Eighth Graders Participate in Passover Seder Meal
Our 8th graders participated in a Passover Seder Meal on Tuesday, March 30.
They had begun Lent by praying, writing, and acting out the Stations of the Cross each Friday. They learned about the Triduum, as celebrated in Jesus's time, and as celebrated today. They watched The Passion of the Christ and wrote responses indicating the impact of certain scenes on their lives.
With the Jewish Passover beginning last Saturday evening, and with Holy Week beginning on Palm Sunday, students were able to participate in a mini-Seder meal.
Mr. Lakin, one of our high school teachers and Varsity Baseball coaches, was kind enough to let the class borrow an actual Passover plate and chalice that his family uses, as well as the entire Passover script in Hebrew and English, read from back to front.
For their Seder Meal, the 8th graders ate:
- Hard boiled eggs, representing the Spring season and a new beginning
- Horseradish, representing the pain of the Jewish people being enslaved in Egypt
- An apple-cinnamon-nut mixture, representing the mortar the enslaved Jewish people made to hold bricks together
- Parsley dipped in salt water, representing the tears of the Jewish people enslaved in Egypt
- Romaine lettuce (the second bitter herb), representing the pain of the enslaved Jewish people
- Beats (substitute for a shank bone), representing the blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifices made by the Jewish people
The students also drank grape juice (substituting for wine) and ate unleavened bread called Matzoh. They were able to draw connections between how the Jewish people celebrate Passover and how the Catholic priest celebrates Mass, including the procedure of the washing of the hands.
