F8: Pesach

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    		• Seder nights are the highlight of Pesach. Jewish families all over the world gather together to retell the story of our ancestors journey to freedom. But what is real freedom? And how does telling a tired old story achieve it?

    Introduction

    Over 3300 years ago our ancestors lived as slaves to an evil Pharaoh in Egypt. Through a series of limited military strikes (the ten plagues) God rescued His people and gave them their freedom. The Jews were in such a rush to leave that the dough they were haking for the journey had no time to rise and ended up as matza. We commemorate this fact by eating matza on Seder night and telling the story of their dramatic escape.

    These are the well known basic facts that make up the festival of Pesach. However, as with many things, the basic facts don't tell you what you really need to know. To understand more we will look closely at the Pesach story, facing problems of freedom, clocks and cardboard along the way...

    Warning!

    The Jampacked Bible, as always, tries to bring you exciting, innovative approaches to traditional subjects. You may, as a result of this, find some of the following material to be slightly complex. If you do, try and tackle it with an open mind, when you are feeling energetic. The night before a big exam is not the ideal time! If you still find it difficult, discuss it with a friend or call Lisa on 020 8446 8020.

    Symbols and Memory

    How do you experience Pesach? How do you get into a slave-to-free man's skin? Through the use of concrete symbols, through a detailed, graphic, blow-by-blow telling of the story. Why did the ancient Rabbis go to such extremes in setting out a mode of preparation and celebration for the seder? Eat this, cook that, sing this, hide that, drink all this... why so much? Merely to put us in the right frame of mind? Yes, but take out the word 'merely' for it is no small achievment to internalise so completely an event that happened three thousand years ago. Programming Ideas

    Four names, four angles

    We name things in different ways depending on how we see them. There are four common approaches to Pesach:

    1. CHAG HAMATZOT - The Festival of Unleavened Bread - matza is so central that it gets top billing!

    2. CHAG HAPESACH - The Festival of Pesach - Pesach means to pass over, which is exactly what God did that night during the tenth plague.

    3. CHAG HAAVIV - The Festival of Spring - Spring time is the season when Pesach always falls. It is a symbol of rebirth, recharging our batteries and starting again.

    4. Z'MAN CHERUTAINU - The Season of Our Freedom - Our ancestors gained their independence that night and we have this opportunity to recognise ours too.

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