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First Century Grace After Meals Rediscovered

By Aaron Eby | Comments (9) | Posted on June 26, 2007

I was putting together the Grace After Meals for the Siddur project and a thought occurred to me: I might as well include the original Grace After Meals from the First Century Apostolic Messianic Jewish Community. Seems like a no-brainer to me!

What, you think I'm kidding? No, I'm dead serious. We have it.

It comes from an ancient document known as the Διδαχη (Didache) or the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles to the Nations, sort of a brief manual for believers. Scholars typically date this as a first century document, even earlier than some books included in the New Testament Canon. The Didache was mentioned by early Church Fathers, but no extant versions were known until it was rediscovered in the late 1800s. Other manuscripts have surfaced since then.

Scholarship on the Didache is greatly hindered, in my opinion, by blindness to the possibility that the early apostolic community was thoroughly Jewish in nature. Thus, translations and interpretations of this document are skewed by the assumption that it is fundamentally a Catholic document.

The part that I am concerned with is a section (chs. 9, 10) that is generally understood as liturgy for the observance of the Eucharist. I am absolutely convinced that it is not intended for a celebration of the "Holy Communion" but simply lists blessings to be recited before and after eating.

Here is why it is understood to refer to the Eucharist:

The opening line is translated "Now concerning the Eucharist..."
It contains blessings for bread and wine

Here are some points that make it absolutely clear to me that we are not talking about the Eucharistic sacrament but a simple everyday meal:

1. The word "Eucharist" simply means "giving of thanks." It is the cognate of the Hebrew word תודה (todah). Even in modern Greek, the way to say "thank you" is ευχαριστω (pronounced today as efharisto). There is no good reason to translate the word as the technical term "Eucharist," when it could easily be read: "Now concerning the giving of thanks..."

2. Bread and wine are common components of every meal in ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern culture. There is nothing notable whatsoever about those two elements being singled out. For example, look at the three meals that are eaten on every Sabbath, which are also not the Eucharist.

3. The prayers contain absolutely NO MENTION of: the death of Yeshua, the resurrection, atonement, forgiveness, sin, the final Passover meal, Yeshua's blood, Yeshua's body, the New Covenant, or the phrase "in remembrance of Me." Indeed, there is nothing whatsoever mentioned in the prayer that would specifically connect it with the ceremony Yeshua performed at the "Last Supper."

4. It is based on the Grace after meals. Scholars agree that this text bears unmistakable similarity to the Jewish ברכת המזון (Birkat Hamazon). Even those who identify it as a Eucharistic ceremony understand it to have been based on the traditional Grace After Meals. I suggest we begin with the assumption that it served the same purpose.

5. There was originally no such thing as the Eucharist. Some of you might differ on this, but I firmly believe that the ceremony that Yeshua performed with the cup and the bread was originally intended to be observed as a part of the Passover Seder meal once a year, and the original Apostolic community would have understood it as such. I believe that every place in the writings of the Apostles that are interpreted as references to a regular "Holy Communion" ritual can be explained as either a Passover Seder or a a non-ritualistic meal. If I am correct, that means that there was no such thing as a Eucharist in the first decades of the Messianic Jewish community, but it developed at some later time.

This prayer's misidentification as a Eucharist ritual has caused it to remain hidden, but I think it is time to put it back into use! I have already translated these blessings into Hebrew from the Greek. When it is published I will present the Hebrew and English together with suggestions as to how to employ it either alongside or as an alternative to the traditional prayer. We will also develop and record an appropriate melody so that everyone can sing it together.

About the Author: Aaron Eby writes for messiah magazine and other FFOZ publications. He is also the author of the forthcoming siddur project, as well as the forthcoming Hebrew lesson DVD.

Visitor Comments

Shalom Aaron,

When I first read the Didache Eucharist text, I was immediately convinced of its authenticity because of its deeply Jewish expression. My family and I began using it in conjunction we Kiddush, Hamotzi and Grace After Meals on erev Shabbats. I even printed off photo-copies for other families to use, including Frank W. who, at the time, was about to be married. This would have been seven or eight years ago I think. For no good reason at all, we long since quit using it, but a year and a half ago Frank W. and I were visiting someone in a hospital on erev-Shabbat, and Frank had brought these little miniature loaves of challah, a small bottle of wine and his 8 year old, tattered and worn version of the erev-shabbat table blessings with the Didache sections. It was great to hear them again, and I am more eager than ever for the final siddur to be in hand.

Posted by: D. T. Lancaster | June 26, 2007 11:07 PM

-phenominal-

what a remarkable discovery!
thank you for sharing this.

Posted by: webbmd | June 27, 2007 2:58 PM

aaron

this was a great post. i have many questions as a gentile. but let me ask this, i have always felt that the eucharist was a misunderstanding of Yeshua's teachings. however, one thing that has always bothered me then is paul's first letter to corinth. he seems to make a stance that seems very "eucharistic" about the meal. how does paul's discussion of the Seder fit into the big picture?

i am eager to hear back from you

shalom
peter

Peter,

The Passover Seder was infused by the Messiah with a special significance that we should recognize. So as we eat the matzah and maror and drink the four cups we can and should build some ceremony around it and in so doing remember the Master. I think that is originally how it would have worked, and this is what Paul is referring to.

The Eucharist as we know it now is a daily, weekly, or monthly sacrament entirely separate from Passover. I don't think it existed in this form until a later time.

Peace
Aaron

Posted by: peter | June 27, 2007 8:05 PM

Great post Aaron!

By the way, the increase in posts (not just yours) as of late is turning me into an FFOZ blog addict. Keep the posts coming!

Posted by: Justin Johnson | June 27, 2007 10:04 PM

Ditto Mr. Johnson,

These blogs are great!!!! :-)

Posted by: Cocoa | June 28, 2007 3:44 PM

Shalom Aaron. What you write here is interesting to me. I don't know much of the Didache. I have read through it once or twice I think. I have heard someone say that it had some anti-Jewish stuff in it (referring to the Jewish fasts as the 'fasts of the hypocrites') but I can't remember who said that. I will have to look more into it. Can you post the text of the prayer here?

Andrew

Andrew,

There are just a couple things in the Didache that sound anti-Jewish at face value, although there could be a number of factors at play. For one, the document as we have it almost certainly reflects some later redactions. Secondly, we might be reading passages that appear to be anti-Jewish incorrectly because we come to the text assuming it has an anti-Jewish posture and read that into the text.

It says "don't fast like the hypocrites," but it doesn't say or suggest that all Jews are hypocrites. In reality, it is not anti-Jewish sentiment there but anti-hypocrite. At that time, there were those who were ostentatious in their fasting, and it just seems to be saying to fast on other days when people wouldn't expect it.

I am not going to post the text here, but it is very easy to find the text of the Didache in English and Greek all over the net.

Peace
Aaron

Posted by: Andrew | July 3, 2007 5:21 PM

Aaron - I'm assuming the replacement theology sections of the Didache are later additions, such as the following:

Now every true prophet who wants to settle near you is worthy of his wage. In the same way, a true teacher is also worthy, just as the workman, of his wage. Therefore, every foremost part of the products of the press and threshing floor, both of oxen and of sheep, you will take and give to the prophets. For they are your high priests.

I find this a little hard to swallow...

Darren,

My goal is not to defend the Didache at all costs, but consider this: at the time the Didache was written, the entire Jewish community (including the Believers) was grappling with how to proceed following the destruction of the Temple. They were probably looking for ways to direct what they had been dedicating to the Temple to other divine purposes. From what I understand (and I don't have a reference for this off hand), the sages at Yavneh also instructed that what would formerly have been Temple gifts should be directed to Torah scholars. Even before the Temple was destroyed, the Pharisaic community saw themselves as the replacements of the Aaronic priesthood.

I think the line you highlighted can and should be interpreted metaphorically, although it was statements like this that probably gave rise to true replacement theology later.

Again, because of our expectations I think we are reading later Christian teaching into the text.

Peace
Aaron

Posted by: Darren Huckey | July 4, 2007 3:25 PM

Shabbat shalom!

I am entirely a neophyte when it comes to Greek but reading chapter 9 of the Didache (specifically "verse" 5) we find "but let no one eat or drink of your eucharist except they who have been immersed into the name of the Lord, for the Lord has also spoken concerning this... do not give what is holy to dogs."

How does this tie in with "grace after meals" versus the "Lord's Supper"? It seems to relate more to the latter.

Reply:

You bring up a good point, although it is possible to interpret this passage in the context of a regular meal blessing. In Judaism one topic of halacha concerns who is permitted to recite blessings on behalf another. Another significant issue in that era in Jewish history involved who was permitted to eat with whom.

It is not unthinkable that the food at a common meal could be considered "holy" by virtue of the blessings, as Paul wrote to Timothy: "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer." (1 Timothy 4:4-5)

Peace
Aaron

Posted by: Brady | August 4, 2007 12:40 PM

Shalom,
I, too, have done research on the Didache. We used the B'rachot in the Didache this last Pesach. If you're interested, I've done a rudimentary translation of these B'rachot into Hebrew, though I'm sure it will need a good working-over.

Shalom uvrachoth,
David

Reply:
David,

Thanks for your offer. I have already produced a Hebrew translation that I am fairly happy with, and it is currently being reviewed by the experts.

Peace
Aaron

Posted by: David | August 28, 2007 9:30 AM

Three new 5" x 7" pocket guides: Guidelines for keeping Shabbat, Prayers for opening Shabbat and for closing Shabbat at havdalah.

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