Passover 2 nd 5 th grade Sunday school March 29, 2015 Students will experience the Seder meal to understand the connection to The Last Supper as Jesus ate with and spoke to his disciples. The following includes: 1) A pamphlet to explain the foods and traditions associated with a Passover meal also called the Seder. We ll have copies for you in the room also. 2) Background information for the teachers so that they can explain the meal to students as they are introduced to the Seder 3) New Testament scripture and context to help explain to students that Jesus was having a Passover meal with the disciples in the Upper Room and how it connects to Communion that we celebrate now. We will have the food items, plates, cups, etc. for you on that morning. All children will go to the Sanctuary AT 9:45 for the palm procession. While they are gone, teachers and a team of helpers can finish getting the tables set so that children will have a sampling of the foods and grape juice to experience a Seder meal together. Once students return to their rooms, teachers begin with an explanation of what they are about to experience and why. Ensure that you focus on the explanation of the Seder and connection to Communion. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, followed by Maundy Thursday to remember the Last Supper and Good Friday to remember the day that Jesus died upon the cross. All of these events lead us to Easter Sunday when we celebrate that Jesus rose from the grave, defeating death, and providing everlasting life.
Let s Have a Passover Seder! his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the L ORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100 Step 14: Finish by drinking the rest of your grape juice. Step 11: Remember that piece of matzah that got hidden earlier? Now you get to look for it and eat it! Step 12: Thank God for a delicious meal and then take a third drink of grape juice. Step 13: Read Psalm 100 or sing your favorite praise song to God for the great miracles he performed for the Jewish people. Shout for joy to the L ORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the L ORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are Now you have enjoyed a traditional Jewish Seder meal. This will help you too to realize how God loves you and has set you free to enjoy life in His care. Let s Have a Passover Seder! Passover is an important Jewish holiday when Jews celebrate the fact that more than three thousand years ago God rescued their ancestors from slavery in Egypt. This miraculous story is found in the Bible, along with instructions from God to the Jews about holding a special meal, called a Seder, to remember the great work He did at Passover. P erhaps there s a food that reminds you of a certain event that happened in the past. Maybe Smores make you think of camping out. Or turkey makes you think of Thanksgiving. In a similar way, Jewish people use certain foods at the Seder meal to remind them of what God did to save them at Passover. Special Foods 30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2600 Chicago, IL 60602-3356 info@ifcj.org ifcj.org 800-486-8844 Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, President Credits Page 1: shepherd boy illustration Jpegwiz/dreamstime.com, Passover cup Bratan/iStockphotos.com, Seder plate Liudmila Chernova/iStockphotos.com, Passover food illustrations bortonia/dreamstime.com. Page 2: Passover meal illustration copyright free. Page 3: Matzah bread Michael Flippo/dreamstime.com, Girl breaking matzah Noam Armonn/dreamstime.com. Page 4: Boy eating matzah and reading Noam Armonn/dreamstime.com Here are some of the foods included in the Seder meal and what these mean: Charoset is a mixture of apples, nuts, and grape juice that reminds Jews of the mixture that the Israelite slaves used to make bricks and of the hard work the slaves did. Zeroa is a piece of roasted lamb. This reminds Jews of the lamb that God told them to prepare for a special meal the night before they were freed from Egyptian slavery. Maror and chazeret are two bitter herbs, though some Jews use horseradish and romaine lettuce instead of these sharp herbs. These foods remind Jews of their bitter lives as slaves in Egypt. Baytza is an egg that is first hard-boiled and then roasted. Jews serve this at the Seder meal as a reminder of the festival sacrifice during the time when a great Temple stood in the city of Jerusalem. Karpas is a green vegetable, usually parsley or celery, that reminds Jews that everything is alive and new in the Spring, when Passover usually occurs. Before You Begin Seder is a special meal, so we eat it at a table and make special preparations. Below is an adapted Seder for you to follow. You will need the following items: grape juice, romaine lettuce (instead of maror and chazeret), (Continued inside)
Let s Have a Passover Seder! applesauce or applesauce mixed with Grape-Nuts (instead of charoset), saltwater, water in a bowl (or hand sanitizer or wet wipes), parsley or celery (instead of karpas), and a stack of three matzah crackers. Matzah is a special bread made without yeast that is similar to what the Israelites took with them when they quickly escaped Egypt. You will also need a cup and plate for everyone at the table, as well as a copy of the Passover story from the Bible. Now that you have these items on your table, let s talk about the one action you get to do during the meal: lean. This Seder tradition comes from the fact that long ago when the Israelites were still slaves in Egypt, people who were rich and powerful reclined at the table when they ate meals. They did this because they were in no hurry and had no worries. In contrast, poor people and slaves would eat while seated on the floor. Because the Seder celebrates the fact that God rescued the Israelites from slavery and made them free, the Jews lean on the table during the Seder meal to feel like free people did back then. Leaning reminds them that they are celebrating their freedom from slavery. Now you are ready to celebrate the Seder meal! The Seder Service Step 1: Bless the grape juice and then pour a cup for each guest at the meal. Everyone takes a drink. Step 2: Time to wash up! Jews traditionally wash their hands at Seder by pouring water on their right hand three times and then on their left hand three times. If you can t do that, use some hand sanitizer or a wet wipe to get your hands clean. Step 3: Take a small piece of your parsley or celery and dip it in saltwater. As you eat this and taste the bitter salt, remember the bitter life the Jews knew when they were slaves. Step 4: Find the middle matzah from the stack of three and break it in two. Pay attention! The larger piece of the two broken halves is called the Afikoman. It gets hidden, and you re going to look for it later. Step 5: Read the Passover story from your handout and then ask the following four questions. Usually the youngest child gets to ask four questions to guide the conversation, but today we ll all take turns. Question 1: Why do we eat matzah on Passover? Answer: When Pharaoh finally let the Jews leave Egypt, they were in a great hurry to get away from their life of slavery. There wasn t time to let their bread dough rise before baking it, so they took the raw dough with them into the dessert. There they cooked it into hard crackers called matzah. Question 2: Why do we eat bitter herbs at our Seder? Answer: The bitter herbs remind us of the bitterness of slavery and the difficult life the Israelites had before God rescued them. Question 3: Why do we dip the green vegetable in saltwater and the bitter herbs in charoset? Answer: The green vegetable reminds us of the new life and growth we see in the Spring. Saltwater reminds us of the tears from the Israelite slaves. So dipping the green vegetable into the saltwater is like the new life that came from the difficult life the Israelites used to know. Bitter herbs dipped in charoset remind us of the bitterness of slavery. Charoset has a rough texture like the clay used to make bricks for Pharaoh. Question 4: Why do we lean while we eat the Seder meal? Answer: Leaning represents the comforts of freedom. As slaves, the Israelites knew little comfort. So we lean to remember and celebrate that God set them free. Step 6: After you finish reading the story and answering the questions, drink more grape juice. Step 7: Wash your hands again, only this time say a blessing as you wash. Blessed are You, L ord our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to wash our hands. Step 8: Say the blessing for eating bread, and then these special blessings. Blessing 1: Blessed are You, L ord our God, King of the universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth. Blessing 2: Blessed are You, L ord our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the eating of matzah. Step 9: Time to eat the matzah. Step 10: Say a blessing over the bitter herbs, or romaine lettuce. Dip them in the applesauce mixture (charoset) and then eat them. (Continued on back page)
Jesus celebrated the Passover meal in Jerusalem with his disciples the night before he died. This meal, celebrated by Jesus, is now called the Last Supper. LUKE 22:8-13; 17-20 8 So Jesus said to Peter and John, Go and prepare the Passover meal for us to eat. 9 But they asked, Where do you want us to prepare it? 10 Jesus told them, As you go into the city, you will meet a man carrying a jar of water. Follow him into the house 11 and say to the owner, Our teacher wants to know where he can eat the Passover meal with his disciples. 12 The owner will take you upstairs and show you a large room ready for you to use. Prepare the meal there. 13 Peter and John left. They found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal. 17 Jesus took a cup of wine in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he told the apostles, Take this wine and share it with each other. 18 I tell you that I will not drink any more wine until God's kingdom comes. 19 Jesus took some bread in his hands and gave thanks for it. He broke the bread and handed it to his apostles. Then he said, This is my body, which is given for you. Eat this as a way of remembering me! 20 After the meal he took another cup of wine in his hands. Then he said, This is my blood. It is poured out for you, and with it God makes his new agreement. MATTHEW 26:17-19; 26-30 17 On the first day of the Festival of Thin Bread, Jesus' disciples came to him and asked, Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal? 18 Jesus told them to go to a certain man in the city and tell him, Our teacher says, My time has come! I want to eat the Passover meal with my disciples in your home. 19 They did as Jesus told them and prepared the meal. 26 During the meal Jesus took some bread in his hands. He blessed the bread and broke it. Then he gave it to his disciples and said, Take this and eat it. This is my body. 27 Jesus picked up a cup of wine and gave thanks to God. He then gave it to his disciples and said, Take this and drink it. 28 This is my blood, and with it God makes his agreement with you. It will be poured out, so that many people will have their sins forgiven. 29 From now on I am not going to drink any wine, until I drink new wine with you in my Father's kingdom. 30 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives. MARK 14:13-16; 22-26 13 Jesus said to two of the disciples, Go into the city, where you will meet a man carrying a jar of water. Follow him, 14 and when he goes into a house, say to the owner, Our teacher wants to know if you have a room where he can eat the Passover meal with his disciples. 15 The owner will take you upstairs and show you a large room furnished and ready for you to use. Prepare the meal there. 16 The two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover meal. 22 During the meal Jesus took some bread in his hands. He blessed the bread and broke it. Then he gave it to his disciples and said, Take this. It is my body. 23 Jesus picked up a cup of wine and gave thanks to God. He gave it to his disciples, and they all drank some. 24 Then
he said, This is my blood, which is poured out for many people, and with it God makes his agreement. 25 From now on I will not drink any wine, until I drink new wine in God's kingdom. 26 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives. COMMENTARY Jesus celebrated the Passover meal in Jerusalem with his disciples the night before he died. The Passover meal was (and still is) a very important meal to Jewish people that commemorates the Exodus. This meal, celebrated by Jesus, is now called the Last Supper. Like all important meals, it was prepared for in a special way (Luke 22: 7-18). The Passover was a communal celebration. Usually families celebrated the Passover together and so it is interesting to note who Jesus chose to celebrate this, his final Passover, with his closest friends and followers. The communal aspect of the Eucharist is far more than a group of people sharing a meal, it is the coming together of those who share the belief in the Kingdom of God. When people go to Mass they are remembering Jesus Life, Death and Resurrection and making a communal commitment to go and share God s love in the world. The night before he was crucified, Jesus took bread and wine, and said to his Apostles: Take this all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body Take this all of you, and drink from it for this is the chalice of my blood... Do this in memory of me. (Roman Missal, Eucharistic Prayers) The Apostles in their ministry carried out this command of Jesus. They knew that each time they repeated the actions and words of Jesus at the Last Supper, Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit would change the bread and wine into his Body and Blood. The followers of Jesus have continued to carry out this command to take, bless, break and give in the same way throughout time by celebrating the Eucharist. For Reflection and Discussion: Using simple props (a table, figurines, wine cup, bread), tell the story of the Last Supper from the above texts. Discuss with students what they might have seen, heard, tasted, felt and smelled if they had been at the Last Supper with Jesus and his disciples. Discuss the food they may have eaten, what they might have spoken about, what hymn they may have sung. Make a visual link to the Eucharist by then changing the Last Supper scene into a Mass setting by moving the disciples to form the congregation, in front of the table/altar, leaving Jesus behind the altar and placing a board with a cross on it behind the altar. Discuss with students what the scene now looks like and how each component comes together in Mass the Priest is Jesus and he uses the same actions and words Jesus did, we call the table an altar, the people who go to Mass (the community) are the disciples celebrating together. Discuss with students what they see, hear, taste, feel and smell at Mass. 2
Compare the preparations for a familiar celebration (eg. birthday party) to the preparation for the Mass. Consider food, decorations, special clothes, people who attend, words said/sung and actions. FOR REFLECTION I wonder how the disciples felt when they shared this special meal with Jesus. I wonder how Peter and John felt about getting the special meal ready for Jesus and their friends. I wonder what Jesus and his disciples talked about at the Last Supper. Why was the Last Supper so important to Jesus? Why is it so important to us? I wonder how the disciples felt about being all together with Jesus to share this special meal. Have you seen some of the actions that Jesus did in the Last Supper story in worship when we celebrate communion? Have you heard some of the words that Jesus said in the Last Supper story in worship when we celebrate communion?