The Festival of Passover
The holiday of Passover commemorates the Israelites’ liberation from slavery and their Exodus from Egypt. Students will explore the ways Jews remember the biblical story of Passover. They will look at a passage from a Passover Haggadah – the holiday’s “guidebook,” consider ways people can remember difficult times, and reflect on stories from their own lives. Finally, they will think about how they might adapt the tradition of remembering through symbolic foods to their own experiences.
Sections45 minGrades 7–8
- Setting the Mood
- A Toast to Freedom
- The Story
- The Festive Meal
- Guide for Your Story
Learning Objectives
Discover
Learn about the festival of Passover and its holiday traditions.
Understand
Understand the tradition of retelling the biblical story using symbolic foods.
Reflect
Think about remembering and retelling personal stories and connect this with the concept of symbolic foods.
Progress
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Discussion
Students discuss and share personal experiences. This may evoke emotional responses.
Setting the Mood
What do you think?
What do you think: Can memory have a flavor? Vote!
Listen Closely!
Each Jewish holiday has its own story and its own way of telling it, its own traditions and customs. The way a holiday sounds can reveal something about its atmosphere, the place where it’s celebrated, or its traditions.
Listen closely to the recording and answer the questions about the holiday.
Recording of a family gathering on the first night of Passover1
Who’s celebrating here?
What is the mood of this celebration?
Which language besides German have you heard?
A Toast to Freedom
Take a Closer Look!
How and why is freedom celebrated on Passover? Watch the video now to find out!
The Story
The Passover Haggadah
Passover commemorates the biblical story of the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt and is one of the most important Jewish holidays. To remember this, people read from and sing from a Passover Haggadah on the first one or two nights of the weeklong holiday. A Haggadah is like a handbook that contains instructions about the night’s “schedule” and often includes illustrations.
What do you think is the most important part of the “schedule”? Look at these two pages of the Haggadah to find the answer.
Pages 13–14 of a Passover Haggadah2
What is the most important part of the night?
A Special Memory
Humans have stories. A society, community, or family has an whole collection of stories. Some we experience ourselves, while others are passed down from generation to generation. These stories are shaped by our environment as well as our family and friends. Which stories do we want to remember, and which would we rather forget?
Find a partner to work with. Share stories or memories that remind you of a celebration or a particular meal.
The Festive Meal
Symbolic Foods
Passover begins with a special meal called a Seder. Seder means “order” in Hebrew. Symbolic foods are arranged on the seder plate. Each of the foods represents an aspect of the Passover story. On a Seder plate like this one, the foods are placed in six circles during Passover.
The Hebrew translates as: “From slavery to freedom.” This plate was made for Jews who survived the Nazi concentration camps. On Passover, the survivors were thinking about their own lives: they had also been freed from imprisonment in the camps.
The Passover Haggadah explains what these foods symbolize and the order to eat them in. Can you guess what each one represents? On the left are foods you’d find on a Seder plate. Their meaning is on the right. Find the right matches!
Bitter herbs
What are the bitter herbs that appear twice on the Seder plate? The Torah isn’t so exact about this, and the plural form suggests more than one option. What would you eat to remind you of bitter times in life? Write your choice in the text box and learn more about this Jewish tradition.
Guide for Your Story
Tell Your Story
People often collect and share stories using pictures, videos, documents, or photo albums. Those are all things you can see with your eyes. But stories can also be told through taste, smell, sound, or gestures. Those senses also help you call to mind and celebrate past experiences. Can you think of one of your favorite celebrations or memories about yourself, your family or friends?
Choose up to six objects or foods to create a “plate” for your celebration or memory. Make a picture and explain briefly what your items or foods are, what they represent, and what order they should be eaten or used in.
Provide this module to students
Simply share the module with your class using the QR code or link provided.