Ramah aatt YYourour Seder Table Teachings, Activities, and Discussions from Our Ramah Family to Yours 0 2017/5777 Table of Contents A Note from the Executive Director ........................................................................................................... 1 Haggadah Options for your Family ............................................................................................................ 2 The Secret Code of Passover ...................................................................................................................... 2 Master Chef- Haroset Challenge ................................................................................................................. 4 Is the Statue of Liberty a Jewish Feminist? ................................................................................................. 5 Heads Up! Seder Style ................................................................................................................................. 7 Haggadah Baseball Meets March Madness ............................................................................................... 7 Seder Tracker .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Seder Bingo ................................................................................................................................................. 9 Symbols of Freedom ................................................................................................................................... 9 Splitting the Sea .......................................................................................................................................... 9 Counting the Pocon Omer ! ........................................................................................................................ 10 A Note from the Executive Director Rabbi Joel Seltzer The words of the Maggid section of our Haggadah begin with what is meant to be a call out to our community: . הא לחמא עניא די אכלו אבהתנא בארעא דמצרים . כל דכפין ייתי ויכל . כל דצריך ייתי ויפסח “This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the Land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat. Let all who are in need, come celebrate Passover.” Although it is traditional to open the front door of the house while reciting this verse, it always struck me as a bit odd – hasn’t the chance to invite people to our seder come and gone at that point? Are we really expecting a traveling Jew to happen by our door at that very moment? Well there is another possibility here as well. What if we are not meant to recite these words ‘out’ into the world, but rather ‘inside’ of ourselves? What if it is meant to be a spiritual kavanah , a prayer of intention, prior to starting our journey through the Haggadah ? “This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the Land of Egypt.” (This is why I am here tonight, to participate in our people’s epic narrative of slavery to redemption!) “Let all who are hungry come and eat, let all who are in need, come celebrate Passover.” 1 (What am I hungry for in my life? Community? Spirituality? Purpose? Meaning? And how can my participation in this Seder be a transformative experience for me and my family? How can I nourish others while still managing my own needs for sustenance?) In our continued attempts to bring the power of the Ramah experience to your seder table, we proudly offer you our 4 th annual edition of Ramah at Your Seder Table ; a collection of teachings, poems, and ideas which we hope will help you and your family ready to sit down, and “let all who are hungry, come and eat." From our Ramah family to yours: Chag Kasher v’Sameach , Rabbi Joel Seltzer Executive Director Camp Ramah in the Poconos Haggadah OptionOptionss for your Family The following Haggadot are all good options for seder s for the whole family: 2 The Secret Code of Passover Rabbi Joel Seltzer Everyone knows that Pesach is a central holiday to the Jewish experience; it is the Chag HaAviv , the Festival of Springtime, it is the time to gather around the Seder Table and share our national story of redemption from bondage. But, not everyone knows that the dates of Pesach each year, actually form a ‘code’ which you can use to unlock the Jewish calendar for the rest of the year! In order to unlock the code, first you need to know the history of one of the oldest ‘ciphers’ in the world, . or Aleph = Tav; Bet = Shin ,א=ת ב=ש ATBASH .” ATBASH is an ancient cipher which stands for“ In order to write in the code, all you have to do is substitute the corresponding opposite letter in the alphabet with your desired letter. ת ש ר ק צ פ ע ס נ מ ל כ י ט ח ז ו ה ד ג ב א Plain א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י כ ל מ נ ס ע פ צ ק ר ש ת Cipher But what’s all this have to do with Pesach ? Well it’s simple, apply the cipher to the days of the week upon which Pesach falls, and magically a code will reveal itself! For example in this year… Tisha B’Av (which falls on a Monday this / ת שעה באב = ת' The First Night of Pesach = Monday night = א' year!) (!Shavuot (which falls on a Tuesday this year / ש בועות = ש' Second Night of Pesach = Tuesday night = ב' Rosh HaShanah (which falls on a Wednesday / ר אש השנה = ר' Third Night of Pesach = Wednesday night = ג' evening this year!) K’riyat HaTorah / ק ריאת התורה שהיא שמחת תורה = ק' Fourth Night of Pesach = Thursday night = ד' (Simchat Torah ) (which falls on a Thursday night this year!) The Tz om of Yom Kippur (which means Yom Kippur / צ ום כיפור = צ' Fifth Night of Pesach = Friday night = ה' falls on a Friday night this year!) Purim (this means that the PREVIOUS Purim was on a / פ ורים = פ' Sixth Night of Pesach = Saturday night = ו' Saturday night (close enough!)) Yom Ha Atzma’ut / Israeli Independence Day / ע צמאות = ע' Seventh Night of Pesach = Sunday night = ז' (which falls on a Sunday night this year; though it actually gets pushed to Monday night because of Shabbat and Yom HaZikkaron , but that’s another story!!) So this year – when you are sitting at your Seder Table, see if your guests can ‘Crack the Code’ that unlocks the rest of the Jewish year! 3 Master ChefChef---- Haroset Challenge (Inspired by Chopped Champion, Chef Timothy Witcher) Dr. Andrea Lieber, Rosh Hinuch One of my favorite camp peulot (activities) is a version of Master Chef, Jr. where teams compete to create their “recipe” for a great kayitz (summer) at Ramah. Here’s a fun way to adapt this idea for your seder table…. Who says the Haroset has to be fully prepared before the seder starts? In this game, your guests compete to create the tastiest, most creatively presented Hillel Sandwich! What you’ll need: Instead of placing fully prepared bowls of haroset on your table, put out small dishes with a variety of ingredients. While most Ashkenazi Jews use the standard chopped apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine, there are many, many varieties of haroset around the world. In fact, the Song of Songs, which is customarily read on Passover, actually contains its own recipe! Rabbinic tradition suggests that each of these foods represents the virtues of the Jewish people: “Your love is better than wine. “Feed me raisin cakes, refresh me with apples... “Earth nourishing tree and vine, green figs and tender grape, green and tender fragrance.” Get creative and offer grated citrus peels, chopped ginger, kumquats or other exotic fruits and nuts. If you’re worried about giving the kids access to wine, use date honey or grape juice as an alternative. Have small bowls available for mixing. What to do: When it’s time for Korech (the Hillel Sandwich), give everyone 2-3 minutes to develop and prepare their own haroset . Guests can work in teams or individually. When the two minutes are up, allow another minute to build their sandwiches, but don’t eat them yet! Go around the table and invite each team to share their recipe. As an added level to the challenge, teams can share their ideas about what each item in their haroset symbolizes. Once everyone eats their sandwich, be sure to allow the variety of haroset recipes to be shared around the table! 4 Is the Statue of Liberty a Jewish Feminist? Dr. Andrea Lieber, Rosh Hinuch A guiding principle behind our educational philosophy at Ramah is that we strive in all we do to teach children that Judaism is relevant—to our own lives, to our families and to the broader world in which we are living. The seder presents so many opportunities to demonstrate the ongoing relevance of our tradition. As we relive our people’s ancient journey from slavery to freedom, we also recall the many other journeys throughout history that have defined our families’ narratives—the stories of migrations in search of new opportunities and liberties, whether in America, Israel or around the world. This year, with all the current political talk about immigration, I was inspired to revisit the sonnet of Jewish poet and activist, Emma Lazarus (1849-1887), which appears in many contemporary haggadot : Most elementary school children understand The Statue of Liberty as a gift from France that celebrates America’s welcome to new immigrants, arriving in the New York Harbor. The seder is a great time to explore some lesser known facts about the statue and the words inscribed on its pedestal. While “Lady Liberty,” designed by sculptor Frederic Bartholdi, was gifted to America in 1883, the idea of the statue came out of a conversation between Bartholdi and French abolitionist Edouard de