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USCJ EC Staff Meeting Shiur - April 2006

Questions for Discussion:

1. We've recently celebrated Hanukah and Purim and are now approaching Pesach, so the Alan King joke certainly strikes a chord. Refresh your memory - who is the "they" in each of these holidays? Who is the corresponding hero who saves us?
2. How does this "joke" make you feel? Do you agree with it? Do you disagree? What does this joke make you think about? What does it make you want to change in the world?
3. Consider the following snippets from the Pesach story:

   Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, "Every boy that is born you shall throw into the Nile, but let every girl live" (Exodus 1:22).

   [And the Lord continued,] "Come, therefore, I will send you to Pharaoh, and you shall free My people, the Israelites, from Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and free the Israelites from Egypt?" (Exodus 3:10-11).

   Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her in dance with timbrels. (Exodus 15:20)

   What allows one person to victimize another? What gives someone the strength to overcome persecution? What do these verses tell you about Judaism and God? Who are some of the other Pesach heroes in Exodus chapters 1-15 (beyond Moses and Miriam)?
4. Many people struggle with this theme, with the Jewish people being seen as constantly having to fight for our survival and often being portrayed as victims. This can be especially true for people who work with young children. With this in mind, how can we still truthfully portray the story of Pesach (or any other similar holiday story) to our children, and still keep it within a positive light?

Printable version

Maxine Segal Handelman
Consultant for Early Childhood Education,
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism