Biblical Passover

This order of service for Passover is an attempt to be as true as possible to the historic one Jesus had with his disciples.  The present-day Passover as celebrated by millions of Jews is in the same order, and contains everything in this service (except for references to what Jesus did with it) as well as many additions that have been made, particularly since the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.

Blog and details are on www.renewaljournal.com and
https://renewaljournal.com/2013/03/31/passover-meal-service/

The problem of the origins of Passover has been a subject of considerable interest in variety of academic disciplines. Biblical scholars, historians of religion, anthropologists and archaeologists all gave their contribution to the discussion. Most studies on the origins of Passover, however, were done before the new trend in explaining the origins of the Israelites and thus respectively the origins of their religion became prevalent. Their conclusions were based on the traditional interpretation of the ethno-cultural origins of the early Israelites as nomads or semi-nomads before their settlement in Canaan and in line with this view, the Yahwistic Passover was seen as an amalgam made of two distinct festivals, one typical of the Israelites with nomadic-pastoral features and the other typical of the Canaanites and their sedentary way of life and agricultural customs. The period of using the unleavened bread was usually taken to represent the agricultural feast, 1 while the ritual performed on its preliminary day with the characteristic animal sacrifice 2 was explained as a heritage from the nomadic-pastoral past of the Israelites. Certainly today with more and more scholars pertaining to the idea that the Israelites were not of a different ethnic and cultural background from the Canaanites, it seems that we may as well abandon attempts to identify peculiar Israelite features in the festival and claim that it originated from just one culture, that of the Canaanites. That, however, still does not provide an answer whether it was a single festival from the beginning or

In "The Stories of Appointment Hillel as Nasi in the Talmudic Literature – A Formative Legend of the Jewish Scholar's World", Menachem Katz discusses the story of the appointment of Hillel as Nasi, as it appears in its three principal sources: the Tosefta, the Yerushalmi, and the Bavli. In this story, Hillel the Sage plays the role of the ideal leader of the sages and of the Jewish people. Thus, the heart of the story was a matter of great importance for the tanaim and amoraim of the Land of Israel and of Babylon, i.e.; the qualities of the ideal sage and leader.
While examining the different answers to this question, Katz describes the way the Sages perceived their own writings and the way their writings relate to the Torah.
It is not the actual historical facts that are of interest here, but rather the concepts of the narrator as they are expressed in the different versions of the story. Katz identifies this story as a formative legend. Through a story that deals with specific circumstances, we learn how the world of our sages evolved as a substitute for revelation and prophecy. The different versions of the story represent different concepts. Studying these concepts teaches us about the self-awareness and self-consciousness of the sages.
Katz also suggests that understanding the tools and methods that the sages used when merging diverse opinions and notions together into a single story is of great importance. The unique combination depicts a magnificent picture, which allows us a glimpse into the rabbis' spiritual world.

The story as it appears in its three principal sources:
• Tosefta Pesahim 4:13–14,
• Yerushalmi Pesahim 6:1. 33a,
• TB Pesahim 66a.

Once the fourteenth [day of Nisan] fell on the Sabbath, they asked Hillel the Elder, "Does the Passover [sacrifice] supersede the Sabbath?"...

This book explores the theme of divine absence through the Song of Songs and Esther. It addressed three main questions: What is the nature of God as revealed in texts that don't use his name? How do we think of God when he is perceived to be absent? What should we do when God is silent or hidden? The experience of God's absence or silence is an important part of the human condition. By exploring the distinct themes and perspectives of Song of Songs and Esther, as well as how they've been received in Jewish and Christian history, I intend to demonstrate how both books serve as counter texts to the depiction of God and his work in the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures. Thus, both contribute to a fuller picture of who God is and what it means to know him.

One will encounter views that there was no Supper of the Lord with His disciples, with the character of a religious and soteriological mystery, and that it only had the character of a simple supper or at most a mere Old Testament ritual. This position is ahistorical and anti-mysterial, and thus Arian and even secularist. On the other hand, there are frequent attempts to confine the Eucharist to the private sphere of life of the believers. The article shows that Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI strongly challenges such views. For him, the Eucharist is not only the heart of his humble life and a theme of his extraordinary theological thought but also the central event, as well as the summary (ἀνακεϕαλαιώσις: cf. Eph 1:10) of the entire history and of all creation, which tends towards union with God. Joseph Ratzinger/ Benedict XVI argues that in the Eucharist the integral Christ is present, with His whole Person, historical and at the same time glorified, and with Him the entire Holy Trinity. Such an understanding of the Eucharist has important consequences for the faith and social commitment of the contemporary Church.