Passover and Orthodox Easter Greetings!

The Golden Haggadah, c. 1320

Greetings for Passover and Eastern Orthodox Easter (May 1, 2016).  

Please click on the title"The Golden Haggadah" below the image in order to learn more about Passover and this beautiful Gothic illuminated manuscript.

As for the perennial question: Was the Last Supper a seder?  Most scholars agree that indeed it was a meal taken during the week of Passover, described in the Gospel of  Mark (14:12): "the first day of the unleavened bread."

Leonardo da Vinci, Last Supper, c. 1495-8

However, it was probably not a seder (the order), as we know it today, set down in the Haggadah developed during the Middles Ages.  (The oldest fragments of a Haggadah date to 200 CE/AD and many medieval haggadot survive from the 13th through 15th centuries.)

Leonardo animates Jesus' question "Who among you will betray me?"  And the disciples answer through their gestures:  "Are you talking about me?"  "Or him?" The lively gestures remind us of our modern seders, which invariably entertain questions about procedures, customs, tradition and new additions.    

A Ziessen Pesach - Happy Passover.
And best wishes for Orthodox Easter,

Beth New York and the New York Arts Exchange

Sources:

http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/was-jesus-last-supper-a-seder/  

http://www.angelfire.com/pa2/passover/passover-seder-meal.html
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/The-last-supper-a-Passover-seder-348420
http://www.bibleinterp.com/opeds/2013/coo378022.shtml

"Brush," "Scent" and "Fire" at the Museum of Art and Design

Sandy Skoglund, Breathing Glass, 2000 at Museum of Art and Design

The Museum of Art and Design is "on fire" with its current exhibitions on contemporary glass design, Daniel Brush's golden objects, the art of fragrance, and Islamic treasures from Doris Duke's magnificent mansion Shangri-La. An elegant architectural space in its own right, MAD is becoming the hot spot in NYC for those in the know (especially their restaurant Robert's on the top floor with its fabulous view of Central Park).

Playing with Fire: 50 Years of Contemporary Glass, through April 7

Daniel Brush: Blue Steel Gold Light, through February 24

The Art of Scent: 1889-2012, through March 3

Doris Duke's Shangri-La: Architecture, Landscape and Islamic Art, through February 17

The Museum of Art and Design, 2 Columbus Circle (at the convergence of 59th Street, Eight Ave, and Broadway).

Please join the New York Arts Exchange for a conversational tour on Tuesday, February 5 at 1 pm.

We will meet in the lobby.  $60 a la carte.   Reservations: nyarts.exchange@verizon.net