Author Thread: a note about Pasach and Chag HaMatzot by Glenn McWilliams i love this guy!!!!!!!!
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a note about Pasach and Chag HaMatzot by Glenn McWilliams i love this guy!!!!!!!!
Posted : 1 Apr, 2010 03:22 AM

A Resource Study



Pesach (Passover) & Chag HaMatzot (Unleavened Bread)

by Glenn McWilliams





As the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom reaches to the ends of the earth, there is an

ever-increasing number of believers in Yeshua submitting to the Torah, the constitution of

the Kingdom. As new believers desire to embrace a Torah-observant lifestyle, they are

often filled with questions as to where to begin and how to keep the Torah. The Sabbath,

keeping kosher, and learning to celebrate the mo�adim1 and mikra2 of YHWH seem to be the

best beginning point for learning to walk in rhythm with the Holy One of Israel. In this

teaching we will focus specifically on the celebration of the Passover and the Feast of

Unleavened Bread.



In many ways the birth of the Nation of Israel took place in the events surrounding the

exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt. In a very real sense the Passover celebration

is Israel�s first Independence Day. During the events leading up to the actual exodus out of

Egypt, YHWH made many distinctions between the children of Israel and the people of

Egypt.3 YHWH further set the children of Israel apart from the nations by calling them to a

new walk with Him. The very first thing that YHWH did at this time was to establish a new

calendar for the children of Israel.4 This calendar contains the specific appointed times and

rehearsals that the children of Israel are to keep throughout their generations.5 By keeping

these appointed rehearsals, the children of Israel would be set apart from the rest of the

nations and live in rhythm with the Torah.



Keeping these appointed rehearsals is a vital part of fulfilling the calling to be the manifest

presence of Elohim in the world. In many ways the restoration of the image of YHWH in the

world will begin with Israel keeping YHWH�s biblical calendar with its appointed rehearsals.

We should also realize that within the details of these feasts the history of YHWH�s

relationship with Israel is recalled: Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits celebrate

the deliverance and birth of Israel as the firstborn of YHWH, as well as their calling to be

leaven-free nation. Pentecost/Shavuot recalls entering into the covenant at Sinai through

the giving and receiving of the Torah. The Day of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the

Feast of Tabernacles also depict Israel crossing the wilderness, entering the Promise Land,

and establishing a Kingdom. Thus there is clearly a historical nature to these appointed

rehearsals. By keeping the calendar we are constantly reminded of what YHWH ELOHIM has

done to bring us to this present day and age.



We should also realize that we remember these events not only to recall the past but also to

shape the present. By connecting very specific actions or rituals to these appointed times,

YHWH makes it evident that we are not merely to intellectually recall the past or read about

these events, but that in some small way we are to relive it. By reliving the events recalled

in each of these feasts we give every generation the opportunity to experience these events

for themselves. As each generation experiences the exodus, they are connected to the

preceding generation that came out of Egypt. Thus every generation of the children of

Israel can claim, �I was at the Red Sea and YHWH delivered me! I was at Mount Sinai and I

accepted the Torah!�



We must also realize that these appointed rehearsals have a prophetic future application as

well. In this regard we see that the appointed rehearsals are shadow pictures of things yet

to come. As Shaul wrote:





Colossians 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in

respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: 17Which

are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Messiah.



Within the various mo�adim and mikra of YHWH we witness the shadow pictures of the birth,

life, ministry, death, resurrection, and return of the Messiah. Within the Spring mo�adim we

witness the Messiah as the Passover Lamb slain; that by the application of his blood in faith,

the judgment of Elohim passes over us. In the Feast of Unleavened Bread we celebrate the

incorruptible nature of Messiah who did not decay in the grave. The First Fruits offering

celebrates the resurrection of the Messiah as the first fruits from the grave.6 The Feast of

Shavuot prophesies the Messiah pouring out the Spirit of the Holy One upon his talmidim in

order that he may write the Torah upon the hearts of believers. The Day of Trumpets

declares the return of Messiah. The Day of Atonement declares Messiah�s Day of Judgment

and the national redemption of Israel. The Feast of Tabernacles prophesies the

establishment of the Messianic Kingdom upon the earth. By keeping the calendar of YHWH

with all of its appointed rehearsals we proclaim in our actions and words the Gospel of the

Kingdom. By keeping in rhythm with YHWH�s prophetic calendar we also find ourselves

being prepared for all that is yet to come. By keeping the appointed rehearsals, YHWH will

have us in the right place at the right time when the fulfillment of all of these prophecies

comes to pass.



Let us now turn our attention to the biblical requirements for the first of the annual

appointed rehearsals of YHWH. I want to be very clear from the start that Pesach or

Passover is not a �feast,� but a slaughtering. The Pesach is the lamb or kid that is

slaughtered and whose blood is applied to the doorposts of the house. The �feast� where

the meat of the Pesach is eaten is Chag HaMatzot, or the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In

time these two separate events have become so connected to one another that the name of

the whole week in which unleavened bread is eaten has come to be called �Passover.� With

this in mind, let us now turn to the biblical teachings on Pesach and Chag HaMatzot.



The first question we will address is that of when Pesach and Chag HaMatzot are to be

celebrated. The Torah is very clear on the timing of Pesach and Chag HaMatzot.



Exodus 12:1 And YHWH spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt

saying, 2This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall

be the first month of the year to you.



Exodus 13:4 This day came ye out in the month of the aviv.



Exodus 34:18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days

thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the

month of the aviv: for in the month of the aviv thou camest out from

Egypt.



Numbers 9:1 And YHWH spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the

first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of

Egypt, saying, 2Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at His

appointed season.



Deuteronomy 16:1 Observe the month of the aviv, and keep the

passover unto YHWH thy Elohim: for in the month of the aviv YHWH thy

Elohim brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.





There are a number of important lessons to be learned from these few verses. First we

should note that the Hebrew word aviv (Aleph, Vet, Yod, Vet) is a description of the state of

the barley as being nearly ripe. The Torah gives us a general description of the barley in

this state. We may remember that during the plagues YHWH used to smite Egypt, hail

rained down on the fields and destroyed the barley, while the wheat which was just

sprouting was not damaged.



Exodus 9:31 And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was

aviv, and the flax was bolled. 32But the wheat and the rye were not smitten:

for they were not grown up.



Here we see that the aviv barley was mature enough to be somewhat brittle and was

therefore damaged by the hail that fell. The wheat was just beginning to sprout and was

supple enough to withstand the falling hail. Another passage that helps us to determine the

boundaries of the definition of aviv barley is one where the First Fruits offering is described.



Leviticus 2:14 And if thou offer a meat offering of thy first fruits unto YHWH,

thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy first fruits green ears of corn

dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears.



The barley is the first of the First Fruits offerings made during the year. Here we should

note that the aviv barely was still moist, or green, and therefore was dried or roasted by fire

before it was offered. Thus we see that aviv barley is mature enough to be brittle but still

moist. We should also note that the First Fruits offering was made after Pesach and Chag

HaMatzot. Aviv barley may thus be defined as being about fifteen days from ripe for the

harvest.



We should also note that the word aviv is an adjective and not a proper name. The word

aviv appears seven times in the Scriptures, four of which contain the definite article �the.�

This confirms the fact that aviv is the description of a stage of the barley�s maturity; not the

proper name of a month. Hebrew months did not have names until after the return of

Judah from the Babylonian Exile.



Another detail that needs to be mentioned here is the sighting of the new moon. The

biblical month is determined by the sighting of the first sliver of the new moon. At the end

of the twelfth biblical month a search for the aviv barley began. If the barley was indeed

aviv when the new moon was sighted and Rosh Chodesh was declared, this became the first

month of the biblical year, also called Rosh HaShanah, or �the month of the aviv.� If the

barley was not yet aviv, then a thirteenth month would be added to the calendar and

Passover and Chag HaMatzot would be celebrated in the following month. So we learn that

according to YHWH�s reckoning of time, the timing of Passover and Chag HaMatzot is

determined by the barley being aviv and the sighting of the new moon.



This practice of determining the time of Passover continued throughout the Second Temple

period and the lifetime of Yeshua. The current rabbinic calendar based upon the calculated

calendar of Hillel II was not adopted until 359 C.E. Now that we have determined when

Passover and Chag HaMatzot are to be celebrated, let us now turn our attention to the

question of how they are to be celebrated.



Let me state here that there is provision made in the Torah for those who may have been

defiled by death; or due to some other circumstance, were unable to bring the Pesach



offering to the Temple on the fourteenth day of the first month. They were allowed to make

the Pesach offering on the following month on the fourteenth day.



Numbers 9:6 And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead

body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they

came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: 7And those men said unto

him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back,

that we may not offer an offering of YHWH in His appointed season among

the children of Israel? 8And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear

what YHWH will command concerning you. 9And YHWH spake unto Moses,

saying, 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of

your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey

afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto YHWH. 11The fourteenth day of

the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread

and bitter herbs. 12They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break

any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep

it.



There are several aspects of preparation that must take place before the slaughtering of the

Pesach or the meal of Chag HaMatzot is partaken of. The first step is the selection of the

proper victim. The Pesach must be a male lamb or goat of the first year and free of any

defects. Once selected, the lamb is to remain with the family until the day of slaughtering

to assure that it is defect free.



Exodus 12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the

tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according

to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house.



Exodus 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye

shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats.



Exodus 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same

month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the

evening.



Another part of the preparation is the accounting of the household.



Exodus 12:4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his

neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls;

every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.



This accounting of the household is important, since the Torah teaches that nothing of

Pesach is to be left over until morning.



Exodus 12:10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and

that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.



Numbers 9:12 They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any

bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it.



Deuteronomy 16:4 And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in

all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou

sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.





We learn from this accounting that everyone in Israel counts, regardless of how much or

how little they eat. We may also reverse this lesson and say that the Pesach Lamb dies for

all of Israel, regardless of how great or how small their sins or their contributions. We may

also draw the conclusion that nothing of this sacrifice is to be wasted. In other words, we

should make full benefit of Messiah�s sacrifice and leave nothing unredeemed by his

precious blood.



A third part of the preparation for Pesach and Chag HaMatzot is the removing of the leaven

from our homes, property, and lives. Here we remember that leaven is a symbol of mixture

or sin in our lives. We may remember that the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden was

unique in that it was the only tree of mixed fruit, for it brought forth the knowledge of good

and evil. So it is that we are to remove all mixture from our lives.





Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground made YHWH ELOHIM to grow every tree

that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the

midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.



Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt

not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.



We may recall that we are likewise prohibited from adding to the Torah.



Deuteronomy 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you,

neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments

of YHWH your Elohim which I command you.



Deuteronomy 12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it:

thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.



Yeshua pointedly taught that the Pharisaic additions to the Torah were to be considered as

leaven.



Matthew 16:6 Then Yeshua said unto them, Take heed and beware of the

leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 7And they reasoned among

themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. 8Which when

Yeshua perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye

among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? 9Do ye not yet

understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how

many baskets ye took up? 10Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand,

and how many baskets ye took up? 11How is it that ye do not understand that

I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of

the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12Then understood they how that he

bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the

Pharisees and of the Sadducees.



The apostle Shaul clearly understood Messiah�s teaching when he wrote:



1 Corinthians 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven

leaveneth the whole lump? 7Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be

a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Messiah our passover is sacrificed

for us: 8Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the



leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity

and truth.



So it is that we prepare for Pesach and Chag HaMatzot by first removing all of the mixture

and leaven from our hearts and homes.



Exodus 12:15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day

ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened

bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from

Israel.



Exodus 12:19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for

whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from

the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.



Exodus 13:7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall

no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with

thee in all thy quarters.



Exodus 34:25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven;

neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the

morning.



Deuteronomy 16:4 And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in

all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou

sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.



After the preparations are complete; the lamb chosen, observed, and declared acceptable;

the household accounted for; and the leaven removed; it is time to slaughter the Pesach.

Originally each family slaughtered their own kid or lamb at their own dwelling place. When

the tabernacle was erected, all such ritual slaughtering was done at the tabernacle, or later

yet at the Temple in Jerusalem. Once the tabernacle and Levitical priesthood began

functioning, all private altars were forbidden by the Torah.



Exodus 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same

month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the

evening.



Deuteronomy 16:2 Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto YHWH

thy Elohim, of the flock and the herd, in the place which YHWH shall choose

to place His name there.



Deuteronomy 16:5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy

gates, which YHWH thy Elohim giveth thee: 6But at the place which YHWH thy

Elohim shall choose to place His name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the

passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou

camest forth out of Egypt.



It is because of this last command that we do not presently slaughter our own Pesach. Until

the altar and priesthood are functioning again on the Temple Mount, we �celebrate� and

�remember� the Pesach, but we do not �keep� or �perform� the Pesach slaughtering. While

I believe that it is both acceptable and consistent with the Torah to eat roasted lamb on



Chag HaMatzot, we should avoid all appearances of slaughtering the lamb on the fourteenth

or fifteenth day of the first month.



There is some debate as to when this slaughtering of the Pesach was to take place. Let me

first give the Torah commandment and then I�ll address the confusion that has emerged

around it.



Exodus 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same

month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the

evening.



Leviticus 23:5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is YHWH�s

passover.



Numbers 9:3 In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in

His appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the

ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it. 4And Moses spake unto the children of

Israel, that they should keep the passover. 5And they kept the passover on

the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai:

according to all that YHWH commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.





Numbers 28:16 And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover

of YHWH.





Deuteronomy 16:6 But at the place which YHWH thy Elohim shall choose to

place His name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the

going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.



Clearly the slaughtering of the Pesach was to be done on the fourteenth day of the first

month at evening. Remembering that the Hebrew day begins with the evening or the

setting of the sun, the question is raised as to what is meant by the Hebrew phrase

commanding that the Pesach be slaughtered �between the evenings.� Since the day begins

with evening and ends with evening, we must determine which part of the day the sacrifice

was to be made. There are a few who believe and teach that the Pesach was sacrificed at

sundown on the thirteenth day as it was going into the fourteenth day. This view is clearly

contrary to the Torah. The Torah tells us that it was in the middle of the night when YHWH

went through the land of Egypt judging the firstborn of the Egyptians.



Exodus 11:4 And Moses said, Thus saith YHWH, About midnight will I go out

into the midst of Egypt:



Exodus 12:29 And it came to pass, that at midnight YHWH smote all the

firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his

throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the

firstborn of cattle.



The Torah also is clear that the children of Israel left Egypt that morning, the fifteenth day

of the first month.



Exodus 12:37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to

Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.





Numbers 33:3 And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the

fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the

children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.



Two other details help to establish the time of day for the Pesach slaughtering. The first of

these details is the fact that the blood had to be placed upon the doorposts of the house

prior to the middle of the night of YHWH�s passing over.



Exodus 12:22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood

that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood

that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until

the morning. 23For YHWH will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when

He seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, YHWH will pass

over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses

to smite you.



The second detail is that none of the meat of the Pesach was to be left over until morning.



Exodus 12:10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and

that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.



From these verses we may deduce that the Pesach was slaughtered between the evenings

(between noon and sunset) on the fourteenth and the first evening or beginning of the

fifteenth. The blood of the Pesach was applied to the doorposts, and the meat of the Pesach

was eaten at Chag HaMatzot at the beginning or first evening of the fifteenth before

midnight. In the morning of the fifteenth the remaining meat of Pesach was burned upon

the fire and the children of Israel began their exodus from Egypt.



The Torah is very specific as to how the meat of Pesach is to be prepared.



Exodus 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and

unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9Eat not of it raw,

nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and

with the purtenance thereof.



Exodus 12:46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth

ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone

thereof.



Tradition tells us that the entrails or �appurtenance� of the lamb were wrapped around the

head of the lamb as it was roasted head down in a pit of hot coals, so that none of the

toxins would be released into the meat. The Samaritans continue to use this method today.

Beyond the meat of the Pesach, the Torah prescribes two other elements for the feast of

Chag HaMatzot.



Exodus 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and

unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.



Numbers 9:11 The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall

keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.



The Torah also tells us how we are to eat this meal, and why we are to eat this meal in such

a specific fashion.





Exodus 12:11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on

your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is

YHWH�s passover.



Deuteronomy 16:3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days

shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for

thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest

remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the

days of thy life.



We are also told by the Torah who is allowed to participate in this Pesach and Chag

HaMatzot. Again, let us be clear that Pesach is the offering, while Chag HaMatzot is the

feast. Pesach is a ritual slaughtering that is meant only for the children of Israel. Pesach

and Chag HaMatzot are a remembrance and celebration of what YHWH did for the

descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and those whom He delivered, redeemed, and

brought to Himself at Mount Sinai. Pesach and Chag HaMatzot are a celebration of the birth

of a nation that lives by the Torah. Pesach and Chag HaMatzot are the remembrance and

celebration of Israel�s salvation by grace through faith and their entering into the covenant

at Mount Sinai. Even from a Messianic perspective, Pesach (Yeshua�s sacrifice) and Chag

HaMatzot (our deliverance from a life of bondage to sin, the leaven of man-made religion)

are a celebration of the deliverance from bondage to sin and death and the freedom to enter

into the renewed covenant with YHWH. Pesach and Chag HaMatzot are always a celebration

of the Torah. Therefore only those who are willing to leave the old leaven of their lives

behind them, apply the blood of the Pesach to their lives, circumcise their hearts, and

willingly enter into covenant with YHWH ELOHIM should participate in this event.



Exodus 12:43 And YHWH said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance

of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof: 44But every man's

servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall

he eat thereof. 45A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.



Exodus 12:47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.



Exodus 12:48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the

passover to YHWH, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come

near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no

uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. 49One law shall be to him that is

homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.



Numbers 9:10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you

or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a

journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto YHWH. 11The fourteenth

day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with

unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12They shall leave none of it unto the

morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the

passover they shall keep it. 13But the man that is clean, and is not in a

journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut

off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of YHWH in

His appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. 14And if a stranger shall

sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto YHWH; according to the

ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he



do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was

born in the land.



We must understand that Pesach and Chag HaMatzot are not the same as Thanksgiving

dinner or some other family get-together. Pesach and Chag HaMatzot are YHWH�s

appointed rehearsals. It is a time for believers to gather together and celebrate and relive

the wonderful and awesome things that YHWH did for us. It is a time for us to remember

the great price that was paid for us so that we could once again reenter the covenant

relationship with YHWH ELOHIM. It is also a time for us to rehearse for YHWH�s future

fulfillment of the greater exodus. Pesach and Chag HaMatzot are a time of waiting and

watching for YHWH�s signal that it is time to leave Egypt, Babylon, America, Canada,

Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Russia, Africa, etc. and begin our journey

home. This holy remembrance is a time for parents to solemnly explain to their children

why we live like we live, why we walk like we walk, why we dress like we dress, and why we

eat like we eat. It is a time to explain not only our awesome deliverance, but also our

awesome calling and responsibility as the chosen people of YHWH ELOHIM.



Exodus 12:14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a

feast to YHWH throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance

for ever.



Exodus 13:8 And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done

because of that which YHWH did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.



Exodus 13:9 And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a

memorial between thine eyes, that YHWH�s law may be in thy mouth: for with

a strong hand hath YHWH brought thee out of Egypt.



Exodus 13:14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come,

saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand YHWH

brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage.



While the children of Israel departed from Egypt on the fifteenth day of the first month, we

remember this departure by departing from the slavery to the materialism of the world we

are often in bondage to. Thus the first day of Chag HaMatzot is a day of rest. On this day

we celebrate our freedom from labor and spend time worshipping, praying, and reliving the

mighty deliverance that is at the heart of our identity as a people.



Exodus 12:16 And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in

the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of

work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only

may be done of you.



Exodus 12:27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of YHWH�s passover, who

passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the

Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and

worshipped.



Numbers 28:16 And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover

of YHWH. 17And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days

shall unleavened bread be eaten. 18In the first day shall be an holy

convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work therein.



After seven days of eating matzot/unleavened bread we conclude this celebration with yet another day of

rest on the twenty-first day of the first month.



Leviticus 23:5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is YHWH�s passover. 6And on

the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto YHWH: seven

days ye must eat unleavened bread. 7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye

shall do no servile work therein. 8But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto YHWH

seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.



I believe that this final day of rest is to serve as parentheses around the seven day period of the week of

unleavened bread. Here we may take note that seven is the number of spiritual perfection; thus this final

mikra is to remind us that we are to live perfect before YHWH. We are to be holy as He is holy and perfect

as He is perfect. It is during this last special day of the celebration that we should truly understand that

the leaven that matters is not that of yeast, but that of sin and mixture of YHWH�s Word and man�s word.

It is during this last celebration that we should be resolved to truly keep the Torah to the best of our ability

without leavening it with pagan practices or man�s reason.



Shalom and enjoy the freedom that Pesach brings!



Look for Glenn�s weekly Torah Commentary articles on our website at

http://www.aroodawakening.tv/torah-study/torah_commentary.php







1 Mo�adim is the Hebrew word for �appointed times,� and is often erroneously translated into English as

�feasts.�

2 Mikra is the Hebrew word for �rehearsal,� and is often translated as �convocation.�

3 Exodus 8:22-23; 9:4-6, 26; 10:23

4 Exodus 12:1ff

5 Leviticus 23:1ff

6 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23

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a note about Pasach and Chag HaMatzot by Glenn McWilliams i love this guy!!!!!!!!
Posted : 1 Apr, 2010 09:38 AM

Hey Icebro ~ Thanxs for sharein bout the Pasach...xo

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