(a) Passover Haggadah (for Christians)
http://www.cotopaxi-colorado.com/Passover-Haggadah-for-Christians-Homepage.htm
3rd digression "egg" The egg was added by Rabbis. Cause for pause?
Yes. We have removed the "egg" from our Seder plate.
Previously, our Haggadah used this information:
Leader: The roasted egg is called the "beitzah", a symbol of the special festival holiday sacrifice ( korban hagigah - the lamb that was slaughtered at the Temple during Passover).
This egg is regarded by the Jewish people as a symbol of mourning, a reminder of the destruction of the second Temple. It is roasted until part of it is scorched, reminding us of the fires of adversity which we ourselves often times face.
...perhaps indicating Israel shut up to God, but now out of the shell of their Egyptian Bondage.
This is typical of many Haggadahs. Following are some excerpts of commentary taken from other websites:
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From another Haggadah:
"Some sedar plates have a roasted egg. This is a modern tradition which we do not observe. It was not part of the Last Supper that Yeshua celebrated with the Apostles. It is claimed that the roasted egg is regarded by the Jewish people as a symbol of mourning, a reminder of the destruction of the second Temple."
source: http://www.moresureword.com/passover.htm
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In the book "To Be a Jew",pp 231-232, we find the "Orthodox" view:
Shankbone and egg—both recall the destruction of the Temple by symbolizing, respectively, the Paschal offering and the festival offering which were brought when the Temple was in existence. A shankbone is used, rather than any other part because it symbolizes that Israel’s redemption was with "an outstretched arm.'" An egg is used because it is the traditional symbol of mourning.
The egg and shankbone should be prepared in advance, before evening. Neither are eaten on the night of the seder, but may be eaten the next day.
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From Wikipedia:
Beitzah — A hard-boiled egg, symbolizing the korban chagigah (festival sacrifice) that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night. Although both the Pesach sacrifice and the chagigah were meat offerings, the chagigah is commemorated by an egg, a symbol of mourning (as eggs are the first thing served to mourners after a funeral), evoking the idea of mourning over the destruction of the Temple and our inability to offer any kind of sacrifices in honor of the Pesach holiday. Since the destruction of the Temple, the beitzah serves as a visual reminder of the chagigah; it is not used during the formal part of the seder, but some people eat it with saltwater as the first course of the meal.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover_Seder_Plate
How does an egg provide a "visual reminder" of a meat sacrifice? By a stretch of the imagination.
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Interesting commentary on tradition:
Foods listed in Exodus 12
1.Bitter Herbs (usually horseradish) representing the bitterness of bondage
2.Shank Bone of a Lamb symbolizes the lamb eaten before they fled Egypt.
3.Matzah– must be made solely of special flour and water (no leaven).
Customary foods later added by the Rabbis
Haroset (it looks unappetizing but is delicious) is a mixture of apples, nuts, grape juice, and cinnamon. It represents the mortar the Israelites used to build the Egyptian cities and the sweetness of a better world.
Roasted Egg is said to be the symbol of life, but we believe it came in with the pagan fertility rituals (Boaz 1996). (Our family decided to leave off the egg.)
Karpas or fresh greens (usually parsley or celery) symbolizes the new life for the Jewish people and the hyssop used to sprinkle blood on the door post. The parsley is dipped into salt water representing the tears of slavery.
source: http://heartofwisdom.com/biblicalholidays/2013/03/06/jewish-customs-of-passover-today/
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And at this source, there's no religious "agenda":
The nature of the egg also speaks to the potential of the spring season in which Passover is celebrated. Many scholars believe it was a pre-existing pagan tradition which was absorbed into the seder ritual. This would explain why it sits on the plate without ever being used or referenced. It is likely the origin of beitzah is similar to that of the Easter egg, which also lacks a specific role in its holiday.
source: http://www.sippingseder.com/beitzah/
Yikes! Not sounding like something we should have on the Seder plate!
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This comment is from a Messianic site:
The significance of the egg in the Seder is a matter of great debate among Jewish scholars. It is readily apparent to readers of the Bible that eggs are barely mentioned (nine times in the New International Version) and have no symbolic meaning.
Most explanations attempt to find some symbolism in the roundness of eggs. One traditional commentary says that the egg symbolizes "the cycle of life and death."
Sadly, the egg is probably of pagan origin, just as "Easter" eggs, the "Easter" bunny, and in fact the word "Easter" are of pagan origin. It should be noted that about one million Jews went into captivity in Babylon, but only about fifty thousand -- five percent -- returned to Israel. The rest remained and gradually became assimilated into the local culture.
source: http://www.messianicseder.com/passnote.html
Their on-site theology is not that strong, but this comment appears valid.
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Here's another comment from a Messianic site regarding the Seder plate egg:
Many Jews also add a roasted egg, saying it is a symbol of "life." However, the "egg" from antiquity was a universal pagan symbol of fertility, especially devoted to the goddess of fertility in the springtime -- Semiramis, Venus, Aphrodite, etc., also known as "Easter." Since we do not want to have anything to do with paganism, we do not add the "egg" to the seder plate, as many Jews do, who have seemingly "lost touch" with YEHOVAH's truth in this regard (see Deut. 4:1-2), and have strayed from the true path and inculcated a pagan symbol in the Passover!
source: http://www.hope-of-israel.org/haggadah.htm
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Thus far there is sufficient support to remove the "egg" from the Seder plate.
We are instructed to remove all leaven, as leaven represents sin. We don't want to be representing sin with a pagan fertility egg. It is fine to eat an egg as part of the meal, without symbolism, as all food is given for us to eat, excepting things sacrificed to an idol (Acts 15:29).
(a) Passover Haggadah (for Christians)
http://www.cotopaxi-colorado.com/Passover-Haggadah-for Christians-Homepage.htm
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