Home Online consulting My Madrichim Site information Contact us JewishPrograms.Org
Pesach
While we're taking out our Purim costumes, Pesach is already knocking at our doors, and there's nothing better than our most ancestral holiday for properly understanding the meaning of this characteristic object--the door--among our people.
Didn't Pesach begin with closing doors, painting the lamb's blood on the doorposts and lintels to keep the tenth plague from striking our ancestors in Egypt? The narrowness of Mitzraim shown in all its splendor: impossible even to leave the house. Immobile, enclosed, imprisoned.
And from then on? We celebrate Pesach with doors that open, as the sea did. For anyone who is hungry and alone, at the start of the Seder, and at its end, so that the Prophet Elijah, symbol of redemption, can enter. Doors that keep on opening: to the neighbor who needs us, and to an active hope that has been calling us together for centuries. Chag sameach!

From Z’man Heiruteinu to Z’man Matan Torateinu: Learning to Live as Free People Responsibly

The purpose of these lessons is to look at a larger theme of the entire season that spans from Pesach through Shavuot, namely that of learning and committing ourselves to live as free people responsibly. Freedom is first and foremost a responsibility as well as a privilege. Too often we, especially during high school years, forget that. For that reason, this learning unit is suggested and specifically designed for older student groupings as a supplement to normative seasonal units, who can give serious consideration to these deep issues and their ramifications for living a productive life.

See Program

Pesach – A Living Tradition

The program is meant to provide participants with alternate and interesting perspectives on the themes of the Passover Seder. Participants will become acquainted with a selection of the Biblical and Talmudic passages dealing with Passover, as well as presenting the themes of Passover in a modern light.

See Program

Towards Exodus

Every calendar has its own internal logic. In fact, by studying the calendars of various cultures we can learn a lot about the milestones on which they are based and about those events that mark the history of a people forever. In the case of the tradition of Israel, we can find various layers of meaning in the luach, taking as our point of departure the different starting points of the year according to Judaism. In this text the author suggests going in pursuit of Pesach not only as the beginning of the ancient harvest season but also of the Jewish year in reminding us of the Exodus from Egypt. In this context he will work through three central themes that made, and keep on making, the Exodus possible.

By Rabbi Joshua Kullock

See Article

Origins and Evolution of the Haggadah of Pesach


This project addresses the subject matter of the Haggadah of Pesach, its origins and development. In order to achieve this, the project analyzes the texts and chants of the Haggadah of Pesach. References are taken from literature, Biblical and historical texts as well as from liturgy and traditions. Included in the project are reflective and artistic activities, which allow us to experience the festivities of Pesach.Depending on his/her criteria, the coordinator can choose to carry out the project in its entirety or only follow certain sections.

See Program

The Pesach Seder: Meaning-Making

The powerful “Seder experience” and its transformative potential perhaps explain why, of the rich array of Jewish holiday celebrations and traditions, the Seder ritual is the one most prominent and widespread among Jews today.

See Article

The “Order” of the Seder: Family Passover Program

This project is a family program for Passover that addresses each of the steps of the Seder and its order.
The program is made up of interactive, participative and experiential stations that present the steps of the Seder with an explanation of their origins and meanings in the form of activities that the family can do together.

See Program

The Exodus Observance: The Holiday with Four Names

Using Torah, Talmud, Medieval and contemporary commentaries, this lesson looks at the four names of the Exodus observance and examines what each name adds to our thinking about the Festival. The theoretical outline of the program lies in the Mishnaic statement “In every generation we are obligated to see ourselves as though we personally had gone out of Egypt,” leading participants to create personal statements that might be added to their family Seder as a result of their having been slaves in Egypt

See Program

From Shirat ha Yam to Shir ha Shirim

When we think about the Pesach festival, we can trace a trajectory stretching from Shirat HaIam, the song of the People of Israel sung upon their crossing the Sea of Reeds, all the way to Shir ha Shirim, the Song of Songs, which is nothing less than the text chosen by our tradition to be read in mid festival.

Departing from the dichotomy both poems represent, the author attempts to show how music has played a fundamental role in Judaism for many years, while taking an in-depth look at the various paradigms that can be gleaned from analyzing the texts. This being the case, models are constructed among lyrics and melodies, which govern man’s relationship to people and the people’s to G-d.

by Rabbi Joshua Kullock

See Article

A Pesach Freedom Haggadah Project

This program guides families in creating an original, beautiful Freedom Haggadah. This Haggadah comes into being as the family studies different concepts of freedom and how they relate to the steps and symbols of Pesach. At each encounter, the family creates a page or two with the traditional prayers and the modern interpretation. Family members design artwork on the page, using a variety of art materials, and then the pages are assembled into a Freedom Haggadah.

See Program
Page 1 of 5Next