Rachel Judaica Lesson 3/31
Dear Daled-ites,
Today we are going to take a break from Leviticus and jump back to the book of Exodus. Can you guess why? That’s right, we are getting ready for Passover. And today, you are going to create your own Passover Jeopardy game to challenge your family and friends!
I’ve given you a packet of Passover facts to work from (scroll down to the bottom of the page), but don’t be intimidated, you don’t have to read it straight through. Your goal is to create five questions in each of five categories, gradually increasing the difficulty of the questions with each point value. You can use the blank clue template and blank answer template to create your game (you can type into the template, or print it out and write on it, whichever works for you).
Sample clues and answers:
Clue – The book we read at the Seder
Answer – What is the Hagaddah?
Clue – The Hebrew word for the food Jews try not to eat on Passover
Answer – What is Chametz?
I’ve typed in five Categories for you on the templates: The Hagaddah. The Seder Plate, The plagues, Passover foods, Passover songs (but you can change them if you like).
And please feel free to work with a friend (through facetime or over the phone), or with a sibling or parent to create your game and questions.
(Optional) To create your own game board: you can use folded pieces of paper, spread out on the floor, with the point value on the front of the paper, the clue in the middle, and the answer (in the form of a question) on the back; or you can put your clues and answer papers inside of an envelope, with the point value and category on the front of the envelope and spread them out on the floor, or even tack your envelopes to a piece of poster board.
To play the game: one player picks a category and a point value. The game leader reads that clue, and the player must give the answer in the form of a question. An incorrect response means that those points are deducted from the player’s point total, and the next player has a chance to answer it. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins!
Send me a few of clue and answer pairs, because I need inspiration for my own game! Rachelmank@earthlink.net
Here are some Passover music videos to enjoy while you create your game:
I miss you all and I wish you a Happy Passover and lots of presents for when you find the Afikomen!
Chag Sameach!
Morah Rachel
Bonus! Activity from Madricha Danielle
Hi everyone! How are you all doing this week? Are you ready for Passover? Are you practicing the Mah Nishtanah, the four questions? I know that all of you are very inquisitive, so you’ll have no problem asking them :)
For those of you who had Ofir last year, I remember how much you enjoyed doing origami with him. To get excited for the upcoming holiday, I hope you all join me in making jumping paper frogs! If you remember, the second plague wrought on the Egyptians was a storm of jumping frogs, leaving no home untouched by their slimy, slippery presence. Ewwwww. At least the paper version is much cuter. Here is a video on how to make the frogs, as well as a page on making your own origami squares if you only have regular paper. Make as many as you want — maybe even give your parents and siblings a nice, green Passover surprise...
https://www.origamiway.com/make-origami-paper.shtml
Though it feels like we are living through a modern-day plague right now, remember that we have the advantage of each other’s love and support. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or if you just want to talk. And please send pictures of your frogs!
Talk to you soon,
Danielle danster0407@gmail.com
Passover Facts for Passover Jeopardy
Passover - is a holiday that commemorates the Exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt, a story told in the second book of the Torah, the book of Exodus. The holiday begins on the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Nissan, and lasts for seven or eight days, depending on where you live and which customs you follow.
Pesach – (the Hebrew name for Passover) has been translated in many different ways over time. Eventually a majority of English speakers decided that Pesach translated to Passover, or “passing over,” referring to the Israelites putting lamb’s blood on their doorposts during the tenth plague so that the Angel of Death would pass over the Jewish houses when killing the first born male of each household in Egypt. Other translations have included: “He had pity,” “separate,” “protect, save,” “dance with limping motions,” soothe, placate,” “harvest commemoration.”
The Seder – On Passover, Jews sit down for a Seder with family and friends as a chance to commemorate the Exodus story. The word Seder in Hebrew means “Order” and refers to the order of the Seder, which is put forth in the Hagaddah. There is even a chant naming all of these steps of the Seder: Kadesh, Ur’chatz, Karpas, Yachatz, Magid, Rachtzah, Motzi, Matzah, Maror, Koreich, Shulchan Oreich, Tzafun, Barech, Hallel, Nirtzah.
The Hagaddah – is the book used to lead the Seder. This book lists the order of the Seder and tells the story of the Exodus. There are many versions of the Hagaddah, but all retain the same basic structure. The word Hagaddah means “telling.”
The Seder Plate – The Seder Plate is placed on the table and generally has five or six objects on it in order to remind us of the goals of the Seder. In general those objects are: a roasted egg (Beitza), a lamb shank (Zroah), bitter herbs (Maror), Charoset (I’ll explain later), parsley or another vegetable (Karpas), and Romaine lettuce as a second bitter herb (Chazeret).
Pascal Lamb – The ancient Jews used to celebrate Passover by sacrificing a lamb at the Temple. We no longer do this, but we put a lamb shank on the Seder plate to remind us of the old tradition.
Karpas – The vegetable, often parsley, celery, or even a potato, that is dipped in salt water and eaten. The vegetable is possibly meant to symbolize the lowly origins of the Jewish people, or the presence of spring, and the salt water symbolizes the tears shed as a result of our experiences of slavery.
Maror – a bitter herb eaten at the Seder to symbolize the bitterness of slavery. Horseradish is often used, but some use Romaine lettuce. If your Seder plate has both Maror and Chazeret, the Chazeret (often Romaine lettuce) will be used as the bitter herb for making the Hillel Sandwich, or Koreich. The bitter herb is dipped in Charoset, mostly because we need something sweet to help the bitterness go down.
Charoset – There are many versions of Charoset, often using apples or dates, plus wine and nuts, to remind us of the mortar used by the Israelite slaves to build the pyramids.
Roasted Egg – or Beitza in Hebrew. This represents the wholeness and continuity of the life cycle, or the festival sacrifice offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, depending on who you ask.
An Orange - An orange may be added to the Seder plate to symbolize the inclusion of those who have been marginalized.
Matzah – Three sheets of Matzah are placed next to the Seder plate and covered by a Matzah cover. Matzah is the hard cracker-like bread that Jews eat during Passover, to commemorate the unleavened bread that the Israelites ate as they left Egypt, because they were in too much of a hurry to allow their bread to rise.
Chametz – Anything produced from grain that has risen, including wheat, barley, rye, oats, and spelt. Jews avoid eating Chametz for the duration of the holiday and substitute Matzah, and products made of Matzah for many of those foods.
Kitnyot – Rice, corn and beans have traditionally been considered a form of Chametz by Ashkenazi Jews (though not by Sephardi Jews), and were not allowed during Passover. Recently rules around the consumption of Kitnyot have loosened in Israel, and among Liberal Jews in America, so that we can now eat popcorn, or rice and beans, and find a little more joy amidst the hardship.
Shmura Matzah – or guarded Matzah, is made from wheat that has been guarded from contamination by leaven for five to ten months before it is made into Matzah.
The Afikomen – At the beginning of the Seder, the middle of the three Matzot (the plural for the word Matzah in Hebrew) is broken in half. Half is returned to its place between the other two Matzot, and half is hidden. After the meal, the children search for this missing piece of Matzah, the Afikomen, and the child who finds it gets a reward of some kind.
The Cup of Elijah – A filled cup of wine is kept on the table during the Seder for the prophet Elijah. There is a tradition to open the door at one point to allow Elijah to come in to visit, in order to witness the Seder and symbolize a time of peace and freedom soon to come.
The Cup of Miriam – some people add a filled cup of water to represent Miriam’s well, which traveled with the Israelites through the desert.
The Four Cups – We drink four cups of wine (or grape juice) during the Seder.
The Four Questions – Mah Nishtanah in Hebrew. The youngest child at the Seder asks the four questions, all about why the Seder night is different from all other nights. The four questions are: Why do we eat only unleavened bread? Why do we eat bitter herbs? Why do we dip our food two times? Why do we recline while we eat? (p.s. the reclining thing is about celebrating our current role as free people, because free people can recline at the meal, while slaves must stand and serve).
The Four Sons – In the Hagaddah we read about how to tell the Exodus story to four different types of people, to signify the need to tell the Passover story to each person in a way that they can hear it. The four types mentioned are: the wise, the wicked (or rebellious), the simple, and the one who doesn’t know how to ask.
The Ten Plagues – These were the plagues sent by God to convince Pharaoh to let the Jews leave Egypt. The ten plagues were: Dam (Blood), Tzfardea (frogs), Kinim (lice), Arov (Flies), Dever (Diseases of Wild Animals), Shchin (Boils), Barad (Hail), Arbeh (Locusts), Choshech (Darkness), Makat Bechorot (Killing of the First Born). While reading about the ten plagues during the Seder, there is a custom to remove a drop of wine (or grape juice) from your cup for each plague, to signify that we can’t be completely joyous when some of God’s creatures have to suffer.
Traditional Passover Greetings – Happy Passover, Gut Yontif (Good Holy Day, in Yiddish), and Chag Sameach (Happy Festival, in Hebrew).
Traditional Passover Songs – Ha Lachma Anya (This is the bread of affliction), Avadim Hayinu (We were slaves in Egypt), Dayenu (It would have been enough for us), Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the prophet), Echad Mi Yodea (Who knows one), Adir Hu (God of Might), Chad Gadya (One Goat), Mah Nishtanah (What is different?), Kadesh Urchatz (the order of the Seder).
Traditional (Ashkenazi, or eastern European) Passover Foods – Matzah Brei (Matzah softened in milk or water and fried with egg and fat, served savory or sweet), Gefilte Fish (poached fish patties made mostly of deboned carp or pike, Matzah Ball Soup (Chicken soup with dumplings made from Matzah meal), Macaroons (almond and coconut based cookies), Charoset (the apple or date and nut dip eaten with the bitter herbs), Jell rings (raspberry jells covered in chocolate – my favorite!) .