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Little Things You Can Do to "Pesadik" (Get Ready for Passover) Your Classroom or Home
Here are some ideas you can use to give your class or home that holiday feeling:
Passover Hopscotch
Enjoy this fun way for kids (of all ages) to learn about the order of the Passover seder!
Were the Jews Slaves in Egypt?
The Torah devotes more than four books to the proposition that the Israelites came to Canaan after having been subjugated in Egypt for generations, and yet there is no archaeological evidence to support that they were ever in Egypt.
Torah Is Not History
There is no reliable evidence that the Exodus ever occurred-and it almost certainly did not happen the way the Bible recounts it.
Passover: The Mystery of the Fifth Cup
No matter how many guests attend our Passover seders, there is always room for one more: the prophet Elijah, for whom we fill an additional cup of wine. But what does Elijah have to do with Passover? Why do we open the door for him? And what has made him one of the most ubiquitous figures in Jewish folklore.
The Origins of Matzah, Passover’s 4,450-Year-Old Food
More often than not, the history of the Jews is one of upheaval rather than stability. It is the story of migration, change, renewal - and more change. And yet, through it all, one phenomenon has endured and held its own for millennia: a very humble food product fashioned from wheat, water, and salt which we know as matzah.
A Long Way from Yokosuka
In l964, I was a Navy medical officer assigned to a ship off the coast of South Vietnam. My best friend on board was a Navy officer from south Georgia. Originally home-ported in Newport, Rhode Island, the ship was filled with New Englanders. Tom and I were the only two officers from small southern towns.
The Night Elijah Came to Temple
Despite the shoots and blossoms promised by the parsley on our seder plate, Pesach in St. Paul can feel more like the end of winter than the beginning of spring. Inside the social hall of Minnesota's Mt. Zion Temple, 150 congregants found warmth at our community seder. Dinner had just been served when a staff member whispered, "There's someone at the door."
Fun Activities for the Four Questions: Why? Oh, Why?
You call this a feast? No bread, only bitter veggies, dipping foods, sitting on pillows... The 4Qs have a job: ensure everyone is paying attention to the strange meal.
Tu BiShvat: Customs and Rituals
The Jewish mystics of the 17th century, the Kabbalists, created a special ritual—modeled after the Passover seder—to celebrate God's presence in nature. Today in modern Israel, Tu BiShvat has become a national holiday, a tree planting festivaTu BiShvat is not mentioned in the Torah. Scholars believe the holiday was originally an agricultural festival, corresponding to the beginning of spring in Israel. But a critical historical event helped Tu BiShvat evolve from a simple celebration of spring to a commemoration of our connection to the land of Israel. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. and the exile that followed, many of the exiled Jews felt a need to bind themselves symbolically to their former homeland. Tu BiShvat served in part to fill that spiritual need. Jews used this time each year to eat a variety of fruits and nuts that could be obtained from Israel. The practice, a sort of physical association with the land, continued for many centuries.l for both Israelis and Jews throughout the world