The Seudat Chiyat HaMatim, a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

term, is a '' Seudah'' (feast) for the righteous following the ''Chiyat Hamatim'', the bodily

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

of the dead, which is referred to in a passage of the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

in the section on

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

which alludes to a relationship between the

Passover Seder The Passover Seder is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar (i.e., at the start of the 15th; a Hebrew d ...

and this other feast of life and freedom. Rabbi Avira interpreted the biblical passage :And the child was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

was weaned (

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

21:8) as alluding to this feast. According to Rav Avira, at the

Birkat HaMazon Birkat Hamazon ( "The Blessing of the Food"), known in English as the Grace After Meals ( "to bless", Yinglish: Bentsching), is a set of Hebrew language, Hebrew blessings that Halakha, Jewish law prescribes following a meal that includes at le ...

( Grace after Meals) following this feast, the Cup of Blessing will be passed from

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

, each of whom will cite some sin or imperfection and claim unworthiness to lead the blessing. The cup will then pass to

King David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

, who will take it and lead the Birkat HaMazon. The Rabbis cite the verse "I shall raise the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord" (

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

16:13) as support. This section of the Talmud does not report what King David will say. Belief in bodily resurrection is a tenet of

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...

. According to

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

, three mythical beasts mentioned in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Ziz The Ziz (Hebrew: ) is a giant griffin-like bird in Jewish mythology, said to be large enough to be able to block out the sun with its wingspan. Description It is considered a giant animal/monster corresponding to archetypal creatures. Rabbis h ...

, the animal

Behemoth Behemoth (; , ''bəhēmōṯ'') is a beast from the biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at the beginning of creation. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful ...

, and the sea-creature

Leviathan Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...

will be served at the feast. Some

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

Jews have revived a millennium-old custom of adding a piece of fish to the

plate, with the lamb, egg and fish jointly symbolizing the three prophets (

, Aharon, and

Miriam Miriam (, lit. ‘rebellion’) is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Torah refers to her as "Miria ...

) referred to in Micah 6:4, as well as the three mythical beasts associated with the Seudat Chiyat HaMatim, which the

, and the Cup of Elijah allude to. The added fish represents Leviathan as well as Miriam and is also a water symbol. An egg and shankbone (for Moses/Ziz/air and Aharon/Behemoth/earth) are already on the standard Seder plate. The contemporary revival of this existing traditional custom, which honors a female figure in a highly traditional context, is favored by some Orthodox Jewish Feminists as preferable to developing new customs honoring

or other female leaders. A belief in a bodily resurrection of the dead, one of

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

Thirteen Principles of Faith The formulation of principles of faith, universally recognized across all branches of Judaism remains undefined. There is no central authority in Judaism in existence today although the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish religious court, would fulfill ...

, is a normative belief of

and a traditional belief of

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations ...

. However,

Aggadic Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporat ...

and

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

ic elements of the Talmud are often interpreted as representing allegorical symbolism within Orthodox Judaism (and generally so in more liberal branches).

References

*''The

Schottenstein Edition The ''Schottenstein Edition of the Babylonian Talmud'' is a 20th-century, 73-volume edition of the Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli) featuring an elucidated translation and commentary, and published by ArtScroll, a division of Mesorah Publicati ...

of the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...

'', Tractate

Pesachim Pesachim (, lit. "Paschal lambs" or "Passovers"), also spelled Pesahim, is the third tractate of '' Seder Moed'' ("Order of Festivals") of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. The tractate discusses the topics related to the Jewish holiday of Passove ...

, Mesorah Publications Ltd., 119b (Pesachim 119b). *Yael Levine
YNet News, Where is Miriam on the Seder plate?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seudat Chiyat Hamatim Talmudic mythology Hebrew words and phrases Mythological food and drink Jewish eschatology

See also

References