The Jewish Passover and the Trinity

Messianic Echoes in Jewish Traditions—Part II

S. A. KAPLAN, Editor, Jewish Magazine "The Sabbath Exponent?

When the pope of Rome declared some years ago that Christians are spiritual Semites, he merely reiterated what every enlightened believer already knew, for scriptural Judaism and Bible Christianity are as organically related as is the seed to the fully developed plant. What is not so well known is that even in traditional Judaism—which is Bible Judaism diluted in a veritable ocean of rab­binical sophistry and speculation—there are legends that here and there are pierced with rays of truth irradiating the wall of tradition with jets of Messianic light.

A typical example of this is the traditional Jewish observance of Passover—called Seder Shel Pesahh. This joyous annual feast is in­extricably linked with the Messianic idea. The very name by which Passover is known among Jews—Zman Heruteinu—the season of Freedom —is significant, as it so evidently prefigures Him who alone can break the fetters that hold the sinner captive, and set him free. Again, the Bible word for Passover—Pesahh—literally sig­nifies a skipping over or passing by—so aptly expressive of what our heavenly Father does for us through the merits of Christ, when He "passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage." (Micah 7:18).

Furthermore, rabbinical writings suggest that during Nisan—the Paschal month—a much greater redemption will someday be accom­plished by the God of heaven (Shemot Rabbah 15:12). The rabbis base this idea on Micah 7: 15. We bless God, that a greater redemption was indeed consummated on the fourteenth day of Nisan, when Jesus died on Calvary's cross "between the two evenings." This pro­found parallelism between the Passover and Calvary has in the past brought many priests and rabbis to the foot of the cross, and we know that many more will follow.

Another allusion to the Messiah is the extra cup of wine placed on the Passover table in honor of Elijah the prophet, for rabbinical tra­dition has it that Elijah will appear at Passover time and announce the coming of the Re­deemer. (See Peshachim X.)

It is also significant that following the Pass­over supper, as the participants sing the so-called Hallel, they repeat in song the Messianic words of Psalms 118:22—"The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner."

The Passover and the Trinity

However, the most significant and intriguing allusion to Christ in the Passover observance is the centuries-old ritual which involves three cakes of unleavened bread, or Matzos. These traditional three cakes—always and invariably three—neatly wrapped in snow-white linen, are placed on the Passover table before the host. Early in the meal the presiding person, usually the husband and father, reverently takes the middle cake from between the other two, and after pronouncing a blessing upon it, breaks it into two equal parts. One half is broken into small fragments and distributed among the par­ticipants, who eat it with solemnity and rever­ence. The remaining half of the middle cake, called the Afikomen, is neatly wrapped in a linen cloth and hidden somewhere in the supper chamber, usually under the pillowed seat of the host.

At the end of the supper, when the third cup of wine is emptied, the Afikomen, or hid­den Manna, is recovered, and then broken and distributed among those sitting around the ta­ble. Thus ends the Passover celebration.

What is the meaning of this ceremony of the three cakes of unleavened bread? Why three cakes? What do these three cakes symbolize? Of this there is a wide divergence of opinions among the rabbis. On this point, however, the New Testament and certain rabbinical writings converge, and both agree that the ceremony with the three cakes represents the trinity—the upper Matzo, the Father; the middle Matzo, the Son; and the third cake, the Holy Spirit. In the Zohar—the textbook of Jewish medieval mysticism—the belief in the Trinity is expressed under various similes and allegories. The book derives its title from Daniel 12:3—Zohar-bright­ness. We quote from The Jewish Encyclopedia, volume 12, page 261:

"The Cabala . . . , especially the Zohar, its fundamental work, was far less hostile to the dogma of the Trinity, since by its speculations regarding the father, the son, and the spirit it evolved a new trinity, and thus became dangerous to Judaism. . . . So that Christians and converts . . . found in the Zohar a confirmation of Christianity and es­pecially of the dogma of the Trinity."

Claude Montefiore, eminent Anglo-Jewish author, wrote:

"I am well aware that in the purest and most philosophical presentation of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity no infraction of the Divine Unity is intended. It will be needful for the Jewish theologi­ans to consider anew the interpretation of Trinity."

Between the Talmud, which consistently de­nies that there is a Trinity, and the Zohar, which affirms the existence of the same, a battle royal has raged for ages. Only two centuries ago this conflict came to a climax when Jews known as Frankists, who accepted the teach­ings of the Zohar, clashed with Talmudists in Poland. We quote a few lines on this contro­versy from the eminent Jewish historian Graetz:

"The Talmudists had a difficult part to play in this religious conference. The chief thesis of the Frankists was that the Zohar teaches the doctrine of the Trinity, and that one Person of the Godhead became incarnate. . . . And that leanings toward this doctrine were to be found in the Zoliar they [the Talmudists] could not deny."—History of the Jews, vol. 5, p. 287.

The Hidden Manna

What is the significance of the breaking of the middle Matzo, the hiding of it, and then the finding of the other half called ,Afikomen? As stated before, the middle cake most fittingly represents Jesus, whose body was broken for the sins of the world. The hiding and then the re­covering of the Afikomen, which was wrapped in a linen cloth, is symbolic of the burial (Jesus' body was wrapped in linen; see Luke 24:52, 53), resurrection, and ascension of Christ.

This ceremony of the three unleavened cakes was doubtless practiced in Christ's day, for we read that when Jesus instituted the Lord's Sup­per to replace the Passover, He broke the Afikomen, which pointed to Himself, and said, "Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you" (1 Cor. 11:24). Also see Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, by Alfred Eder­sheim, Volume 2, pages 504 and 511, eighth edition, revised.

That this Afikomen—the hidden and recov­ered half Matzo—is symbolic of Jesus is evident from the reading of Revelation 2:17 in which Christ, addressing His followers, says, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna."

What an exceeding great and precious prom­ise is this! The resurrected and risen Lord, who now sits on the right hand of the Father and shares with Him the throne of the uni­verse, offers us, children of dust, the hidden manna—Himself—in the infinite plenitude of His resurrection power! By drawing upon this dynamic spiritual force we can live above the foul miasma of sin and finally be counted among the overcomers to receive the overcom­er's reward. This is the heritage of the faithful, and may we all be daily enriched, nourished, and fed from this inexhaustible supply, which awaits our demand and reception, is my prayer.

In the next installment we shall discuss the Jewish traditional observance of Yom Kipper—the Day of Atonement—in its Messianic aspects.

(Continued next month)


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S. A. KAPLAN, Editor, Jewish Magazine "The Sabbath Exponent?

May 1955

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