Each year, Passover brings a timely, imperative, and hopeful message to the world.

Seder plate and cup courtesy of Washington, D.C., JewishCommunity Center Gift Shop; Photo: Elizabeth A. Williams, The Scottish Rite Journal

Passover is an ancient festival, perhaps 3,500 years old, yet the passage of millenniums has not dimmed its vitality. Its message of freedom, of man's irrepressible yearning for liberty, and of the tyrant's inability to crush that desire is timely because it expresses the same principles so strongly and beautifully set forth in the Declaration of Inde-pendence and the Constitution of the United States of America. These ideals are challenged across the globe today. What was once cherished as the cornerstone of good society-namely, freedom of the individual to speak out, to worship, to assemble, to publish his own views, to have dominion over his own property-are under attack.

The ancient Israelites had no illusion about the consequences of their choice to resist tyranny by fleeing Egypt. There was no moral weakness evident in that epic decision which changed the course of history. The tragedy of human history is that the warning signs of the despot's ambitions have too often been casually dismissed. Eternal vigilance is still the price of liberty, abroad or at home.

Many Jews consider Passover the most significant and beautiful of all our religious holidays. They cherish it with special warmth. The Passover Seder, for instance, is a formal dinner with many rituals that bring together families and friends who eat, drink, and sing the old, yet always new, story of the Hebrew exodus from Egyptian slavery.

Each Seder guest has a copy of the Haggadah, which means "to tell" since that is the purpose of the Passover Seder, to tell the dramatic and exciting events that Passover recalls. When we join in reading the Haggadah, we fulfill the Mitzvah, the duty that the Torah commanded long ago: "You shall tell the Passover story to your children in the days to come."

Seder means "order." There is a set order for all the things we do at the Passover Seder. There are also special foods, each of which reminds us of some part of the Passover story.

At the head of the table, is a Passover Seder plate on which the following foods are placed.

Z'roa, a roasted bone. This can be either a shankbone of an animal, especially a lamb, or even, if necessary, the neck of a chicken. The Z'roa reminds us of the special lamb which was offered on Passover in the ancient temple in Jerusalem.

Baytza, a roasted or hard-boiled egg. In ancient days, on each of the three pilgrimage festivals (Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot), a sacrifice was offered in the Temple in honor of the holiday. The cooked egg reminds us of those special offerings.

Moror, bitter herbs and horse- radish. These are commonly used as reminders of the bitter hard-ships of slavery in Egypt and the exodus from Egypt.

Charoses, a mixture of chopped apples, nuts, and cinnamon, colored with red wine. This represents the mortar used by the Israelites in building Pharaoh's pyramids.

Carpas, some green vegetables, usually parsley or celery. The carpas is a reminder of springtime, the season of Passover, when nature blooms again and awakens our hope.

Another name for Passover is Hag-Matzot, the holiday of the unleavened bread. In their haste to leave Egypt, the Jewish people carried with them un-leavened bread (matzah) as their only provisions. They placed the dough atop their heads where it was baked by the rays of the sun as the Israelites journeyed to freedom.

Throughout the Passover Seder, in remembrance of God's redemption, Jews fill their cups of wine four times, giving blessings to God. A fifth cup of wine is placed on the table but not drunk. It is Elijah's cup and represents our wait for Elijah, herald of the Messiah. The cup demonstrates both Jewish and Gentile trust that the Messiah will come as well as their determination to work for the new age of God.

Man's choice will be determined by his reaction to the challenge and the promise of Passover's message of freedom, for freedom is life and enslavement of any sort is death-intellectually, spiritually, and physically. As Americans, our tradition points in one direction, which is inscribed on Philadelphia's Liberty Bell in words taken from Leviticus 25:10: "Proclaim liberty throughout the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof." America's mission is to persuade the peoples of the world to establish liberty. That way lies peace, achievement, and true humanity.

God grant that we accept the challenge and fulfill the promise of Passover.

Sidney S. Guthman Valley of Long Beach, California, is Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Sholom, Leisure World, California, Chaplain of Al Malaikah Shrine Temple, a former Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of California, and Chaplain of the Long Beach Police Department. Contact: 6224 Riviera Circle, Long Beach, California 90815-4779