What happened on the first “Passover”?

Watch the movie

1. Put some of the lamb’s blood on the doorposts of your house

2. Eat all the animal with bitter herbs and unleavened bread (without yeast)

3. On the 10th day, choose a lamb or goat 4. Decide who you are going to share it with,

depending on what each person will eat.5. On the 14th day of the month, all the people of

Israel must slaughter the animal at twilight 6. Eat it quickly, with your cloak tucked into your

belt, sandals on your feet, and a staff in your hand, ready to leave Egypt.

7. Roast the animal over a fire

1. Describe what happened on the first Passover.

2. Put the Passover in the correct order of instructions.

3. Why was it important for the Jews to celebrate it? What did they learn from it about God? PEE

Ever since that first Passover, Jews, in the time of Jesus, would celebrate Passover every year, by going up to the Jerusalem temple, buying a lamb without spot or blemish, and giving it to the Priests to sacrifice.

Then they took the sacrifice home, to roast and eat it that night, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, as the Torah said they should. None of the bones could be broken, and none of the meat could be left over by morning.

• The sacrificed lamb was called “the Paschal Lamb”.

This Passover meal was the meal Jesus celebrated with his disciples on his last night on earth – “the Last Supper”

1. What did Jews do at the time of Jesus to celebrate Passover?

**Why is Jesus called “the Paschal Lamb”? What are the similarities?

• Now, the Temple does not exist, so Jews celebrate Passover by putting “symbolic” food items on a “seder” plate and eating a festive meal. The items on the Seder plate include:

1. A lamb bone (the sacrificed lamb)2. Bitter herbs “Maror” (horseradish, parsnip) - bitterness of

slavery3. Parsley (spring time)4. Salt water – tears of slavery5. unleavened bread (crackers called Matza)6. Roasted egg – new life7. “Haroseth” (nut paste) – to symbolise the mortar used Jewish

slaves used when building bricks for the Pharaoh

• The festive meal includes fish patties (gefilte fish) and chicken soup with matzo balls.

• During this meal, Jews retell the story of the Egyptian slavery and their flight from Egypt.

• The adults drink 4 glasses of wine during this retelling blessing God. They also tap out 10 drops of wine to symbolise the 10 plagues.

• During the meal, the youngest child is meant to ask 4 questions, about the meaning of the different foods and why they are celebrating this meal.

1. Draw the Seder plate with the 7 food items on it. Listen to the song and label the items & their meaning

2. What else do modern Jews do during this meal?

**What are the key foods in a Passover meal? How is this similar to a Catholic mass?