Passover Tidbit No. 7

 The Two Dipping’s 

There are as many Pesach traditions as there are people who celebrate because the Seder is celebrated in the home with family and friends, not at “church” or Temple.

But one of the more universal traditions is called the Magid מגי  As with many Hebrew words, Magid has several related meanings.  The simplest is that Magid here means the telling of the Pesach account. A Magid is also a word for a talented itinerant preacher who excels at involving the listener in the account of the Torah and is a useful part of the feast.  He would be a spirited storyteller who can weave the Truth of Elohiym, and His Word, into a compelling and enjoyable event for all, and sets the stage for the events of the evening and food that follow.

Typically, the youngest child asks four questions which the Magid answers.  The third question goes something like this, "Why on other nights do we not dip even once but this night we dip twice?"  There are many correct answers to this question, the dipping of the herbs in the salt water symbolizing the bitterness of slavery and the dipping in the Charoset (honey and apples) symbolize the sweetness of freedom.  Other accounts have the Charoset reminding the people of the bricks of the Pharaoh's buildings and the tears of slavery are the salt water.  You get the idea.  

But sometimes as Gentiles we can be confused by this question.  The Pesach Seder only has one dipping right?  The Hyssop branch is dipped in the blood of the lamb to mark the doorpost and lintel, yes?  One of the most important traditions of the Seder is this recounting of the events that lead to the painting of the doorposts and lintel.  

Because the Eastern mind understands everything that happened to any ancestor as having happened to them also, this recounting is different with every family.  The idea is the Magid or the one telling the story, was in the loins of their father when the recounted events happened, thus it happened to them.  And their father was in the loins of his father, and so on, so everything good or bad considered at the Seder actually happened to all who attend as well. 

In this case Yo-safe' is a major part of the story.  It is his life that explains how the Hebrews even came to be in Egypt in the first place.  And in that account lies the first dipping of Pesach.  It was Yo-saf's brothers who took his outer garment and dipped it in animals' blood to show Ya’akov’ his father, that his son had been killed by wild animals.   

It is this event that led to Yo-saf' to Egypt, then in prison, then meeting the Pharaoh, and finally becoming the savior of the entire family of Yisrah’el.  So foundational this account is to the Seder, that it is included in virtually every Pesach celebration.

As with all of the traditions of the Feasts, these related accounts, are all based on actual events.  In this case the two dipping’s are reminders of the night the Death Angel passed over their home in Egypt, and the reason they found themselves in that home in the first place.   Basically, because that was YHWH's desire for them to grow and prosper in safety, then to be made captive and then set free to learn is name is YHVH the almighty, not just El Shaddai the provider.

Being covered by the blood and being obedient to His words was then and is now, the key to arriving in the Promised Land, it is the blood that makes the temple clean and accessible to all who wish to come to YHVH and His Words that draw us near.  The clear picture of the sacrifice 1500 years later made by the man Y'shua, our sacrificial lamb to provide for our passage to the Promised Land.  

The first dipping is no less important to the account and to our salvation, the coat of Yo-safe’ dipped in blood.  The Magid will recount how YHVH allowed Yo-saf's brothers to mistreat him and sell him into slavery.  But YHVH was going to use the hard hearts of the brothers to put in to motion their own salvation.  By having Yo-saf' travel to Egypt to later become the number two in the land, YHVH was providing a secure path for His children's survival, and proof He is who He claims to be, and will do all He has promised to do. 

Pesach, like all of YHVH’s Feasts, is a wonderful time for all who follow after the Elohiym of Avraham,' Yet-zok’, and Ya’akov' and should not be missed by any beleiver.  

CB