Dear Parents,

Just a reminder:  Passover vacation begins this Tuesday.  Classes resume on Tuesday, April 21, 2009.

We have dedicated the entire month of March to the study of Passover and the Haggadah.  As a school we have been watching the movie, The Prince of Egypt, and studying the early chapters in the book of Exodus.  We have been comparing and contrasting the Biblical account with the movie’s portrayal of the story.  We have also made origami jumping frogs for your seder. Your children can go to town and have your table over run with these frogs.  If you would like the instructions, please see Rabbi Greene.  We have also reviewed some traditional seder songs like the “order of the Seder”  “Ma Nishtanah” and “Had Gadya."
 
For the parents who could not attend yesterday's Passover University your children made seder plates to be used around the seder table. We learned new seder songs like "Don't sit on the Afikomen because the seder will last all night!"  Rabbi Greene showed the participants how they can involve the children and adults around the table through seder games.  Carl Gussin and David Gabbay helped the children make Moroccan charoset and chocolate covered matzah.  All the participants had a great time of fun and learning.  If you want a copy of the material covered, please contact Rabbi Greene.

Melissa Adler
We have done a lot in the Shoresh class to prepare for Passover. We have learned the story of Baby Moses from the Bible and watched a movie enforce this, "The Prince of Egypt". Each child is able to sing the 4 Questions, or Mah Nishtanah. Ask your child why is this night different than all other nights...

Milana Shabekova
In preparation for Passover, we have been busy practicing and reciting the four questions. All the children in my Hebrew class should be able to recite the 4 questions by heart or read them effortlessly on paper. We have also done a bit of student teaching where each child picked a partner and prepared a lesson or game about Passover. This worked out very well because it gave the chance for them to learn from each other as well as participate. Please ask your child to either recite/read the 4 questions or explain what Passover means to them. They have worked very hard to prepare for their seders at home.

Ms. Diane Amar
March was another very busy month for us.

In Aleph class, we have finished learning the Hebrew alphabet.  We still have a few exceptions to the rules of Hebrew reading  that we have to learn.  We are gearing up for our Siddur program that will be held with graduation on Shavuot.  More information will follow concerning the program.  This year any student who is new to our school will be participating in the program as well as anyone who missed the program!  It is always a very exciting event for the kids who have reached this milestone in their Jewish education. Please continue to encourage your children to practice Hebrew reading.

All students (kitah aleph thru hey) will receive a copy of Hatikvah on Sunday at the Passover workshop.  Please ask them to look it over and practice reading it so that we will be prepared for singing it on April 26 when we sing it during the Brunch to  honor the Rabbi.  (It will be during regular Sunday morning class)

All of the children have mastered the Four Questions and are able to at least read them in Hebrew for your Seders.  Most of them can sing them!! They also can sing/read the order of the Seder.  They know Had Gadya in English (reading it from the Hagadah)  They can sing the chorus of Dayenu and can read several lines of it.  (At least Gimel, Bet and Daled)  They also learned the first four lines of the answer to the Four Questions (In Hebrew)

Hag Samaech!!

Rabbi Greene
Ask your children what we learned.  They should be able to teach all those around the seder table something new and I believe exciting.  If you need to prompt and remind them the following is a synopsis of what we studied.

We learned the 4 different names of Passover, Hag Ha Pesach (the festival of the paschal lamb), Hag ha Matzah (the festival of unleavened bread) Hag ha Cherut (the festival of freedom), and Hag Ha Aviv (the festival of spring).  I asked our students to make up their own additional names for Passover.  Ask them what they chose.  We practiced reading different selections from the Haggadah.

We reviewed the 4 Questions and compared them to the 4 Questions found in the Mishnah, the rabbinic depository of Jewish law which was finally redacted in the year 200 c.e. in Israel. The Mishnah makes up the first part of the Talmud.  We discussed why there are the 3 differences.  The Mishnah’s questions reflect a reality in Israel when the Temple stood and sacrifices were offered up.  Therefore, there is a question about roasted meat.  The Haggadah 4 questions reflect a reality in Babylonia after the Temple was destroyed and no sacrifices were permitted.  They substituted the question about reclining.  In Israel, people began meals with hors d’eourves, dippings and in Babylonia they didn’t accounting for the difference between the dipping questions. We also saw how two questions represent slavery and the other two represented freedom.  Can you guess which ones?  If you would like a copy of the Mishnah’s 4 questions, please see me. We discovered that Rabban Gamliel answered the 4 questions, but they were the four questions of the Mishana and that’s why his answers were hidden.

We also learned that we are supposed to begin the story of our exodus with disgrace and end with praise.  This pattern is repeated 3 times.  The first time is with Avodim Hayinu, “we were slaves.”  This disgrace is physical slavery.  The goal of this exodus is getting out of Egypt as soon as possible.  The second time is with the reading Metechilah Ovdai Aodah Zarah, “originally our ancestors were idolaters.” This disgrace is spiritual slavery, idolatry.  The goal of this exodus is getting us to Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah.  The third retelling of the exodus consists of a study of Deuteronomy 26: 5-8 Aromi Ovad Avi, “The Aramean sought to destroy my father.”  The text was recited by farmers who brought their first fruits to the Temple on the holiday of Shavuot.  It also includes Pharaoh’s physical act of enslaving our ancestors.  Our Haggadah doesn’t quote verse nine which explains the goal of this exodus, “He brought us to this place (the Land of Israel), a land flowing with milk and honey.”  The goal of this exodus is to bring us into the land of Israel.

We’ve been practicing the special Kiddush for the seder.  We know how to read it well and we’ve been working on the special melody.

For Passover seder games and more fun things to do at your seder check out this link:  http://www.babaganewz.com