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Friday April 9, 1999

Students are slaves for a day in Pesach reenactment

RACHEL M ZRIHEN
Bulletin Correspondent

For an innovative twist on the Passover tradition, it would be tough to beat the "experiential walk" and seder held on Monday of last week at Brandeis-Hillel Day School in San Rafael.

Students, dressed in what they imagined the Israelites wore during their sojourn in Egypt, made a symbolic journey from slavery to freedom.

With the eighth graders as slave masters, the younger children, some of whom were made to carry heavy backpacks in the Sephardic Pesach tradition, were ordered to repeat the phrase, "I am a slave, and I will do what you tell me." They were led through hallways and ordered to do various tasks, such as build with bricks.

Slave masters stood all along the route, shouting orders and "whipping" the slaves with scallions in the Afghani Jewish tradition. The slave masters also shouted "Do your chores!" and "Do your homework!" to illustrate some of the ways in which the students might feel enslaved today.

The single-file procession of diminutive Israelite slaves made its way to the courtyard, where students were asked to illustrate or write on a large piece of paper one of the 10 plagues that helped convince Pharaoh to let Moses' people go.

The group then passed through the parted waters of the Red Sea, as represented by two students waving blue sheets, and through the doors of the social hall, which was decorated to look like the desert.

Here they found freedom.

Welcoming them was Judaic Studies coordinator and seder organizer Rachel Rosenfield, dressed as Moses' sister Miriam, and guitar-playing Paul Abramson dressed as Aaron.

Amidst the painted palms and desert scenes, the children sat on pillows on the floor, around seder tables, for an abbreviated version of the Passover story -- recounted in words, songs, activities and discussions of such subjects as how to live in a free community, and the meaning of the 15 parts of the seder.

Students seemed captivated by the entire experience.

"It was great," said second-grader Marty Zack. "I liked most that the eighth graders took us through the experience, like building things and going through the Red Sea. The food part was fun also."

Alyssa Miller, another second grader, agreed. "It was cool going through everything. And I liked eating the food."

Eighth grader Ian Schatzberg said it was a "wonderful experience because they were able to bring the flavor and feelings of slavery in Egypt to the kids. It was a great way to share and interact with the younger kids and experience the joy of Judaism with the community."

The unusual program was designed by school administrators and staff.

"This is a Pesach experiential concept," said Rabbi Henry Shreibman, head of school, "as opposed to the repetition they will experience [at their seders]. We have designed age-appropriate activities so the students can experience different parts of the seder, and create an emotional and intellectual connection to real Jewish history."

Rosenfield was "the driving force behind this program," said Gerald Barkan, the head of campus. "She knows how to make Judaism come alive for the kids. She's a gem...She energizes the teachers."

Parent David Greenblat, who has an 8- and 10-year-old at the school, said, "This is great. At every seder you learn something, and this one is like going back in time."

Students were encouraged to think about "what you need to take from one culture to another to rebuild a life," said Shreibman, "and what to leave behind." Every generation of Jews must make this choice, he said.

"And active questioning is encouraged, like why is the egg not mentioned [in the seder], and are the four questions really four questions or four answers."

These, he noted, were some of the actual questions posed by students in preparation for this event.

The seder ended with spirited Israeli folk dancing, as students recalled the exultation experienced by the newly freed Israelites.

It was a Passover no one at Brandeis-Hillel School is likely to forget.

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