Posted by Julia C

Program Host	Chapter
Host Region and Chapter	North Texas Oklahoma Nona Bloch Salomon
Program Type	Arts Education Entertainment Jewish Holiday Judaic Other Prayer/Services Sisterhood Social Social Action
Time Required	2-5 hours
Target Population(s)	Girls (BBG) Freshmen Sophomores Juniors Seniors
Folds Targeted	Judaic Community Service/Social Activism Education Social Community Service Social Action Jewish Heritage Creativity Recreation Sisterhood
People Participating	Under 10

Program Summary:

celebrating Passover in a fun way filled with a bunch of short programs that combine to make a great (Kosher for Passover) night

Full Description:

First, we did a short community service project using dark markers and plain white sheets of paper, coloring the outlines of common shapes and figures (ex. ice cream, pizza, dogs, houses, flowers, rainbows) etc. to be copied, made into coloring books, and donated to hospitals.

Then, we made matzah pizza.
You need:  matzah, prepared marinara or tomato sauce, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese

1.  Grease baking pan big enough to fit matzah
   
2.  Spread tomato sauce (or chopped tomatoes) over matzah
   
3.  Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan cheeses over tomato sauce
   
4.  Sprinkle with oregano
   
5.  Bake at 425° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts

After enjoying your lovely matzah pizza, play Passover charades using characters, plagues, and more!  Examples are attatched.

Then, we made charoset.  Chop red and green apples and mix with chopped walnuts, sugar, red wine, cinnamon, and honey until you find a balance you like.

While enjoying the charoset, do a quick explanation of what each of the meanings of the seder plate pieces are, including a longer explanation of the orange as seen below.

Meaning
Maror symbolizes the bitterness of Egyptian slavery.
The Karpas being dipped into the saltwater represents the marking of the Jewish doorposts.
The saltwater represents the tears shed during Egyptian slavery.
Charoset is symbolic of the mortar used by Hebrew slaves to build Egyptian structures.
The shank bone is symbolic of the Pascal lamb offered as the Passover sacrifice in biblical times.
The Roasted Egg is symbolic of the festival sacrifice made in biblical times.  The egg is also a traditional symbol of mourning, and has been interpreted by some as a symbolic mourning for the loss of the Temple.

The orange:  In the early 1980s, while speaking at Oberlin College Hillel, Susannah Heschel was introduced to an early feminist Haggadah that suggested adding a crust of bread on the Seder plate as a sign of solidarity with Jewish lesbians (there's as much room for a lesbian in Judaism as there is for a crust of bread on the Seder plate).  Heschel felt that to put bread on the Seder plate would be to accept that Jewish lesbians and gay men violate Judaism like chametz violates Passover.  At her next Seder, she chose an orange as a symbol of inclusion of gays and lesbians and others who are marginalized within the Jewish community.  She offered the orange as a symbol of the fruitfulness for all Jews when lesbians and gay men are contributing and active members of Jewish life.  In addition, each orange segment had a few seeds that had to be spit out (a gesture of spitting out, repudiating the homophobia of Judaism).  While lecturing, Heschel often mentioned her custom as one of many feminist rituals that have been developed in the last twenty years.  She writes, "Somehow, though, the typical patriarchal maneuver occurred: my idea of an orange and my intention of affirming lesbians and gay men were transformed.  Now the story circulates that a MAN said to me that a woman belongs on the bimah as an orange on the Seder plate.  A woman's words are attributed to a man, and the affirmation of lesbians and gay men is erased.

Then, we listened to two funny Passover songs by Smooth-E aka Eric Schwartz.  They're called "Four More Questions" and "Matzah!" and are available for purchase on www.oysongs.com and probably for free to listen/watch on sites such as www.youtube.com

Next, using matzah, icing, cream cheese, peanut butter, nutella, sprinkles, candy, paper plates, and lots of paper towels, we had a matzah house making contest, like the slaves in Egypt.  The girls were split up into two teams and they decorated their houses according to Judaism but also aesthetic design.

Finally, we did a seder plate project where each girl used markers and a paper plate to illustrate their life seder plate.  Each thing on the seder plate stood for something.

Maror- something that makes you mad
Matzah- the one word theme of your life
Charoset- someone in your life that keeps you together
Parsley- one girl you want to get closer to in your life
Shankbone- something that makes you physically stronger
Saltwater- something that makes you want to cry
Egg- one thing that makes you innocent or something that you love that scares you
Orange- something that makes you proud to be a woman

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