Passover Holiday: Two Seder Celebrations
Every Spring observant Jews around the world celebrate Passover (Pesach), an eight-day religious holiday. It is a very important time in the Jewish religious calendar. During the festival, the ancient Israelite story about freedom from Egyptian bondage is recalled in the evening Seder meal. By examining the photos and authoritative background sources, we can discover about the Seder ritual and its central place within the Passover holiday.
Take a few minutes to look closely at the two photographs displayed. In answering the following questions, cite similarities and differences found in the images.
- What do you notice first? What is the physical setting of each image?
- What key words come to mind in viewing the images?
- What is depicted in the pictures? Describe the people and objects found in them.
- Based on clothing and position at the table, who leading the meal celebration in each image?
- What foods are on the round plate in each image?
- Which objects contain unusual lettering? Are the letters in a language other than English?
- What ideas are expressed in the images?
- Identify other primary documents and credible secondary sources that help you better understand the photographs. Based on these sources, what is happening in the pictures? What symbolic meaning is attached to foods found on the round plates? What book are the meal participants reading?
To the extent possible under law, Kathy Blessing, Community College of Rhode Island Library (Flanagan Campus) has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to “Passover Holiday: Two Seder Celebrations”