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Participate Observation Kimberly Sheppard

Passover Ceremony: A Cultural Learning Experience

Kimberly Sheppard

University of West Georgia


Section 1: Introduce the topic, research questions and the location for the observation.

Date: March 11, 2012 from 5:00PM to 7:00 PM

Location: Bethany Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 4 N. Bethany Rd. McDonough, GA 30253

I was offered the opportunity to participate in a traditional Passover ceremony. The opportunity

was introduced that although this is typically considered a Jewish ceremony; there are ties to the

communion service that Catholics and Protestant Christians alike participate in. The event

would be public and they would charge $5.00 for the meal that was being prepared by local

caterers. A rabbi from a Messianic Jewish temple would be coming to teach and explain the

history of the ceremony and the symbolism that was connected to the ceremony. One question

that I had prior to this participant observation was, “How would individuals participate in a

ceremony of a different faith than what they were accustomed to?”

Upon arriving at the center, we were told we could sit anywhere that we would like but to please

not touch anything in the center of the table. The area was well lit and clean. The room itself

was really sparse in extra furniture. There were only tables and chairs. There was really nothing

on the walls of the room. It wasn’t really decorated. I found a seat at a table that had 2 other

families sitting there. One was a couple (man and wife) that were in their mid 50s.The second

family was a couple in their early 30s (man, wife and daughters). They were very excited for the

evening to start. I was a little surprised to see so many children. The girls at the table with me

were around 10 and when I asked which was older, they quickly said that they were twins. They

were very quiet but after a few minutes you could tell they were more nervous than just normally

quiet. They giggled together over most things that the other would say. The last chair was left


empty. The table was already set with a simple white table cloth and the center of the table had a

number of items on it.

There is a map included of the room and then a close-up of the table. Each of the five tables

consisted of a maximum of 8 people and most tables were full. The table arrangements were

simple, including: white table clothes, white glass plates, white napkins on the center with

matzah bread in the middle of them, and several food items. The food items consisted of:

carafe of wine, 1 onion, 1 small bone, a seder plate, 2 hard boiled eggs, and small containers of

horse radish, salt water, and haroset. A small agenda and book, The Messianic Passover

Haggadah, were also provided for us to take (Rubin & Rubin, 1989).

Time Section 2: Observation Expanded Field Notes CodesDate: March 11, 2012 from 5:00PM to 7:00 PMLocation: Bethany Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 4 N. Bethany Rd. McDonough, GA 30253

5:00 PM Messianic Jewish Rabbi, Murray Tilles introduces himself and

thanks us for coming and for our interests in learning about the

Passover. He says Shalom – which means Hello, Goodbye, and

Peace. He explained that as Jesus was Jewish he would have

participated in the yearly Passover ceremony. He explains that

Passover is also the most detailed order of service and that

Passover especially points to the prophecies of Christ. He also

states that this is one of the oldest recorded religious ceremonies

in the world that is still used. Biblically, it was also Christ’s last

meal.

Murray explains his own background. He was born in a

Speaker Presented

Significance of why we are here


5:15 PM

religious Jewish family. In his freshman year of college he met

someone who introduced him to the Bible and after reading it he

decided that he saw more symbolism of the Jewish ceremonies

and an explanation of who Christ was and he decided to accept

Christ and the Christian faith. His family disowned him for a

few years and since then he has had several other family

members also become Christians. As he was speaking he was

very matter of fact. He was sincere but really just telling the

facts of what happened not thinking about it, as he didn’t get

emotional. As I glanced around everyone was watching him but

without any real expression on their faces. He read Leviticus

26:3 and then showed the correlation between this Old

Testament book and the life of Christ in Matthew 26: 16-19

(New Testament) and in Luke 22:15 concerning the Feast of the

Unleven Bread. He then explained that the Passover relates and

it is no coincidence that the Passover is very similar to the

Christian communion. Many adults are sitting with their arms

crossed showing with their body language that they are either

not comfortable. The room is not cold but comfortable.

He told us to take a minute and decide who would represent the

father and mother of the table. This would typically be the older

family members but it did not necessarily have to be. The


younger couple at the table looked to the older couple,

immediately assuming and almost as if they even desired or

expected them to take the role. The older couple said that they

had participated before and that they thought everyone should

have the opportunity to do so. They told the younger couple that

they could do it. The young couple looked immediately wide

eyed and nervous. They even looked to each other but they

couldn’t seem to come up with a reason not to do it. They simply

nodded their head and agreed.

He then brought everyone back in and explained the importance

of waiting for instructions and explanations of the traditions. He

explained that a traditional Passover lasts for 4 -6 hours but that

this Passover ceremony would only last 2 hours. It was really

interesting because as he was saying this I was looking around

and mostly men at the tables were antsy. I wonder if it was more

because they felt they should be doing something but didn’t know

what to do.

He then told us that we would be filling our glasses four times

that evening but to wait until he blessed each cup. He suggested

that we only barely fill the cup to not go overboard with it.


5:25 PM

5:30 PM

Murray then explained the Haggadah – or the telling. This is the

story of the Passover that has been passed down for generations

as a promise of God’s faithfulness. The ceremony starts with the

lighting of candles by the woman of the house. The younger

woman at our table stands up and picks up the matches on the

table. She then shakily lights the candle. He then asks the

women to repeat after him the traditional blessing in Hebrew.

He says the blessing in English first and then says it slowly in

Hebrew to allow them to have time to repeat it. This would have

naturally been known to an Orthodox Jewish woman.

He explained that the youngest children would typically ask the

meaning or the purpose of the Passover in questions but that

typically Jewish children would have been trained on what to ask

but the children this evening would not have been taught what to

ask so he would be asking the questions and then explaining.

The first question was, Why is this night different from all the

other nights? He asked if anyone could answer that but no one

even raised their hand. He answered that because of what the

Lord did for me is the appropriate Jewish Orthodox answer.

God redeemed the ancient Jews from enslavement in Egypt (He

reference Exodus 12). Many around the room were writing

Ceremony begins with the Lighting of the candles.

1st Blessing Prayer in the form of a rhythmic chant

1st Question


5:35 PM

5:40 PM

down notes or looking in their Bibles at the reference. He also

said that the ancestors were told to put the blood of the lamb

over the door to protect the first born son. God would protect

and “passover” their home, hence the name of the ceremony.

For followers of Christ, he said God protected/saved all with the

lamb of God (Christ).

The second question was, Why do we eat our meal in a relaxed

position? Now we are all sitting in chairs not reclining so I am

assuming that he means in a traditional service. He said that

that in the middle east only the free can recline and eat. It is an

expression of their freedom. Murray said that although we were

not reclining as in a typical ceremony, they would typically be

reclining to symbolism that the first Passover was celebrated by

those that were slaves and now we are free of that bondage. A

few at the table (mainly the men) reclined back in their chair.

Before they had been sitting up right.

He comes to the third question. On every night we can eat any

bread, why tonight can we only eat unleven bread? Murray

explained that the Jewish ancestors could only take unleven

bread with them when they fled from Egypt because they didn’t

have time for the bread to rise. They called it the afikomen

2nd Question

3rd Question


5:45 PM

because in Greek it means He who comes later. The father at the

table takes the middle piece of bread out from between the

Matzah Toash. He broke the piece in half and put one half in

between the Matzah Toash and left one half out on top. Murray

explained that putting the piece in the middle symbolized Christ

being killed and buried.

The fourth question was, Why can we eat all veggies every other

night but tonight we can only eat the bitter veggies? Murray

explained that this was to remind of the bitterness of slavery.

Murray then held up and empty Seder plate and said that each

piece of food held important significance.

The parsley was the first and it represented life. We dipped it in

the salt water on the table to signify that life has tears of

bitterness mixed in with it. I found it interesting that some of the

adults at the table would not eat the whole parsley twig but they

would eat only a small leaf. It really didn’t taste bad just

different.

The onion (kasari) is the root of the bitter herb. This represents

that the root of life is better. Fortunately we did not have to bite

into the onion but it would be expected by an Orthodox Jewish

person.

The horseradish (maror) reminds us how bitter life is without

4th Question

Participates start tasting food as symbolism of food is explained.


redemption. It brought tears to my eyes. The other adults at the

table instructed the twins not to take a lot. Most adults took a

small taste on a spoon.

The next dish that we tasted was the sweet apple (kharoset).

This represented that the children of Israel toiled to make cities

for Pharaoh, working in brick and clay. It was brown with

apples, nuts, and cinnamon. We were instructed to put some

kharoset and maror together onto a matzah bread. This was to

symbolism that even the most bitter of circumstances can be

sweetened by the hope we have in God. I really enjoyed this

dish. I actually wanted another taste but there was really only

enough on the table for each person to taste it. The twins

seemed afraid to taste it after that. Typically children are

unafraid to try new things so it was interesting that after the

adults seemed to scare them about the horseradish they were

fearful of other new items. Everyone did try the dish though.

The next dish that we tried was the egg (khagigah) was added to

the seder to remind us of morning and that it has no beginning

and no end. The mother of the table took the egg, cracked it, and

pealed it. Then she cut it and passed around pieces. Everyone

then took their piece of egg and dipped it into the salt water to

again remind of the bitterness of life. Again, the children did not

try the whole egg. One of the girls even seemed to gag and then


6:00PM

6:05 PM

apologized that she didn’t like eggs. I was impressed that they

tried it without their parents saying anything.

The last piece on the seder was the shankbone of a lamb to

remind us of the lamb whose blood marked the houses during

that first Passover to protect the first born sons, showing

obedience to God. This was purely for show and we left it on

the seder plate.

We then took the second cup of wine. This was the cup of the

plagues. He explained that Israel does not want war only peace.

He explained that with this prayer the Jewish prayer for those

that have suffered that we might have peace and survive. We

then were instructed to follow Murray and recited in English and

then Hebrew the 10 plagues: blood, frogs, vermin, beast,

pestilence, oils, hail, locust, darkness, 1st born,. As each plague

is said we took and dipped our finger into the wine and touched

the plate in front of us so that a drop was left.

The Hebrew prayer is said and followed by all saying Amen.

The Passover Banquet commences. There is genuine laughing

and talking. It is obvious that the families at the table did not

know each other before as they start asking questions about

2nd Cup

Hebrew Blessing over all

Passover Banquet commences


6:35PM

where they work and generally get to know type questions. I

found it interesting that the adults did not ask each other what

they thought of the ceremony but they did ask the twin girls what

they thought so far about the ceremony. Generally the questions

were how are you enjoying this but they also asked more specific

questions about what they thought about certain parts. The

meal continues to take place. It really feels like a big

Thanksgiving or family get together, type of celebration. There

is brisket and lots of fresh veggies in a family style presentation.

After everyone has finished they clear their plates for the next

part of the ceremony.

Murray brings everyone back by excitedly explaining that at this

part of the ceremony the children play an important part. The

children will be looking for the afikomen. He said that often

times, the head of the family will have taken the middle piece of

matzah bread from the middle of the table and hid it somewhere

in the room. He told the children that he had already hid the

piece and that they could go and look. The children’s faces were

priceless. The twin girls looked to their parents first with large

smiles on their faces, as if saying, “Can I go.” The parents

smiled indulgently. The room chaotically erupted in the sound

of children running and squealing. It was similar to an Easter

Children’s Hunt for the afikomen


egg hunt or treasure hunt. The children were looking

everywhere until one of them found it. I was surprised because

one of the twins actually found it but they shyly gave it to a

younger child of about 5. The youngster took it up to Murray

and he patted their head affectionately and the child smiled and

went back to her seat.

Each head of the table takes the afikomen and breaks it into

small pieces. Each person gets a piece with the third cup. This

is the pretext for the Lord’s supper. For the Christian and the

Messianic Jew, the unleven bread symbolizes Christ because he

was scared and pierced and the bread has holes in it and darker

marks where it has been cooked.

Murray also mentioned that for some in the Jewish faith the

unleven bread represents Abraham, Isac, and Jacob. He said no

one can explain where the poach for the afikomen came from but

today it has become a game to keep the children anticipating and

paying careful attention. Several people at the table looked at

spouses or other people that they knew well giving them a

questioning look. Murray further explains that for the Christian

there is further symbolism in the afikomen in the middle of the

table. There are three pieces and looking at the center carefully,

I am able to see that there are. The top, he says, represents God

3rd Cup and similar to the communion aspect


6:45 PM

6:50

the father. The middle represents Christ (this is the piece that is

broken and buried in the middle and then now reappears towards

the end of the ceremony – just as Christ in the Bible is killed,

buried and reappears). The bottom is the Holy Spirit which

came after Christ is not seen. I thought it was interesting that no

one could explain where in history that the poach for the matzah

bread came from. In a religion that has been recorded so

carefully and uses rhythmic prayer chants to remember the

order of the ceremony, some that plays such a large part cannot

be traced.

The 3rd cup is the Cup of Redemption. This is the cup that

Catholics and Protestants use as the cup for communion or the

Lord’s supper. The father of the table broke the afikomen and

the mother of the table poured the 3rd cup and Murray lead the

family tables in chanting the prayer in Hebrew. By this time,

everyone wasn’t looking around at others at their table

chuckling. They were paying close attention to what Murray

said and did.

Everyone then took the Cup of Hallel or Praise. The mother at

the table poured everyone their last cup. It is still the same small

amount and this time she did not appear nervous nor were her

3rd Cup

4th Cup


PM hands shaking. Murray stopped everyone at this time. He

actually paused for a minute to gain everyone’s attention

because he said he wanted to make a point that scripturally,

Jesus did not take this cup because he said he would drink with

them in Heaven (reference: Matthew 26:29). People were

intently listening, not only with respect for the speaker but also

leaning forward. Almost as if in anticipation of what he would

say.

Murray explained that at each table one complete place setting

was left empty. I thought they were all full but as I glanced

around, I noticed that indeed there was an empty space at each

table. This would have been the seat that was set aside in

anticipation of Elijah. He said that at this time the children

would go to the door, singing and calling for Elijah. He

explained that those that believe in Christ believe that Christ was

Elijah so he has already come. Therefore the empty seat is set in

honor of Christ. Throughout this explanation he is getting more

and more excited. Waving his arms widely with great

enthusiasm. He then starts to get quiet as he finishes explaining

how many miss the true meaning of the Passover.

Many at the tables have their chins resting on the palms of their

hands. The children are starting to get restless. The girls in


7:10 PM

front of me are squirming in their seats but as I glance around

the room other children are doing the same. Murray closes with

the hope that everyone has enjoyed themselves and that they

have learned much about their strong, shared roots with the

Jewish community and Israel. He asks everyone to repeat after

him as he says the closing prayer. He says it in English first, and

then repeats it in Hebrew saying it slowly with pauses so that

everyone can repeat the prayer. As everyone was leaving the

atmosphere was anything but solemn. Everyone was very

friendly and even happily wishing others well and saying that

they were glad for the opportunity to have met. Many even

stayed around talking and cleaning up. Rabbi Tilles had several

books available so I did purchase one, Jesus in the Passover ().

Section 3: Reflective Essay

My purpose was to observe how people would participate in a ceremony of a faith, religion, or

culture that they were unfamiliar with. Through this process, I acted as primarily participate but I

did take notes throughout the event. Merriam suggested narrowing the lens on observing. My

first instinct was to note everyone at all tables and several times throughout the observation, I did

note that I was looking around at other tables but I found that I was more scattered and almost

not focused as when I was just observing and participating at my table (2009). If we were

sampling something I would wait until he started to explain again and then in short hand, write

down basic notes of what we did. I have participated in other observations and this one was

extremely enjoyable as I was able to sample food that I would not have normally tried,


participated in a ceremony that I have not had an opportunity to participate in before, and I was

able to listen to the beautiful rhythmic prayers that were offered. I noticed that as each prayer

was chanted and each cup event was taken, the people around me were more comfortable in

participating. I made note in the right column of the cups and food samplings because these

were not only the times were we were actively participating but also the times for each so point

out how quickly events flowed and whether or not the participates were comfortable. The

banquet seemed to help people become more comfortable with their surroundings. Most people

obviously wanted to be there, as it was $5.00 for the meal, to participate in the event. That does

not mean that they were comfortable or that they would feel comfortable participating. Many

were originally sitting back in their chair with their arms crossed to begin with but as the

ceremony progressed and especially after the banquet, there was a familiarity and higher level of

comfort that was exhibited. The participates were leaning forward paying close attention and

their body language was no longer tense. Looking over my field notes, I wrote quite a bit more

than I was going to but this was a two hour observation versus the required 20 minutes. I did

think about only using 20 minutes of it but the problem was choosing which 20 minutes to

include. I have found that writing in the columns and adding times to one side and observations

to another helps me to keep track of times and events. Next time, I would probably bring a tape

recorder and get permission to record. I would not transcribe word for word but I would use it to

help me remember the events in order if I could not take notes (Merriam, 2009). Two hours is a

long time to account for with memory. Also, as this was a public opportunity and many were

taking notes, I did not ask or bring permission slips. Kawulich said, it was difficult to get

permission at times and this venue was not only open but they were wanting the participates to

take notes and share what they learned from the experience (2005). So even though it was a


religious ceremony, I did not feel like I was sharing anything that was private or that would hurt

anyone.

Section 4: Analytic Essay

In conclusion, I thought this was an incredible opportunity to see another culture and hear some

of another language. I was interested in how other participated. Really, I was curious if they

would fully participate. Would they whole heartily jump into the process or would they just

stand or sit there watching. I was pleasantly surprised that the adults, although at first nervous,

did begin repeating the chanted prayers and following any instructions almost without thought.

The children would glance at parents periodically throughout the ceremony. It was almost as if

to gauge whether they were supposed to follow or not. Most of the time, children have no fear of

a new situation and are the first to jump in. However, the instructions at the beginning from the

Rabbi, to wait until instructions were given might have proved to be a hindrance to this. Also

during the sampling of the symbolic food items, the children were scared after the horseradish

and were timid when trying other things. Both of these were typical reactions of children ina

new environment and although they were hesitant, they were always willing. For me, the book

and pamphlet were particular helpful, as I was not able to write down everything that was being

said, nor was I sure about the spelling of some words. I was able to take notes and there were

several others doing so as well so I did not stand out or look as I was observing. As I was

participating, I was able to follow along with the ceremony with the book and then going back

over my notes it was very helpful to remember what we were doing at that time. I was

particularly interested in the fact that the prayers were chanted, in such a rhythmic and song-like

quality. This would provide a way for those that do not read to learn and remember the

importance and words of the ceremonies. Also the food played such an intrical part in the


ceremony. In fact, I didn’t realize that there was symbolism for each piece of food on the table

until we finished. Everything was clearly explained through the food. Similar to the large

cathedrals in Europe that used stained glass to teach those in their faith that could not read. For

the children and adults that participated, it explained further about their religion and the

fundamental roots of why certain traditions are done. It was definitely more in-depth and

interesting that I anticipated. I really expected the rabbi to perform the ceremony and perhaps

give a few explanations but more or less just let us experience the ceremony. I took several

photos, and now have two books which I included within the artifacts. Again, the books were

helpful to me as I wrote up my field notes, as I was able to check the spelling and make sure I

remembered to right down the correct meaning. The photos were a great visual and I would use

those to help others see visually what I was able to observe. I do feel that I experienced an

abbreviated version of the ceremony but the biggest difference was that the banquet would have

taken much longer because it was family and maybe friends. We were largely seated with

people that we did not know. Although we could have sat and talked for much longer than the

allotted 30 minutes or so I could see how this part of the ceremony alone would require several

hours. As an educator, I thought it was fantastic the way that they included the children several

times throughout the evening. The children would have to be on their toes, paying attention to

know when they would participate next and this would cause them to pay close attention to all

that was transpiring. Between the inclusions of the children to the rhythmic chants of the

prayers, it was obvious how important the next generation is to their culture and religion. I have

seen ceremonies in other faiths and cultures and although they will sometimes permit the

children to participate, this ceremony was family oriented. It was used as a teaching tool,

whereas some of the other ceremonies that I have seen sent the children out or the children were


told to be quiet if they wanted to witness it. Neither are bad, just different. If I was to continue

to observe in this setting, I would be interested in learning how much the children retained from

the ceremony. Did they truly understand the meaning of the ceremony? Would they be able to

replicate some of the ceremony? For children that did not grow up in the Jewish faith or learning

Hebrew, I wouldn’t expect them to remember the words but the symbolism behind the events

would be important.


References

Merriam, S.B. (2009).Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (3rd ed.). San

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Kawulich, B.B. (2005, May). Participant Observation as a Data Collection Method. Forum:

Qualitative Social Research. 6,(2), Art. 43. Retrieved from http://www.qualitative-

research.net/index.php/fqs/article/viewArticle/466/996

Resources/Artifacts

This is a picture of the book that we were given at the Passover Ceremony.

Rubin, B. & Rubin, S. (1989). The messianic passover haggadah. Baltimore, MD: Messianic

Jewish Publishers.


This is a picture of Murray Tilles holding the Pouch that contained the Matzah Bread or the afikomen on March 11, 2012.

Candles and onion on the middle of the table. This is half way through the ceremony on March 11, 2012.

I purchased a copy of Christ in the Passover book from him after the ceremony.

Rosen, M. and Rosen, C.R. (2006). Christ in the Passover. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.


Murray Tilles holding a piece of the Matzah Bread or the afikomen on March 11, 2012.

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kimberlysheppard.wiki.westga.edukimberlysheppard.wiki.westga.edu/.../view/Template+for… · Web viewGod would protect and “passover” their ... Almost as if in anticipation