedy, who get drunk, who assail people with contemptuous language, who rob-none of them will share in the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; CJB).

 

Beloved, each of us carries within us, remnants of leaven that have not been completely purged out of our lives. This is the optimal time to make that very thing happen. If we are indeed in covenant with Yah, and Yah has set Himself to meet with us during this set-apart time of His Biblical Calendar Year (read or listen to our discussion entitled: “Guarding the Month of Aviv: Aviv’s Critical Importance to God’s Covenant Elect”), we have the grand opportunity to place these remnants of chametz or leaven on His brazen altar—purge them out of our lives with the help of His Ruach HaKodesh—and burn them up. Give them no room for continued existence and growth in our lives.

 

This seven (7) day festival is emblematic of the sanctification process that must take place in each of us, if we intend to remain in covenant with Yah and to enter His Kingdom. What will you seek Abba’s help in purging out from your life?

 

And lastly: If you recall two installments ago, in our Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections installment entitled “Guarding the Month of Aviv: Aviv’s Critical Importance to God’s Covenant Elect,” we discussed to a lesser or greater extent, the tucked away in the middle of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Day of the Wavesheaf Offering, or Yom HaNafar HaOmer. In that post, we discussed the importance of the barley crop’s maturity to the timing of Yah’s Calendar, and its importance to Yom HaNafar HaOmer.

 

We also discussed that this little discussed and little understood day, that this year, on our observational calendar, falls on S-nday, 4/24/22—the very last day of the seven (7) day Feast of Unleavened Bread. Unfortunately, you will not find any mention of Yom HaNafar HaOmer on your Calculated Jewish Calendar.

 

But, that’s neither here nor there.

 

The Day of the Wavesheaf Offering is emblematic of our Master being the firstfruits of those who Yah will raise from the dead, to be His loving, faithful transformed beings serving only Yah and His eternal Kingdom:

 

 (4) From: Yochanan to: The seven Messianic communities in the province of Asia: Grace and shalom to you from the One who is, who was and who is coming; from the sevenfold Spirit before His throne; (5) and from Yeshua the Messiah, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the earth’s kings. To Him, the one who loves us, who has freed us from our sins at the cost of His blood, (6) who has caused us to be a kingdom, that is, cohanim for God, His Father—to Him be the glory and the rulership forever and ever. Amein (Revelation 1:4-6; CJB).

 

The writer of Hebrews explains how Yahoshua our Master fulfilled the tenets of the spiritual Wavesheaf Offering:

 

(3) This Son (speaking of Yahoshua) is the radiance of the Sh’khinah, the very expression of God’s essence, upholding all that exists by His powerful word; and after He had, through Himself, made purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of HaG’dulah BaM’romim (or He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High)…(Hebrews 1:3-4; CJB).

 

Thus, our Master’s atoning and redemptive sacrifice was accepted before Yah—His sacrifice was essentially waved before Yah and Yah accepted it on our behalf: the true manifestation of the sheaves of barley that the ancients would bring before Yah at the Tabernacle or Temple, and the Levitical Priests would wave it before Yah and Yah would accepted that thanksgiving offering on our behalf.

 

Today, because, again, we don’t have a functioning Temple, nor Levitical Priesthood, nor are most of us barley farmers residing in the Land of Yisra’el, we cannot keep this portion of the Feast of Unleavened Bread as it was revealed to us in Yah’s Torah.

 

Therefore, we are compelled to keep this aspect of the feast in proper Spirit and in Truth. How so? Well, under the auspices of the original covenant, the ancients would bring of the first of the firstfruits of their barley crop to the Tabernacle or Temple to be waved before Yah. So, we too, from a related, spiritual perspective, offer unto Yah the first of our firstfruits unto Yah. What that actually looks like is what we are actually led to do by Yah. Some brethren are led to send to the ministries that feed them a special offering that serves as a form of worship that honors and praises Yah for His generous mercies in providing them their sustenance; their income; what have you. This type of worship is the closest form of worship that is represented by Yom HaNafat HaOmer.

 

Others of us may be led to offer unto Yah the best of what we have to offer Him: in the form of our talents; our abilities; our strength; our time; our worship that the author of Hebrews describes as “offering a sacrifice of praise to Yah that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His Name.” Truly, this is one of the little exercised offerings that folks in our faith community are cognizant to offer. But we must never overlook such a proper offering and form of worship.

 

Regardless of what we are led to wave before Yah, let us remember what Yahoshua accomplished on our behalf, and follow up that remembrance with that which Yah calls us to offer before Him.

 

As far as Hilary and me are concerned, we tend to share bread and wine on the night before Passover day, as well as we do wash one another’s feet in a show of respect and humility for that which Master showed us on the night that He was betrayed (ie., the so-called Last Supper). We realize that Y’shua was not in any way instituting a new feast day. He was simply having a last meal with His disciples, and from that solemn occasion, we draw out lessons on humility; obedience; sacrifice; love; hope; betrayal; and so many other things. And so, we meditate on those lessons.

 

In terms of Passover Day, at dusk, sometime close to dinner time let’s say, Hilary and I will have a meal consisting of lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread as mentioned in Torah. We treat this time together as a solemn occasion and we generally will partake of a teaching online from one of Yah’s anointed teachers and we’ll discuss the meaning of the day; pray; maybe sing a song or two. But when sundown comes, we’ll blow our shofars and welcome the seven (7) day Feast of Unleavened Bread. We would have, a few days before, purged our home of all leavened foods and leavening products as Torah commands. Of course, we treat the first and last day of this feast as high holy days, to be filled with fellowshipping with other like-minded brethren (most likely via online live services); and we’ll keep the day holy as He commanded and as Yah’s Spirit directs us. Throughout the week of Unleavened Bread, we supplement each meal with matzah as commanded by Torah. We consume no leavened foods. And we remember what the Feast of Unleavened Bread is supposed to mean to us. It’s a time of introspection, as many feast days are each calendar year. And during this time of introspection, we take assessments of our respective walks with Messiah. We see the leaven that remains in our lives and we seek Yah’s help in purging those sins from our lives. We recognize this feast as being emblematic of the lifelong sanctification process that each of us must go through as Yah’s Ruach HaKodesh works in us each and every day, 24/7, to transform us into the image of our Master Yahoshua. It’s also a time of celebration for us. Depending on our situation that year, we may uproot ourselves from our home, and spend the week somewhere else, so as to spend the entire week entirely focused on the shadows and spiritual applications to be had by us from this feast. We seek to come out of this seven (7) day feast better—spiritually, and even physically, than we entered it.

 

Well, this brings us to the end of our rather lengthy discussion on Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022. Thank you for hanging in there with me. And it is my heartfelt hope, trust, and prayer that you and your families and fellowships have a blessed; a powerful; a miracle-filled; meaningful; and safe Pesach and Unleavened Bread. And until next time beloved, may you be most blessed fellow saints in training.