Good Friday and Passover

Today is Good Friday, when we mark Jesus’ death and burial.

And tonight is the start of Passover, the oldest of the Jewish holidays. It celebrates the story of how God set the Jewish people free from slavery in Egypt. Passover begins on the fourteenth day of the Jewish month of Nisan, which is the night of the first full moon after the equinox.

Agenda today:
1. Darkness to Hope Meditation

2. Reflect on freedom

3.  Passover blessing

4. Bake hot cross buns

1. Darkness to Hope Meditation:

This morning I reflect on desperation and despair. I remember again that the soul's "dark night" is a part of the human condition. My capacity to experience despair is a gift; through it I am transformed. Jesus said, "You must be born again." (John 3:7). The ability to shift from despair to hope is how I get the strength to live life whatever the daily deaths I might face.

Everyone has periods and circumstances of despair. I remember quite clearly when I was laying in the emergency room on a table, with broken ribs and shoulder, and everyone left, probably to help someone else. I had been strong until then, but during that 45 minutes when I was alone I succumbed to self-pity, pain, and loneliness pretty quickly.

Meditate on that feeling: Remember, for a few minutes, what it's like to be in misery - feeling alone, feeling no connection to Spirit. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Hold that feeling and take several slow breaths.

Then shift, and remember that you have experienced great joy, and remember that you will again; discover again a connection to the Divine. Relax into a feeling of light and hope. Feel a glow slowly fill you, as dawn fills the sky, and then extend light to family, to friends, to neighbors, to strangers, and to all others who are in darkness now. 

2. Reflect on freedom: 
The highlight of Passover is the Seder, a ceremonial meal that begins at sunset on the first night. The Seder focuses on the traditional symbolic foods that are used to help remember the Passover story. The whole family gets involved, each taking turns reading out of the haggadah (Hebrew for “narration”). The youngest person chants the Four Questions which ask why Passover is observed the way it is. After the initial ceremony the family shares a feast, then one final part of the Seder, and finally singing and poetry.

I don't hold a Passover Seder because I couldn't do it justice. Instead, I honor the start of Passover with some thought and study on the themes. Passover is about freedom from slavery, oppression, and confinement. I really like the FOUR QUESTIONS OF MODERN-DAY SLAVERY posed by ReformJusaism.org:

• “Why on this night are some people still enslaved today?”
• “Why on this night do so many remain hungry in the world?”
• “Why on this night do we invite the hungry and lonely to share our meal?”
• “How can we eradicate hunger and homelessness tonight and every night?”

3. Passover blessing: 

Barukh atah AdonAI, eloHAYnu melekh ha’olam, hazan et ha’olam kull O betuvo, bechen bechesed uvrachamin. 

Blessed art Thou, our God of the Universe, who nourishes the universe in goodness, with grace, kindness, and compassion. 

4. Bake hot cross buns:

The hot cross bun is probably the oldest of the many English buns. It was originally eaten only on Good Friday. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries street cries were commonly heard on Good Friday:

"Hot cross buns, hot cross buns,One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns!”

You are supposed to keep one bun all year to insure that all the bread you bake is perfect (and as a charm against shipwreck). 

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 c. milk
• 3-1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 4-1/2 c. bread flour (or all purpose) 
• 3 tsp. instant or rapid rise yeast (1-1/2 packets)
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. each nutmeg and allspice
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1-1/2 c. sultanas or dried cranberries
• zest from 1 - 2 oranges

Crosses, glaze, frosting:

• 
  1/2 cup white flour
• 5 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. apricot jam
• 2 tsp. water
• powdered sugar frosting (optional)

Yield: 1-dozen buns-

1- Warm the milk and melt the butter, then leave to cool. Place 4-1/4 c. of the flour, and the yeast, sugar, spices, and salt in a stand-mixer bowl. Briefly mix with a dough hook.

2- Add melted butter, warmed milk, egg, sultanas and zest. Mix until a smooth elastic dough forms - about 5 minutes on Speed 2 of standmixer. After 1 minute, add an extra 1/4 c. of flour if required, just enough so dough comes away from side of bowl when mixing and doesn't stick to your fingers. Do a window-pane test to see if the dough is kneaded enough - it should stretch without breaking.

3- Leave the dough in the bowl, cover with cling wrap and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

4- Line a 9 x 13" tray with baking paper that overhangs the edges. Remove cling wrap and punch the dough down.
Dust board with flour, dump out the dough, and shape into a log. Cut into 12 equal pieces.

5- Take one piece, press flattish, then use your fingers to gather into a ball, and roll the dough briefly to smooth. (This stretches the dough on one side giving a nice smooth surface. Place the ball with the smooth side up on the tray. Repeat with remaining dough, lining them up 3 x 4.

6- Spray a piece of cling wrap lightly with oil, then loosely place over the pan. Return to a warm place and let rise for 30 - 45 minutes (less than double in size).

7- Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour and water for the crosses into a thick, but runny paste forms (not too thick or it will bake hard). Spoon into a piping bag or small ziplock bag, then snip corner. 

8- Remove the cling wrap and slowly pipe crosses onto the buns. Bake for 22 minutes, or until the surface is a deep golden brown. 

9- Place jam and water in a small saucepan over low, to melt for the glaze. Remove buns from oven. Use overhang to lift buns onto a cooling rack. Brush with jam mixture while warm, and frost if desired.