PASSOVERLesson Objectives To Understand why Jews celebrate PassoverTo know what happens during the Passover festival

INTRODUCTION Think of meal that has been special to you and

think why? what was remembered? Some examples are:

Your Birthday Family Meal where everyone is together Wedding Religious Festival

oWrite down in your bookoA recent meal that was special to me was ___________ it was special because___________

KEYWORDSLeaven – leaven is what makes

bread rise, and become fluffyMatzot – is unleavened bread,

bread without any yeast inSeder – is the special Passover

mealHagadah - the book in which the

special order of the Seder meal is written

JEWISH FESTIVAL - PASSOVER Passover or Pesach as it is sometimes

called is a Jewish festival celebrated in Spring time.

The main part of the Passover celebration is the meal. This is called the Seder. The special order of the Seder meal is written down in the Hagadah, this tells the story of the Exodus.

The celebration is called ‘pass over’ because it reminds the Jews of the last of the ten plagues, when the angel of death passed over the Jews and killed the Egyptians first bornTask – Write out the worksheet in your

books filling in the gaps you have 10mins

SEDER MEALWe are going to re-enact the Seder meal in class. This means you have to be sensible, as we are dealing with food and drink. All the food and drink is ok for anyone of any religion to eat.

SEDER MEAL

Each food on the seder plate issymbolic, it is used to remind the Jews of something.

FIRST - A drink is taken from the wine

The wine is drunk as reminder of the freedom of the Jews and of the four promised which God made to Moses.

The first drink reminds the Jews of the promise by God

“ I will bring you out from under the burden of the Jews”

DIPPING THE PARSLEY The next step in the Seder meal is to dip the

parsley in the salt water. The Parsley is a symbol of the way God

cared for the Jews when they were travelling in the desert.

Dipping it in salt water is meant to remind the Jews of the tears they shed whilst they were slaves

THE MATZAH Breaking of the Middle

Matzah— The leader breaks the middle of the three cakes of unleavened bread and hides half of it. This hidden half is called the afikomen. It is a Greek word, meaning “dessert,” or “after-dinner entertainment.” This is hidden and after the meal the children of the family search for the afikomen.

THE STORY

The Story of Passover is retold, from the Hagadah.

THE SECOND CUP: Another sip is taken

from the wine this represents God’s promise of deliverance from the Egyptians.

“I will rescue you from their bondage” (Exodus 6:6).

MATZAH

Matzah is eaten, symbolic of the haste with which the children of Israel left Egypt

BITTER HERBS

They are eaten with matzah, symbolic of the bitterness of the forced labour of the Israelites

CHAROSETH This tasty mixture

of apples, nuts, and spices represents the mortar used to make the bricks to build Pharaoh’s buildings.

It is eaten with matzah.

THE EGG

The egg, is eaten in memory of the daily Temple sacrifice, which is no longer offered . It is also a symbol of new life and springtime.

BONE A shank bone is also on the seder plate. It

is not eaten but is usually taken from whatever meat is being eaten by the family in the main meal.

It is a reminder of the lamb which was killed so its blood could be put on the doorposts

THE THIRD CUP

A third sip of wine is taken this symbolises God’s promise of redemption to

“I will redeem you with an outstretched arm”

PRAISE GOD

Praises are read from the Psalms.

THE FOURTH CUP

A final sip is taken of wine this symbolises God’s promise of release to Moses

“I will take you as my

people”

CONCLUSION A large family meal is now

eaten. The children then also hunt

for Afikomen the broken piece of Matzot

The Seder Then Concludes as all sing in unison,

“NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!”

CLASS WORK Now each of you will receive a paper

plate. I want you to draw each item you would find on the Seder plate and write next to it what it symbolises.

Things to include Parsley Bitter Herbs Charoset Saltwater Matzot Wine Egg BoneFor each of them write:

This is______ it symbolises_______

Use page 27 in ‘Discovering

Religions – Judaism’ Textbook to help you