Week 30 and 31: Monday, April 8th – Thursday, April 18th

To prepare for Pesach, 8th graders translated and explored Rabban Gamliel’s comment in the Mishna:

“In every generation, a person must see himself as if he came out of Egypt…from slavery to freedom.”

Next, students discussed why Rabban Gamliel believed this, and how taking his idea seriously might impact the way we experience Pesach. We also noted how problematic this approach would be for studying a subject like the Holocaust, or slavery in America — why might it be positive to personalize the story of the Exodus, but not to view other moments in history in this way?

We then invited two community members to come talk to us about their experiences of going from slavery to freedom. Regina Katz discussed her story as a Russian Jewish immigrant to America, while Rabbi Carie shared what it was like to feel compelled to hide her identity from herself and from others when she was in rabbinical school. We are so grateful Regina and Rabbi Carie were able to tell their powerful stories to us this year.

Finally, we looked at examples of contemporary artists making the Pesach story their own, and then created our own haggada pages. 8th graders encountered the artist David Moss’s incredible take on “in every generation” and looked at a poem inspired by Rabban Gamliel. We also watched and discussed the Batsheva dance company’s performance of “Echad Mi Yodea.”

8th graders learned and discussed “tefilat haderech” – “the traveler’s prayer” yesterday, in preparation for their upcoming Israel trip! Please feel free to reach out to me over break if you have any last minute questions or concerns.

Shabbat shalom and chag sameach,

Jessica