AN101, PROF.

TURE

Observation Event
Paper
Passover
Jairo Aparicio
4/29/2008

Observation Paper
PASSOVER
Feasting for freedom

I.

Passover is a holiday full of singing, stories and, most important, precious time

with family and friends. Although telling the story of Passover is a Jewish tradition,
everyone does it differently, and members participate actively in each of its parts.. For
many families not familiar with speaking or reading
I was invited to Rabbi Mark Raphaels home to celebrate Passover. He is the
Rabbi of the congregation Kehilat Shalom in Montgomery Village, Maryland; and his
home is close to the synagogue. Once there, I was received by the rabbi and his family
who introduced me to their friends. We talked about different topics while we were
waiting for other friends to start Passover. As soon as everybody was gathered in there
Ms. Raphael invited us to head to the table to the dining room where the table was set
to celebrate this holy feast. The table was adorned with the Seder plate which contains
all the symbols of the Seder. Those symbols are foods that are not eaten during the
Seder, and they are:

Karpas, a vegetable usually green such as parsley symbolizing spring and

rebirth. It is dipped.

Haroset: A mixture of chopped apples nuts, wine and spices.

Maror: The bitter herbs.

Either Romaine lettuce horseradish, used as a symbol of the bitterness of

slavery.

We dipped the Maror into haroset to lessen the bitter herbs taste. It symbolizes the
mortar that the slaves made for bricks in Egypt.Beitzah, a roasted egg symbol of the
festival sacrifice, offer by each Jew going up to the temple Jerusalem.

Zeroa, a roasted bone, symbol of the Passover sacrifice.

The table was also; set with three Matzo (is unlevel bread). Wine, it should be Kosher
for Passover, and it is needed for the four cups, because each person is required to
drink four cups. The celebration starts with the sanctification of the day, and wine is
drunk. Before the meal, we washed our hands and recite a blessing. After that, we deep
a vegetable into salt water. Then, we took one of the three Matzos, and broke it in two.
Why? Because the larger piece is wrap in a napkin and set aside to be eaten at the end
of the meal. The smaller piece is replaced between the other two matzos. I was
explained this is a symbol of the slave food in Egypt because it represents the extreme
poverty of Jewish life in Egypt. After that, we read the story of the exodus. Then, there is
a tradition composed of four questions asked by the youngest child present in the
celebration, beginning with: Why is this night different from all nights?

The Seder ritual begins by telling the story in Exodus and the history of the

enslavement of the Jews. The leader then explains the symbolism of the foods
prepared for the meal: zeroah (shank bone of a lamb); beytza (roasted egg); maror
(bitter herbs); haroset (mixture of chopped apples, nuts and wine); karpas (green
vegetable); and salt water.

Connection to Christianity
The connection to Christianity's defining event is clear. When Catholics gather to
commemorate the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, the celebration begins by
recalling Christ and his Apostles at the Last Supper, which was a Passover Seder meal.
Theories of Religion
As for rituals, people who are outsiders to an specific religion and worldview may not
share an opinion that they help achieve the goals the performers have in mind. To them,
most rituals may seem like a waste of time and resources.(p.283). Personally, I
disagree this statement since I participated in this event. Why? Because of the valuable
time the Rabbis family and friends shared with me, I can say that even Passover is a
ritual, that night became more like any regular meeting you have with your family. I am
not a Jew, I am catholic, but i have the need to say I wish I could have in my religious
congregation such as pleasant and joyful environment just as the one I felt in the
Rabbis home, because we became a big family for a couple of hours, just by praying,
eating, and looking the light of the candles extinguished.

III.
In other words, this event was very special for me. First, because it has been
event where I have not needed anything more than my presence to be treated equal,;
they made me feel at home. Second, I felt comfortable with people sharing ideas and
knowledge about any topic, and third, because as a new experience it was, and an
assignment for a class, I would like to assist to one of these multicultural religious
celebrations more often without seeing them as a task to do.