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An early dose of Passover inspiration

Preparations for Passover/Pesach are well on their way. You might have noticed different foods in the kosher aisles of your local supermarkets. You might have wondered why Jews eat food that costs so much money. But beyond the physical preparations, we also spend time preparing for the rituals of the Seder night. On Monday night (14th April) we will retell the story of the slavery in Egypt, the Ten Plagues, Moses challenging Pharaoh  and the moment the Israelites walked out of slavery to freedom. Whatever our faith, we all have truths that we wish to pass on from one generation to the next. Our challenge as educators and parents is how, how do we transmit eternal truths to a generation that appears to make a goal of apathy; when comedy one liners become the by line for describing our time.  “whatever” so deftly captures the attitude of so many today despite it being voted the most irritating  word in the English language in a 2009 poll. The Passover ritual was codified  over 2000 years ago. Its’ brilliance and mystery as an educational master class in how to transmit ancient stories.  Sitting with family, children are encouraged to ask questions, each stage of the story is dramatised, we will eat bitter herbs , to help connect to  the bitterness of the Israelite slaves, we will eat the Matza, the bread of the slaves,  drink cups of wine to toast our freedom, sing songs and eat a festive meal.  The most powerful aspect of the evening are the questions from the children. “A wise man once said: clever people seem to feel the natural pleasure of bewilderment and are always answering  questions when the chief relish  of life is to go on asking them.” Unless we encourage our children to ask questions, we will fail to pass on our faith and truths. When curiosity is forced to give way to doctrine, we will alienate those who are seeking connection. Passover teaches us that there are no silly questions, and even those who don’t know how to ask are shown us. Enjoy being curious this Passover season.

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