Let Us Break Bread Together: A Passover Haggadah For Christians (Many Mansions)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 39 pages
• Published by: Paraclete Press MA February 2005
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1557254443
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1557254443
• Book Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.3 inches
• Weighs: 5 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
This brief primer is directed toward the thousands of North American Christians who will sit down to a seder meal this year-some on Passover, some on Maundy Thursday-"to explore and honor the Jewishness of Jesus and the Jewish roots of Christianity." It is the result of a unique collaboration between Smith, a Baptist minister in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Shapiro, a rabbi in the same community. Following some introductory tips on how to set the table and a short discussion of the role of Passover in Jesus' life as recorded in the New Testament, the authors offer a script for a sample seder, encouraging participants to adapt it to their own needs. Some of the script's questions are informational ("What is the meaning of the roasted shank bone? Why do we use three pieces of matzah?") while others are more provocative and spiritual ("Can one who is a Christian be enslaved? How do we pursue peace?"). The book concludes with a helpful reading list of suggested books. Christians who are curious about Passover and would like to host or participate in a seder will not find a better guide that is written just for them.
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Product Review
"If Christian churches choose to observe Passover, this is the resource they should use." -- Jan Turrentine, Baptist Center for Ethics

"Smith and Shapiro have given us a model of interfaith cooperation, based on their evident respect for one another." -- Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University; executive editor of Christianity Today

Reader Reviews
This is a beautifully and sensitively written Haggadah based on the Jewish customs of the Passover Seder. The fact that it was written jointly by a rabbi and a minister adds considerably to its breadth. For a Christian community whose members are already familiar with the basic structure and rituals of the Passover Seder, this Haggadah will add new layers of understanding as these same Jewish structures, rituals and symbolism are re-interpreted in light of Christian teachings. It is not intended for a mixed faith group of Jews and Christians together. It is directed at Christian groups who wish to better experience and understand this part of Jesus's life story and its underlying Jewish basis.