Following a tradition instituted by the Baal Shem Tov, Jews all over the world celebrate the waning hours of Passover with Moshiach’s Meal (Moshiach’s Seudah in Yiddish), a feast celebrating the Divine revelation yet to come.
It is customary to drink four cups of wine and matzah at Moshiach’s Meal, mirroring the Seder held the week before. Chassidic melodies are sung and people share thoughts & stories related to Moshiach.
Meal of Moshiach 2023
Final Day of Passover
Thursday, April 13 | 7:15pm
Chabad of Midtown Manhattan
No RSVP required
Why Do We Celebrate This Meal?
On the last day of Passover, we read verses from the book of Isaiah as the haftorah. This reading includes many wondrous prophecies about the era of Moshiach.
The prophecy foretells of a leader upon whom “the spirit of the L‑rd shall rest, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and heroism, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the L‑rd.”
In addition to bringing peace to mankind (“he will judge the poor justly, and he shall chastise with equity the humble of the earth”), the new peace and G‑dly understanding will extend to all of G‑d’s creatures: “And a wolf shall live with a lamb, and a leopard shall lie with a kid . . . and a small child shall lead them.”
The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the chassidic movement, was the first one to celebrate this meal, with an open door, allowing anyone who wished to partake.
The sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe explained that on the last day of Passover the radiance of Moshiach is already shining.