This past Sunday, March 15, 2015, the fifth graders started to prepare for Holy Week. We focused mainly on the Jewish tradition of Passover. Like Rock Climbing, Hiking, Campfires, Soccer, Swimming, Theater — you meet each adventure with determination, imagination, creativity, friendship, and fun. We greet Passover the same way. Homes are cleared of bread, cookies and their crumbs, families gather for a huge feast with strange customs and bitter foods. Our eyes will water. Our lips might pucker. It is an adventure with hundreds of thousands of Jews all over the world, to retell the Jewish journey from the bitterness of slavery in Egypt to the sweetness of freedom. While we may tell (haggadah) the same story in the same order (Seder), no family will tell it the same way.
Like many Jewish adventures, this one begins with… food. We talked about the Seder meal and its accompanying stack of 3 matzot, salt water, and wine. This is no ordinary menu. During Passover the Seder plate is our STORYTELLER of sorts. The fifth graders learned about the different foods offered and the significance behind each item. We learned about the four questions and the ten plagues. Moses tries to free the Hebrews from slavery. He appeals to Pharaoh to “Let my people GO!” But the Pharaoh’s “heart hardens” and he says “NO!” With each “NO,” a plague befalls the Egyptian people. We understand that their freedom came at a cost, so we take from the “cup of joy” to symbolically shed tears for the pain endured by the Egyptians.
We ended our evening playing a few games: Chopped: The Passover Episode and Capture the Flag: Afikomen.
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