by: Kuya Kiko
Have you ever wondered what was served during the Last Supper? Recently, some archeologist decided to make a research regarding the menu that was served that night. And it seems that, Jesus and the apostles were not sitting at a table, nor did they use wooden tableware.
Recently, an archeologist of the Petri Center in Italy, by the name of Generoso Urciuoli and an Egyptologist at the Egyptian Museum in Turin, made an investigation into Palestinian cuisine in Jesus’ time and Marta Berognoclaims that, in addition to unleavened bread and wine, the Last Supper also included beans stew, lamb meat, olives, bitter herbs, fish sauce and tamaras – what we commonly call as, dates. Their research was published in May 2017 in a book entitle Gerusalemme: L’Última Cena (Jerusalem, the Last Supper).
Nakakolekta ang mga researchers ng sapat na archeological artifacts or materials para malaman ang impormasyon tungkol sa eating habits ng mga Hudyo sa Jerusalem during the 1st century. Halimbawa:
• The research has confirmed that the Last Supper was not served on a rectangular table (as shown in most religious arts). But rather, Jesus and his apostles sat on cushions on the floor, following the Roman custom.
• Urciuoli said. “At that time, in Palestine, the food was placed on low tables and the guests ate sitting on cushions on the floor and resting carpets.”
• And, instead of lining up on one side of a table, Jesus and the apostles were most likely seated following the precise rules of etiquette at the time, in which the most important guests sat to the right or left of the main guest.
• According to Urciuoli. “The Gospel of John indicates Judas was very close to Jesus, probably sitting to his left. In fact, we are told that Judas dipped his bread in Jesus’ plate, following the practice of sharing food from a common dish.”
So, pano nila nalaman ito? According to the Archeologists, and I quote,
“In order to discover the menu served at the Last Supper, they used biblical passages including the Feast of Tabernacles, the wedding at Cana (where Jesus turned water into wine), and Herod’s banquet (when John the Baptist’s head was requested). “The passage of the Wedding of Cana allowed us to understand Jewish dietary laws (that is, the kashrut), which establishes what foods can and cannot be eaten and how they should be prepared. On the other hand, the feast of Herod allowed us to analyze Roman culinary influences in Jerusalem.”
The studies reveal that beyond unleavened bread and wine, the Last Supper probably included the following:
• tzir, a variant of garum, a typical Roman fish sauce;
• lamb meat;
• cholent, a slow-cooked baked beans stew;
• olives with hyssop,
• a mint-flavored herb; bitter herbs with pistachios; date charoset; and, most likely, walnut paste.
According to Wikipedia, Charoset, haroset, or charoses (Hebrew: חֲרֽוֹסֶת [ḥărōset]) is a sweet, dark-colored paste made of fruits and nuts eaten at the Passover Seder. Its color and texture are meant to recall mortar (or mud used to make adobe bricks) which the Israelites used when they were enslaved in Ancient Egypt as mentioned in Tractate Pesahim (page 116a) of the Talmud. The word “charoset” comes from the Hebrew word cheres — חרס — “clay.”
“Bitter herbs and charoset are typical Passover dishes, as is the cholent, mostly eaten during the holidays. Hyssop, on the other hand, was consumed daily,” says the researcher.
So, there! I hope that I’ve shared something informative to confirm and strengthen your faith. My point, Jesus walked this earth, He is not an invention of the human mind or a myth or a made-up story by the Apostles and the first Christians. Also, it was during the last supper that Jesus made his disciples to Apostles. Meaning, they have graduated to the next level as followers of Christ. It was during the last supper that He established the Holy Eucharist. The highest form of prayer and worship, and commanded us to receive His body and blood until he comes again in glory.
Totus Tuus! Maria!
