Elementary School Learners: Challenges in Mitzrayim and Now: What Can We Do to Help?
LAYA SALOMON
JILL JARECKI-MAINZER
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ACTIVITY 1: MISSED CELEBRATIONS The first mitzvah given to Am Yisrael after they left Egypt was to celebrate Rosh Chodesh because as slaves, we could not keep track of days or months, and we could not celebrate Shabbat or the other chagim . Ask each seder participant: If they were a slave and could not celebrate, what would they have missed the most? Birthday celebrations? Shabbat? Purim? Pesach? Sukkot? Rosh Chodesh? Share what you would miss about celebrating that holiday. ACTIVITY 2: BREAKING NEWS! Being a slave meant that you were not able to make plans about your day or your week. There are other situations which make it hard or impossible to make plans. Today, in Israel, there are people who had to move out of their homes. Many are living in hotels and they cannot plan when they return to their homes. They are not able to celebrate birth- days, or holidays, or Shabbat as they usually do at home. Imagine that your seder table is a team that has come together to help these families. A news reporter wants to interview your team for the evening news! One person at the table can be the reporter and everyone at the table can share ideas. The reporter may ask: What would you plan for the families? What would you buy for them? What are some other things you would do to help? What can you say to others to encourage them to help the families?
Elementary age children are beginning to show more sophisticated emotions, are capable of understanding how others feel, and even able to imagine themselves in another’s place. This age group loves to feel needed, as well as a sense of belonging and unity. Beyond the Haggadah’s requirement to see oneself as a slave, which resonates with this age group, we can develop ways for elementary learners at the seder to connect with the past and with the current situation in Israel and around the world. We can help them develop a mindset that views positive personal and communal action as a response to tragedy. We offer a four activities that connect elementary learners to the Haggadah’s journey from tragedy to triumph. Although ideally done in sequence, use them in any order or combination you choose. The first activity engages students in considering what it was like under Pharaoh’s rules to live without celebrations. The second activity focuses on steps that children and families can take today, in response to those in Israel who are displaced. The third activity considers how acts of chesed can create a bridge from tragedy to redemption, geulah . The fourth activity adds movement, concretizes ideas, and unifies the group in a way that can per- meate the seder.
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ON THIS NIGHT WE ARE ALL TEACHERS
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