In time for Pesach, here's Kevin Bales from freetheslaves.net.
Showing posts with label passover. Show all posts
Showing posts with label passover. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Pesach Cleaning
It takes a good amount of time to thoroughly clean a kitchen for Pesach, even a simple one like ours.
Today I'm off to work, while Rachel will shop, drop our remaining chametz products off with our non-Jewish friends, do the final touches on cleaning, and possibly do some cooking. Tonight we'll do bedikat chametz, or ritually search the house to see if we missed any chametz. Tomorrow we'll burn whatever is left and finish the cooking.
I usually prepare some interesting activity, project, or questions for seder night, but I'm currently blank so far. Any ideas?
Have a happy and kosher Pesach.
Yehuda
Today I'm off to work, while Rachel will shop, drop our remaining chametz products off with our non-Jewish friends, do the final touches on cleaning, and possibly do some cooking. Tonight we'll do bedikat chametz, or ritually search the house to see if we missed any chametz. Tomorrow we'll burn whatever is left and finish the cooking.
I usually prepare some interesting activity, project, or questions for seder night, but I'm currently blank so far. Any ideas?
Have a happy and kosher Pesach.
Yehuda
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Slavery in Israel
The good news is that the percentage of people around the world in slavery, if not the actual number of people, is much lower than it once was. Every country in the world has laws against slavery, even when it is not well enforced. And modern morality has pretty much reached the point when most forms of slavery are generally condemned - obviously not by the slavers.
The bad news is that millions of people are still enslaved today. There are a number of different issues when is comes to slavery: bonded labor, forced marriage, child exploitation, human trafficking, force and violence. Israel, unfortunately, has all of these, as do many other civilized countries around the world.
Bonded Labor
Work to pay off a debt is not inherently a bad thing, if you're paid fairly and promptly for your labor. This is not the case for tens or hundreds of millions of people around the world today. In Israel, some optimists in third-world countries pay $8-$10 thousand dollars to get a VISA to Israel, only to find that the promised job doesn't exist, is paid less than minimum wage, requires over 12 hours of work a day, includes work far outside the scope advertised, or includes no benefits.
Crooked employers may threaten to go to the police, withhold the person's passport, withhold wages, and so on. Women, in particular, may be subject to violence and threats.
The organization Kav LaOved is the address to turn to for worker's rights in Israel. There are many labor laws and unions in Israel, and the court system is ready to help. The police should be helping, but it doesn't seem like they do much.
Forced Marriage
Forced marriage is a problem in some Haredi and Arab communities. Young girls are married off, often without consent, their family roles now imposed on them by harsh social stigmas, threats of violence, or even deadly violence in some cases.
"It's a cultural thing" is the usual defense. Luckily, when noted, the courts in this country don't agree with that. I don't have statistics, and I'm hopeful that relatively few women are in crisis situations like this. One hears occasionally about a woman in crisis or an honor killing in the Druze or Arab population.
For information about women's resources around Israel - crisis centers, shelters, and so on - including specific ones for religious women and Arabs, click here.
Child Exploitation
Israel has some child labor and exploitation issues. Some children ages 15+ work in excess of what is permitted by law, especially in rural occupations. This includes both Jews and Arabs. At least, this is generally due to poverty - "forced labor" due to economic circumstances - not to any organized system of enslaving children.
Radical Jewish elements sometimes indoctrinate children as young as ten to demonstrate for political or religious causes. On the plus side, our army doesn't allow children under 18 years old to serve, although there have been exceptions.
Many Palestinians of all ages are indoctrinated into violence and martyrdom. Since 2000, around 100 suicide bomber or shooting attacks were carried out or attempted by Palestinian children between the ages of 14 and 17.
Human Trafficking
Israel had a problem with human trafficking, although it is making steps in the right direction. Most people trafficked into Israel are brought across the Egyptian border.
The largest facet of the problem is women from Eastern Soviet block countries brought in to serve in the sex industry in the Tel Aviv area. Once, estimates reported as many as five or ten thousand women affected; that number has dropped to around three thousand. A 2007 Knesset report estimated a drop to less than one thousand women trafficked into the country each year.
Women are often physically restrained, earning almost nothing - or nothing - from the ten to fifteen clients they are forced to serve each day. Escape is difficult: the pimps hold their passports, tell them horror stories of what the police will do to them, beat them, threaten their families or children, etc...
Addresses to turn to for more on this problem include Task Force on Human Trafficking, an Israeli organization, and The Israeli Women's Network.
In addition to the sex trade, trafficking is also done for labor purposes, leading to bonded labor.
Shelters exist specifically for victims of human trafficking. Legal penalties for perpetrators have been raised to decent levels, when they are enforced. President Peres recently spoke out against the phenomenon.
This year, as you raise cups to freedom, remember that all is not well around the world, and even in your own backyard.
Global resources: Anti-Slavery, Free the Slaves, Wikipedia,
The bad news is that millions of people are still enslaved today. There are a number of different issues when is comes to slavery: bonded labor, forced marriage, child exploitation, human trafficking, force and violence. Israel, unfortunately, has all of these, as do many other civilized countries around the world.
Bonded Labor
Work to pay off a debt is not inherently a bad thing, if you're paid fairly and promptly for your labor. This is not the case for tens or hundreds of millions of people around the world today. In Israel, some optimists in third-world countries pay $8-$10 thousand dollars to get a VISA to Israel, only to find that the promised job doesn't exist, is paid less than minimum wage, requires over 12 hours of work a day, includes work far outside the scope advertised, or includes no benefits.
Crooked employers may threaten to go to the police, withhold the person's passport, withhold wages, and so on. Women, in particular, may be subject to violence and threats.
The organization Kav LaOved is the address to turn to for worker's rights in Israel. There are many labor laws and unions in Israel, and the court system is ready to help. The police should be helping, but it doesn't seem like they do much.
Forced Marriage
Forced marriage is a problem in some Haredi and Arab communities. Young girls are married off, often without consent, their family roles now imposed on them by harsh social stigmas, threats of violence, or even deadly violence in some cases.
"It's a cultural thing" is the usual defense. Luckily, when noted, the courts in this country don't agree with that. I don't have statistics, and I'm hopeful that relatively few women are in crisis situations like this. One hears occasionally about a woman in crisis or an honor killing in the Druze or Arab population.
For information about women's resources around Israel - crisis centers, shelters, and so on - including specific ones for religious women and Arabs, click here.
Child Exploitation
Israel has some child labor and exploitation issues. Some children ages 15+ work in excess of what is permitted by law, especially in rural occupations. This includes both Jews and Arabs. At least, this is generally due to poverty - "forced labor" due to economic circumstances - not to any organized system of enslaving children.
Radical Jewish elements sometimes indoctrinate children as young as ten to demonstrate for political or religious causes. On the plus side, our army doesn't allow children under 18 years old to serve, although there have been exceptions.
Many Palestinians of all ages are indoctrinated into violence and martyrdom. Since 2000, around 100 suicide bomber or shooting attacks were carried out or attempted by Palestinian children between the ages of 14 and 17.
Human Trafficking
Israel had a problem with human trafficking, although it is making steps in the right direction. Most people trafficked into Israel are brought across the Egyptian border.
The largest facet of the problem is women from Eastern Soviet block countries brought in to serve in the sex industry in the Tel Aviv area. Once, estimates reported as many as five or ten thousand women affected; that number has dropped to around three thousand. A 2007 Knesset report estimated a drop to less than one thousand women trafficked into the country each year.
Women are often physically restrained, earning almost nothing - or nothing - from the ten to fifteen clients they are forced to serve each day. Escape is difficult: the pimps hold their passports, tell them horror stories of what the police will do to them, beat them, threaten their families or children, etc...
Addresses to turn to for more on this problem include Task Force on Human Trafficking, an Israeli organization, and The Israeli Women's Network.
In addition to the sex trade, trafficking is also done for labor purposes, leading to bonded labor.
Shelters exist specifically for victims of human trafficking. Legal penalties for perpetrators have been raised to decent levels, when they are enforced. President Peres recently spoke out against the phenomenon.
This year, as you raise cups to freedom, remember that all is not well around the world, and even in your own backyard.
Global resources: Anti-Slavery, Free the Slaves, Wikipedia,
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Passover Cleaning Nearly Done
I got swamped with work at the same time that Rachel decided to finish her book at the same time that Passover cleaning arrived. Amazingly, I got up some posts at Purple Pawn.
Do a tag search on this blog for passover and you'll find a number of good games and thoughts for Passover. What else to add?
If you can read this, you've got an Internet access (probably unfiltered), eyesight, manual dexterity, literacy in English, decent cognitive function, and enough free time to take a break. Congratulations: you're healthier, freer, more highly skilled, and probably wealthier than at least half the planet.
See what you can do for the other half.
Happy Passover.
Do a tag search on this blog for passover and you'll find a number of good games and thoughts for Passover. What else to add?
If you can read this, you've got an Internet access (probably unfiltered), eyesight, manual dexterity, literacy in English, decent cognitive function, and enough free time to take a break. Congratulations: you're healthier, freer, more highly skilled, and probably wealthier than at least half the planet.
See what you can do for the other half.
Happy Passover.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Passover Game: Roles and Items
I created this game in the last few minutes before Passover began (actually, before shabbat began).
I make three sets of papers: personalities, items, and books. There was one paper in each set for each of my seder participants; we were twelve people for seder, so I made twelve personalities, and each personality had a corresponding item and book.
I shuffled these up and gave one paper from each set to each of our participants, i.e. each person got one random personality, one random item, and one random book.
During the seder, if you touched your nose or ear you were to speak as if you were the personality on your paper. The object of the game was to return to the correct personality their item and book.
So you not only had to figure out who was who, you also had to figure out which item and which book belonged to which personality.
The personalities I used included:
This was last minute, so some of these could be better, and some items could belong to more than one person. But you get the idea. In any case, the game went over pretty well, so there you go.
Yehuda
[1] Helps with hard hearts.
[2] Helps with chapped lips.
[3] Yocheved's husband wanted to separate from his wife so as not to produce any babies.
[4] Miriam watched Moses in the Nile from afar.
[5] Aaron had many clothes as high priest.
[6] Tzipporah needed this to chase away shepherds at the well.
[7] To put onto his strong hand and outstretched arm.
[8] Yitro heard about what happened to Israel in a distant land.
[9] Serach was very old and knew the correct code words that would identify a real savior for the Jewish people.
I make three sets of papers: personalities, items, and books. There was one paper in each set for each of my seder participants; we were twelve people for seder, so I made twelve personalities, and each personality had a corresponding item and book.
I shuffled these up and gave one paper from each set to each of our participants, i.e. each person got one random personality, one random item, and one random book.
During the seder, if you touched your nose or ear you were to speak as if you were the personality on your paper. The object of the game was to return to the correct personality their item and book.
So you not only had to figure out who was who, you also had to figure out which item and which book belonged to which personality.
The personalities I used included:
| Personality | Item | Book |
|---|---|---|
| Pharaoh | Asprin [1] | Seven Habits of Highly Effective Kings |
| Moses | Chapstick [2] | Living with a Foster Mother |
| Yocheved | Baby Carriage | Reawakening Desire in Your Spouse [3] |
| Miriam | Binoculars [4] | Sisterhood is Powerful |
| Aaron | Closet [5] | He Aint Heavy, He's Your Brother |
| Magician | Deck of Cards | The Idiot's Guide to Magic |
| Midwife | Forceps | Natural Childbirth |
| Tzipporah | Mace [6] | On Being a Single Parent |
| God | Gauntlets [7] | Nation-Building |
| Yitro | Radio [8] | A History of the Jews |
| Serach Bat Asher | Wheelchair | Bible Codes [9] |
| Pharaoh's Daughter | Fishing Rod | Raising a Foster Child |
This was last minute, so some of these could be better, and some items could belong to more than one person. But you get the idea. In any case, the game went over pretty well, so there you go.
Yehuda
[1] Helps with hard hearts.
[2] Helps with chapped lips.
[3] Yocheved's husband wanted to separate from his wife so as not to produce any babies.
[4] Miriam watched Moses in the Nile from afar.
[5] Aaron had many clothes as high priest.
[6] Tzipporah needed this to chase away shepherds at the well.
[7] To put onto his strong hand and outstretched arm.
[8] Yitro heard about what happened to Israel in a distant land.
[9] Serach was very old and knew the correct code words that would identify a real savior for the Jewish people.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Passover Cometh
Ready for Passover
Passover is Saturday night/Sunday, so I will be out of communication until at least Sunday night. If I were living in the US, it would be until at least Monday night.
The house is all cleaned of hametz, and spring cleaned as well. The cooking will be finished today. The guests are invited and all bringing stuff.
My kids are with me this Passover, and Ariella, my step-daughter, is also with us, unexpectedly allowed to leave her officer training program in the army for the weekend.
Games and divrei torah are prepared. Let's have a seder.
Game Plans
Rachel being back means that Nadine and Rachel and I can resume our weekly Puerto Rico games. And whenever Tal is around, we play It's Alive or card games a lot.
I have a number of posting ideas, but they all require more research than I'm willing to expend after all my Passover preparations. So I'll just say: have a good seder (if you have one), and I'll see you on the other side.
Yehuda
P.S. Some movies I've seen recently that I recommend: 10 Items or Less (quirky and entertaining), Atonement (lovely), August Rush (if you can suspend disbelief, in the mood for the mythic, and are very sentimental), The Bourne Ultimatum, Closer (unbelievably good), Donnie Darko (weird), House of Flying Daggers (like CT,HD), The Jane Austen Book Club (lovely), Once (if you're patient and realize that it's a musical, it's brilliant).
Passover is Saturday night/Sunday, so I will be out of communication until at least Sunday night. If I were living in the US, it would be until at least Monday night.
The house is all cleaned of hametz, and spring cleaned as well. The cooking will be finished today. The guests are invited and all bringing stuff.
My kids are with me this Passover, and Ariella, my step-daughter, is also with us, unexpectedly allowed to leave her officer training program in the army for the weekend.
Games and divrei torah are prepared. Let's have a seder.
Game Plans
Rachel being back means that Nadine and Rachel and I can resume our weekly Puerto Rico games. And whenever Tal is around, we play It's Alive or card games a lot.
I have a number of posting ideas, but they all require more research than I'm willing to expend after all my Passover preparations. So I'll just say: have a good seder (if you have one), and I'll see you on the other side.
Yehuda
P.S. Some movies I've seen recently that I recommend: 10 Items or Less (quirky and entertaining), Atonement (lovely), August Rush (if you can suspend disbelief, in the mood for the mythic, and are very sentimental), The Bourne Ultimatum, Closer (unbelievably good), Donnie Darko (weird), House of Flying Daggers (like CT,HD), The Jane Austen Book Club (lovely), Once (if you're patient and realize that it's a musical, it's brilliant).
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Passover Games
Passover is centered around the idea of telling the story of the Exodus to your children. The Talmud bring many ideas to get children interested and keep them engaged in this story telling, many of which now form the core rituals of the Passover seder: breaking the middle matzah, dipping vegetables in salt water, and so on. Even the songs at the end of the seder were added as an incentive to children to remain awake until the end of the meal.
Games are another good way to keep children engaged during the seder. You can bring a game out at an appropriate time during the story telling, when interest begins flagging, or as a reward for a lively interactive conversation.
There are Passover versions of games that you already know: Word Search, Jeopardy, Bingo, Slides and Ladders, Go Fish.
I created Four Sons as a story telling game to explore the idea of the four types of children. Let My People Go, Exodus From Egypt, and Exodus: The Game of Passover are three simple English Passover themed board games for young children.
Good Reading, Ltd created four Passover themed games for children under their "Egypt to Canaan" series in the 1970s: The Plagues of Egypt, The Wilderness Wandering, The Ten Commandments, and The Conquest of Canaan. I don't know anything about these games or where to find them.
There are also Hebrew Passover games for children, such as דיינו or פסח שמח, and many others. You can probably find Passover games in your language, whatever it is; drop me a line if you need help with this.
After the seder, there are many games for grown ups not specifically about Passover but set in ancient Egypt. Some of these games are excellent, excellent games, including Thebes, Ra, Amun Re, Mykerinos, and Scarab Lords, to name a few.
Additional games set in Egypt can be seen on this list of games on Board Game Geek.
Yehuda
Games are another good way to keep children engaged during the seder. You can bring a game out at an appropriate time during the story telling, when interest begins flagging, or as a reward for a lively interactive conversation.
There are Passover versions of games that you already know: Word Search, Jeopardy, Bingo, Slides and Ladders, Go Fish.
I created Four Sons as a story telling game to explore the idea of the four types of children. Let My People Go, Exodus From Egypt, and Exodus: The Game of Passover are three simple English Passover themed board games for young children.
Good Reading, Ltd created four Passover themed games for children under their "Egypt to Canaan" series in the 1970s: The Plagues of Egypt, The Wilderness Wandering, The Ten Commandments, and The Conquest of Canaan. I don't know anything about these games or where to find them.
There are also Hebrew Passover games for children, such as דיינו or פסח שמח, and many others. You can probably find Passover games in your language, whatever it is; drop me a line if you need help with this.
After the seder, there are many games for grown ups not specifically about Passover but set in ancient Egypt. Some of these games are excellent, excellent games, including Thebes, Ra, Amun Re, Mykerinos, and Scarab Lords, to name a few.
Additional games set in Egypt can be seen on this list of games on Board Game Geek.
Yehuda
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
My Pee Smells Like Matzah
One would think that, given a selection of all meats, milks, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, sweets, and fake flour products, that a diet on Passover could be more than simply matzah and salt, matzah lasagna, matzah rolls, matza kugel, matzah pancakes with matzah, .... (insert vikings singing here).
But anyhoo ...
I'm not here to talk about my pee.
The Game Doctor
It's nice to receive a number of emails after Hag about my birthday and my father, as well as a few questions about games. Makes me feel all fuzzy.
Before Hag started, one of the neighbors from the nearby village swung by to borrow a game which they asked that I bring since they knew I would be staying at my brother's. The doctor is in.
And then ...
Hag morning I'm sitting in shul next to a guy I don't know. Never seen him before. Halfway through the prayer services he turns to me and asks - I swear, these were the first words out of his mouth - "What do you usully start with for the first move in Puerto Rico?"
"Oh. Settler/quarry, mostly," I answer.
"Thanks. I've been doing Builder/Small Market."
Wha? How?
He saw me come in with my niece, and figured out that I was the brother with the games.
Games Played
I told a lot of stories. We played a lot of the games at the seder. The Four Sons one went over very well.
In the afternoon we got down to more serious business.
24/7: I brought this ridiculously bulky game because it doesn't get played much at our house, but I thought it might work for my 7 year old niece. She didn't quite get it, but I suspect she could with some more play. We didn't play with scores, because that's not really the point.
It's ok for kids. Sorry, but it's not much of a grown-up game.
Bridge: A few hands with the wife, mom, and brother. I think I declared most of them.
Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers: I didn't play this, but my brother, niece, and sister-in-law did. I'm kind of missing it. One of the few games I traded away that I may need to reaquire.
Settlers of Catan: Played with my brother and niece. I had a reasonable setup, but the dice favored my brother a bit more. My niece and I both had 6 points. My niece also gained from the "2 hex" strategy, in that 2's were rolled more often than 6's (or 9's).
Puerto Rico: Played with my brother, sister-in-law, and Rachel. My sis-in-law let my brother have a few choice trades, which made my situation rather difficult. Despite this, I blocked a number of boats, acquired a complete Factory, and grabbed Guild Hall. In the end, he still won 52 to 50 over me, with Rachel and sis-in-law trailing.
Game News
Gamasutra talks about in-game branding. (Thanks, Duncan)
Talisman Island is a site about all things Talisman.
Game Day tomorrow. Toodles.
Yehuda
But anyhoo ...
I'm not here to talk about my pee.
The Game Doctor
It's nice to receive a number of emails after Hag about my birthday and my father, as well as a few questions about games. Makes me feel all fuzzy.
Before Hag started, one of the neighbors from the nearby village swung by to borrow a game which they asked that I bring since they knew I would be staying at my brother's. The doctor is in.
And then ...
Hag morning I'm sitting in shul next to a guy I don't know. Never seen him before. Halfway through the prayer services he turns to me and asks - I swear, these were the first words out of his mouth - "What do you usully start with for the first move in Puerto Rico?"
"Oh. Settler/quarry, mostly," I answer.
"Thanks. I've been doing Builder/Small Market."
Wha? How?
He saw me come in with my niece, and figured out that I was the brother with the games.
Games Played
I told a lot of stories. We played a lot of the games at the seder. The Four Sons one went over very well.
In the afternoon we got down to more serious business.
24/7: I brought this ridiculously bulky game because it doesn't get played much at our house, but I thought it might work for my 7 year old niece. She didn't quite get it, but I suspect she could with some more play. We didn't play with scores, because that's not really the point.
It's ok for kids. Sorry, but it's not much of a grown-up game.
Bridge: A few hands with the wife, mom, and brother. I think I declared most of them.
Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers: I didn't play this, but my brother, niece, and sister-in-law did. I'm kind of missing it. One of the few games I traded away that I may need to reaquire.
Settlers of Catan: Played with my brother and niece. I had a reasonable setup, but the dice favored my brother a bit more. My niece and I both had 6 points. My niece also gained from the "2 hex" strategy, in that 2's were rolled more often than 6's (or 9's).
Puerto Rico: Played with my brother, sister-in-law, and Rachel. My sis-in-law let my brother have a few choice trades, which made my situation rather difficult. Despite this, I blocked a number of boats, acquired a complete Factory, and grabbed Guild Hall. In the end, he still won 52 to 50 over me, with Rachel and sis-in-law trailing.
Game News
Gamasutra talks about in-game branding. (Thanks, Duncan)
Talisman Island is a site about all things Talisman.
Game Day tomorrow. Toodles.
Yehuda
Monday, April 02, 2007
Quick Post About Ancient Egypt and the Jews
I'm stealing some time before Hag on my brother's computer.
He wants to play Amun-Re with me tomorrow. He bought the game to play with his gaming neighbors, but unfortunately let them see the rules before explaining the game to them. As a result, they got the unedited version of the rules which includes the infamous Step 4 (sacrifice).
As a result, they refuse to play the game. Let that be a warning to you.
Meanwhile, my niece and I are making up new cards for the Four Sons activity (one of mine: brunnette, blonde, redhead, gray).
Yehuda
He wants to play Amun-Re with me tomorrow. He bought the game to play with his gaming neighbors, but unfortunately let them see the rules before explaining the game to them. As a result, they got the unedited version of the rules which includes the infamous Step 4 (sacrifice).
As a result, they refuse to play the game. Let that be a warning to you.
Meanwhile, my niece and I are making up new cards for the Four Sons activity (one of mine: brunnette, blonde, redhead, gray).
Yehuda
Happy Passover
Tonight's my birthday. Woo hoo. Here are my wish lists on Amazon and BGG, in case you were wondering ;-).
I will be bringing my Passover games (wordsearch, jeopardy, four sons, and bingo) to the seder. You may also enjoy my four stories (1, 2, 3, 4).
For gamers, last year I made A Gamer's Haggadah.
And you can revisit my Passover greetings from last year - words that are still true today, unfortunately.
Games Day is on Wednesday.
Don't eat too much; save room for the afikomen.
Hag Sameach,
Yehuda
I will be bringing my Passover games (wordsearch, jeopardy, four sons, and bingo) to the seder. You may also enjoy my four stories (1, 2, 3, 4).
For gamers, last year I made A Gamer's Haggadah.
And you can revisit my Passover greetings from last year - words that are still true today, unfortunately.
Games Day is on Wednesday.
Don't eat too much; save room for the afikomen.
Hag Sameach,
Yehuda
Monday, March 26, 2007
Linkety Link
I am helping a collector purchase a few Israeli games and have them shipped to UK. It's nice to be able to help out.
Game News
Bernie, this is for you: Dashka Slater on Salon complains about how people use "fun" to mean "important", and "important" to mean "fun".
Another story about religious themed games: Let there be fun. Generally about Christian themed games, a paragraph in the middle talks about Jewish themed games, which led me to find Passover games such as:
84% of British parents want to play more board games with their kids, according to The Daily Record.
YourPropertyClub complains that the one lesson you learned from Monopoly - namely, tangible hands on money management - is now gone in the new credit card version.
Yehuda
Game News
Bernie, this is for you: Dashka Slater on Salon complains about how people use "fun" to mean "important", and "important" to mean "fun".
Another story about religious themed games: Let there be fun. Generally about Christian themed games, a paragraph in the middle talks about Jewish themed games, which led me to find Passover games such as:
- Exodus: The Game of Passover
- Let My People Go
- Matzoh Ball Bingo
- Passover Go Fish
- Passover Pairs
- Passover Overpass
- Passover Slides and Ladders
- Shmos
- The Seder Board Game
84% of British parents want to play more board games with their kids, according to The Daily Record.
YourPropertyClub complains that the one lesson you learned from Monopoly - namely, tangible hands on money management - is now gone in the new credit card version.
Yehuda
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Passover Game: Wordsearch
Created at Armored Penguin.
Don't forget to find all ten pieces of hametz and the afikomen.
Yehuda
Don't forget to find all ten pieces of hametz and the afikomen.
| r | c | h | e | p | y | a | h | a | t | z | u | t | h | h |
| u | f | c | a | m | t | s | k | z | t | e | m | a | h | a |
| y | m | e | s | z | h | a | m | e | t | z | m | p | h | e |
| z | z | r | h | l | d | e | m | z | t | e | m | a | h | e |
| f | w | a | m | e | h | a | m | e | t | z | z | h | e | e |
| a | r | b | s | l | h | d | m | z | t | e | m | a | h | s |
| a | s | h | u | l | h | a | n | o | r | e | c | h | h | p |
| p | z | n | r | a | h | g | m | e | l | i | y | a | h | u |
| t | w | t | h | h | h | g | t | e | m | h | r | z | a | c |
| t | i | c | a | r | p | a | s | w | t | o | a | t | o | d |
| n | n | s | t | m | w | h | m | z | s | z | k | r | a | i |
| h | e | i | z | t | o | m | a | e | t | a | e | i | l | g |
| p | z | t | l | h | a | f | t | i | t | c | s | n | f | g |
| t | h | a | a | r | u | e | e | a | h | z | e | o | t | a |
| h | s | l | o | n | b | b | h | u | r | f | u | m | a | m |
| m | h | r | i | f | s | t | s | c | h | r | l | k | z | m |
| afikomen | barech | beitza |
| carpas | corech | cups |
| eliyahu | four | haggada |
| hallel | hametz | haroset |
| hazeret | kadesh | maggid |
| maror | matza | motzi |
| nirtzah | pesah | rahzta |
| saltwater | shulhanorech | tzafun |
| urhatz | wine | yahatz |
What's Today's Date? Look in the Supermarket
In America, supermarkets are colored black and orange before Halloween. Happy turkeys are led to the slaughter before Thanksgiving. And red and green banners mingle with snow and santas around, say, nine months before Christmas.In Israel, we do it according to the Jewish holidays. Around one month before:
- Passover: boxes of matza, matza meal, wines, kosher l'pesach this and that, such as cereals and cakes, and lots of dishes and silverware.
- Lag Ba'omer: barbecues, coals, and tongs, and meats.
- Shavuot: dairy products and cheesecakes.
- Rosh Hashana: honey, honey cakes, wines, and apples, along with honey serving trays and nuts.
- Sukkot: sukkah decorations.
- Hanukkah: oil, potatoes, gold-foil covered coins, candles, and menorahs.
- Tu B'shvat, nuts and dried fruit, loose an in gift baskets.
- Purim: hametashen, noisemakers, candies and little bottles of wine for shaloch manot.
Go shopping before Passover.
Drink wine and eat matza and vegetables on Passover.
Eat meat on Lag Ba'Omer.
Wait three weeks.
Drink milk on Shavuot.
Don't eat for a few months.
Eat honey and cakes on Rosh Hashana.
Beg some food from your neighbors on Sukkot.
Eat oils, donuts, and salty snacks on Hanukkah.
Eat fruits on Tu B'shvat.
Eat whatever is left on Purim. Drink the rest of the wine.
Wash the dishes(*) and sweep up the crumbs.
---
The funny thing about Passover foodstuffs in the supermarket is the mingling of old and new products. For many years, we were astonished that we could buy store-bought cookies at all. They were terrible, but they were cookies! For Passover!
These same cookies lasted for about fifty years. In the last twenty years or so, we began making progress with Passover baking, until today when we have a ridiculously large selection of incredibly good cakes and cookies for Passover.
But the old one, the ones our mothers and grandmothers bought, are still available, and still terrible. They continue to sell because of brand recognition.
Sounds like another industry I know.
---
In Israel we have a vast mixture of "kitniyot" and "non-kitniyot" products, which means stuff Ashkenazim don't eat, and stuff that everyone eats.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that there are vast levels of differences in levels of kitniyot, everything that anyone even suspects of being kitniyot to some group is simply labeled kitniyot. The assumption is that people are too dumb to understand the complexities, so better safe than sorry.
Unfortunately, they're right, and the vast majority of Ashkenazim swallow this (or don't swallow this) by refraining from buying anything labeled kitniyot, even if the ingredient only "became kitniyot" last year due to a phonetic misunderstanding.
For instance, until three years ago, the only cheap oil that Ashkenazim ate was cotton-seed oil or "shemen cotenet". In the last year or two, someone decided that "cotenet" sounds too much like "kitniyot", so it should be labeled kitniyot to avoid confusion. Now cotton seed oil is pretty disgusting, and no one uses it except Ashkenazim on Passover. As a result, you won't find any cotton-seed oil on shelves this year.
The same is true for derivatives of kitniyot, newly "discovered" kitniyot, and so forth. I researched the issue and decided to do hataras nedarim on the later kitniyot abuses, and so now only keep the original and major kitniyot laws. And the latter only for tradition and family's sake, since, as an Israeli, I could probably just declare myself bound by the custom of the state, which is not to observe kitniyot at all.
But consult your Rabbi or posek, please.
---
To add insult to injury, if keeping time by the supermarket wasn't bad enough, the radio station advertisements are here to help us out. For the month leading up to any holiday, especially Passover, the jingles are all bastardizations of popular melodies relating to that holiday.
"Who knows one? I know one! One is the best body wax service in the heaven and the Earth! Accepted by all major health clinics!"
---
Passover Game: A traditional Passover game is to hide ten pieces of bread around the house so that when you go searching your house to remove all hametz, you make sure to find these pieces of bread.
This is a dumb game, because if you fail, you end up having pieces of bread in your house over Passover. I suggest instead to simply hide ten pieces of paper that say "hametz" on them.
---
The State of Israel has its own blog and Myspace page. The Myspace page reads:
FemaleYehuda
58 years old
Jerusalem,
Israel
(*) Ah, just throw 'em out and buy new ones.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Passover Game: Jeopardy
Actually, my wife does this one, not only for Passover but for every other holiday, too. This game will make a lot more sense if you've ever seen the television game show Jeopardy!.Materials
One large bristol board, 20 to 30 index cards, tape that's not too sticky, and a marker.
Setup
Think up 4 or 5 categories of questions about Passover, and 5 or 6 questions in each category (examples below).
In the illustration, I picked 5 categories and 5 questions in each category. For these choices, you will need 25 index cards. Use 5 index cards for each category, numbered 100 to 500. These hide the "answers" on the board and also represent the points earned for providing the "question" to the answer.
Divide the bristol board into 6 rows, by 5 columns. In the top row of each column, write the name of the category. In the remaining rows, write the "answers" to the questions so that the answer fits under the index card. Lightly tape the index cards over the answers, ordered from top to bottom 100 to 500.
Use the illustration as a guide.
To Play
Place the board so that all participants can see it and divide the participants into two or three groups.
Taking turns, each group chooses a category and difficulty (the higher the number of points, the more difficult the question).
The "answer" is written on the board. The group must ask the correct question for that answer to win th points. If they cannot answer, if they ask the wrong question, or if they say the answer instead of phrasing it as a question, the next group gets to go. If they ask the correct question, they get to go again. You may want to alternate groups anyway, if one group answers too many questions.
The game ends when all answers have been revealed. The group with the highest total is the winner, of course.
Important Information
Finding the right "answers" that lead to the right questions is crucial. You can't just use "42" as an answer, since that is the answer to a lot of questions. You have to phrase the answer so that there can be only one correct question. For instance, the answer "the number you get when you multiply 6 times 7" has only one correct question, "What is 42?" or slight variations thereof.
Second in importance is ordering the questions from easiest to hardest, so that a 500 points is really worth more than a 100 point question. The exact level of difficulty depends greatly on your group of players.
Examples
Here are some example answers and questions:
Category: Numbers
Answer: The number of male Israelite between then ages of 20 and 60 that left Egypt
Question: What is 600,000?
Answer: The number of years of slavery, counting from the birth of Isaac
Question: What is 430?
Answer: The actual number of years of slavery
Question: What is 210?
Answer: The number of children born to each Jewish woman, according to Rashi
Question: What is 6?
Answer: The number of children that Amram and Jocheved had who are mentioned in the bible
Question: What is 3?
Answer: The number of plagues in Egypt
Question: What is 10?
Category: Dates
Answer: The date of the Exodus
Question: What is the 15th of Nissan?
Answer: The date that Moshe was born and died
Question: What is the 7th of Adar?
Answer: The date that Isaac was born
Question: What is the 15th of Nissan?
Answer: The date of "Second Passover"
Question: What is the 15th of Iyar?
Answer: The date of the last day of Passover in the diaspora
Question: What is the 22nd of Nissan?
Category: People
Answer: The first high-priest of Israel
Question: Who was Aaron?
Answer: She drew Moshe out of the water
Question: Who was Pharoh's daughter Batya?
Answer: Moshe tried to stop these two men from fighting
Question: Who were Datham and Aviram?
Answer: This is the name of Moshe's son
Question: Who was Gershon?
Answer: This person jumped into the Red Sea and then it split
Question: Who was Nachson Ben Aminadav?
Category: Places
Answer: The Jews built these two cities
Question: What are Pitom and Ramses?
Answer: This is where Joseph's bones were buried
Question: What is the bottom of the Nile river?
Answer: The Jews camped here while waiting to cross the Red Sea
Question: Where was Pihahiroth?
Answer: The Jews lived primarily in this region of Egypt
Question: Where was Goshen?
Answer: The Jews first complained about not having enough water here
Question: Where was Marah?
Category: Items
Answer: Moshe and Aaron both carries one of these
Question: What is a staff?
Answer: Pharoh responded to Moshe's first request to let the Jews go by no longer providing the Jews with this
Question: What is straw?
Answer: It's ingredients are often apples, dates, nuts, and wine
Question: What is haroset?
Answer: These are the two ingredients in matzoh
Question: What is flour and water?
Answer: The Jews had to wipe this on their door-posts on the night before the Exodus
Question: What is the blood of a lamb?
And so on. Make some more questions, and order them according to the level of difficulty they will present to your group.
Yehuda
Monday, March 19, 2007
Passover Game: Like The Four Sons
This one is more of an activity than a game.When we got to the four sons, I shuffled and passed around index cards to each participant. Each card contained four connected images about neutral subjects. Each participant had to choose which image to associate with which of the four sons (children).
This is a little psychology game, and, as you might expect, everyone had different interpretations for which image corresponded to which son, and why.
You will need to prepare enough index cards for each participant, and more. Prepare these before Passover starts. Some suggested cards include:
- Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
- Love, Fear, Hate, Indifference
- Red, Blue, Green, Yellow
- Zero, One, Two, Three
- East, West, North, South
- Square, Circle, Triangle, Line
- Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, Leah
- Lulav, Hadassim, Aravot, Etrog
- Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
- Dog, Cat, Horse, Snake
- Brain, Arm, Heart, Leg
- Television, Computer, Car, Microwave
- Barbie, Monopoly, Teddy Bear, Slinkie
- Hammer, Saw, Wrench, Drill
- Meat, Fruit, Vegetable, Bread
- Baseball, Football, Basketball, Chess
- Violin, Guitar, Drum, Piano
- Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division
- Fire, Air, Earth, Water
- John, George, Paul, Ringo
Yehuda
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Passover Game: Bingo
One Passover I made Bingo cards to keep the kids awake and alert.Create a number of bingo cards in advance for the seder night. Since you can't write on the Seder night, when you come to an item, mark the Bingo card with a chocolate coin. You get the coins only if you fill up the entire card (if you want to keep it fair for all participants).
To create unique bingo cards out of a list of items:
Make the first card alphabetical, going across the top row and then the second row and so on.
Make the second card alphabetical using each second even item, i.e. items 2, 4, 6, ... . When you come to the end of the list, begin again with each second odd item, i.e. items 1, 3, 5, ...
Make the third card using every third item in the same way, and so on.
For my cards, I used the names in the Haggadah for board spaces:
- Pharoh
- R Eliezer
- R Yehoshua
- R Elazar Ben Azarya
- R Akiba
- R Tarphon
- Ben Zoma
- Yehoshua
- Terach
- Avraham
- Nachur
- Yitzchak
- Yaakov
- Eisav
- Lavan
- R Yehuda
- R Yosi Haglili
- Moshe
- Raban Gamliel
- Hillel
- K David
- Masshiach
- Eliyahu
- Aharon
- K Sihon
- K Ogg
Alternative: There are more than 25 biblical quotes in the Haggadah. Use a quote for each board space.
Yehuda
Friday, March 09, 2007
Passover Story: Lord of the Reed Sea
My last story was written for my step-son, and is based on the classic The Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien. I'm sure this author and his series need no introduction here.
It is the least successful of my stories, I feel, because Tolkien is a hard author to emulate, particularly his constant references to ancient songs.
This story is based on the midrash that the waters to the Reed Sea didn't open until Nachshon jumped in as a show of faith. My poor poem, such as it is, is based on the final song in the Hagaddah, "Had Gadya".
Lord of the Reed Sea
Before them lay the great swirling waters of the Great Reed Sea, known in the Hebrew language as Yam Suf, Sea of Ends. It's waters crashed against the shore of dark rock they were standing on. Behind them, the endless hosts of Pharaoh, King of the Mitzrim, came shrieking and gibbering. They were still an hour's distance, but Joshua thought he could already smell their foul stench.
"We can't go forward!" he cried. "Moshe, what can we do?"
"Half a moment, half a moment! I must rest!" he declared, and sat himself down against a jutting black admantite rock.
Joshua, only son of Nun, threw himself down on the wide expanse of ground, exhausted. Moshe sat with his back against the large rock, mumbling to himself and blowing blue smoke rings that drifted lazily above his head. Nachshon, son of Aminadav, dropped his heavy sack, swung his cedar bow off of his shoulder and began polishing it with mirkwood oil. He cast worried glances at the wizard, and glanced at Joshua. The stout warrior just shrugged his shoulders in reply.
Joshua spoke, "It seems as if I have been running since Abraham, Patriarch of Canaan, first chased the hosts of the five kings through the valley of Sodom. How did I ever let you drag me into this, Nachshon? I wish I were back in my little house in Mitzrayim, eating celery and cucumber sandwiches, the teapot just beginning to boil." It was not the last time that he wished for that!
"Your home is likely taken by the Mitzrim now, Joshua. You must keep up your courage, for we still have a long way to travel." The skilled archer put away his oil, and studied his bowstring, trying to judge if the string was still sound.
"Why is this burden laid upon our backs?" exclaimed the warrior. "I wish it were someone else!"
Then Moshe spoke, "So do all who live to see such times. It is not up to us to decide in which age we live, but to make the best with what time we have been given. And now, I think I have remembered the way through."
He stood with his face towards the sea. Raising his powerful arms, he held aloft his staff Emunat-El. The staff flashed a brilliant blue, and blue fire raced up and down the sides. "Teyn lanu la-avor!" he yelled. "B'vakashah! P'tach lanu derech!"
Moshe tried those and other words of power, his face beginning to sweat. Nothing appeared to happen. He threw his staff down in disgust.
Joshua began to sing an ancient Hebrew song. The words rang out softly, to the rhythm of the surf. The words were sung in Hebrew, but a fair translation was provided to me after the events by a Hebrew poet, and it goes something like this in our language:
Meanwhile, Nachshon leaned over the red boulder he was standing on. He tossed a fist sized rock into the shallow surf. The rock turned over once, before splashing in the water. Water sprayed onto the sand at Moshe's feet. "Nachshon," exclaimed the old wizard, "throw yourself in next time, rather than disturb my thoughts!" Chagrined, Nachshon stood up on the boulder looking out over the blue-green face of the great Reed Sea, and then turned around.
"Ho!" yelled Joshua. "Here they come!" Joshua jumped up, drawing Yehudi, his great Hebrew sword from it's scabbard. The metal blade was glowing blue, which meant that Mitzrim were near. "Moshe!" yelled Nachshon, starting toward the great wizard, when he suddenly stepped on a wet patch, and slipped, falling down into the Great Sea.
"Nachshon!" Yelled Moshe, starting forward. He suddenly stopped, his eyes widening. In front of him the Reed Sea was surging and boiling where Nachshon had fallen in. The water shot up in a large column, forming a head and face. The mouth of the face spoke, "Moshe, I have been waiting for one of you to enter into the sea, for only by taking the first step can I intervene on your behalf. Well do I remember the service of your people. Raise your staff and come forward." The head disappeared in a wash of salt water, and the water began to split. It rushed up into great walls, to the left and right. When it was done, where once stood the Great Reed Sea, there was now a corridor of dry land. Nachshon lay strewn across it. He slowly pulled himself to his feet.
"What happened?" he asked, in perplexity.
"It seems I was right, after all, dear Nachshon. The Lord needed one of us to step forward before he would respond to our request. I am happy that you have found the step to take, although, next time, you may want to make it more deliberate."
"What is this place?" asked the bowman.
"This is the ancient bridge of the Philistine caravans, called the Dry Land Bridge, or, in Hebrew, Gesher B'toch Hayam. It was destroyed during the second age, when the Lord sought fit to cover it up with Yam Suf, but knowledge of it has been passed down to me through the ancient writings of the Lord. But come now, no more time for explanations. The Mitzrim come. Hurry!"
Stopping only to pick up their packs, the three men hurried down the queer passage, only minutes ahead of the mad pack of Mitzrim.
Yehuda Berlinger
It is the least successful of my stories, I feel, because Tolkien is a hard author to emulate, particularly his constant references to ancient songs.
This story is based on the midrash that the waters to the Reed Sea didn't open until Nachshon jumped in as a show of faith. My poor poem, such as it is, is based on the final song in the Hagaddah, "Had Gadya".
Lord of the Reed Sea
Before them lay the great swirling waters of the Great Reed Sea, known in the Hebrew language as Yam Suf, Sea of Ends. It's waters crashed against the shore of dark rock they were standing on. Behind them, the endless hosts of Pharaoh, King of the Mitzrim, came shrieking and gibbering. They were still an hour's distance, but Joshua thought he could already smell their foul stench.
"We can't go forward!" he cried. "Moshe, what can we do?"
"Half a moment, half a moment! I must rest!" he declared, and sat himself down against a jutting black admantite rock.
Joshua, only son of Nun, threw himself down on the wide expanse of ground, exhausted. Moshe sat with his back against the large rock, mumbling to himself and blowing blue smoke rings that drifted lazily above his head. Nachshon, son of Aminadav, dropped his heavy sack, swung his cedar bow off of his shoulder and began polishing it with mirkwood oil. He cast worried glances at the wizard, and glanced at Joshua. The stout warrior just shrugged his shoulders in reply.
Joshua spoke, "It seems as if I have been running since Abraham, Patriarch of Canaan, first chased the hosts of the five kings through the valley of Sodom. How did I ever let you drag me into this, Nachshon? I wish I were back in my little house in Mitzrayim, eating celery and cucumber sandwiches, the teapot just beginning to boil." It was not the last time that he wished for that!
"Your home is likely taken by the Mitzrim now, Joshua. You must keep up your courage, for we still have a long way to travel." The skilled archer put away his oil, and studied his bowstring, trying to judge if the string was still sound.
"Why is this burden laid upon our backs?" exclaimed the warrior. "I wish it were someone else!"
Then Moshe spoke, "So do all who live to see such times. It is not up to us to decide in which age we live, but to make the best with what time we have been given. And now, I think I have remembered the way through."
He stood with his face towards the sea. Raising his powerful arms, he held aloft his staff Emunat-El. The staff flashed a brilliant blue, and blue fire raced up and down the sides. "Teyn lanu la-avor!" he yelled. "B'vakashah! P'tach lanu derech!"
Moshe tried those and other words of power, his face beginning to sweat. Nothing appeared to happen. He threw his staff down in disgust.
Joshua began to sing an ancient Hebrew song. The words rang out softly, to the rhythm of the surf. The words were sung in Hebrew, but a fair translation was provided to me after the events by a Hebrew poet, and it goes something like this in our language:
One kid, one kid,
In the land of milk and honey,
My father bid,
And it was bought with little money,
Then came the cat,
His slashing claws, his sweeping paw,
And after that,
The bloodied coat was all we saw,
Then came the dog,
His fearsome bite, his frothing jaw,
Like a balrog,
And bloodied fur was all we saw,
Then came the stick,
The striking blows, the fierce attack,
The blows were thick,
The bloodied cur lie dead and black,
Then came the fire,
The searing spark, the ravenous lick,
The flames rose higher,
Eating up the blackened stick,
Then came the rain,
The drowning waves, the quenching hood,
And once again,
'Twas all consumed, for woe or good,
Then came the bull,
The scalding breath, the striking toe,
And with one pull,
The rain consumed, for good or woe,
Then came the man,
The sharpened knife, the bloodstained skirt,
A thought, a plan,
And downed the bull, slain in the dirt,
Then came the war,
The screaming hordes, the dying hosts,
And by the score,
Men shed skins, and walked as ghosts,
Then came the Lord,
The gathering touch, the healing word,
The flaming sword,
The sheltering wings of the noble bird,
The nourishing gourd,
The holy song forever heard.
Meanwhile, Nachshon leaned over the red boulder he was standing on. He tossed a fist sized rock into the shallow surf. The rock turned over once, before splashing in the water. Water sprayed onto the sand at Moshe's feet. "Nachshon," exclaimed the old wizard, "throw yourself in next time, rather than disturb my thoughts!" Chagrined, Nachshon stood up on the boulder looking out over the blue-green face of the great Reed Sea, and then turned around.
"Ho!" yelled Joshua. "Here they come!" Joshua jumped up, drawing Yehudi, his great Hebrew sword from it's scabbard. The metal blade was glowing blue, which meant that Mitzrim were near. "Moshe!" yelled Nachshon, starting toward the great wizard, when he suddenly stepped on a wet patch, and slipped, falling down into the Great Sea.
"Nachshon!" Yelled Moshe, starting forward. He suddenly stopped, his eyes widening. In front of him the Reed Sea was surging and boiling where Nachshon had fallen in. The water shot up in a large column, forming a head and face. The mouth of the face spoke, "Moshe, I have been waiting for one of you to enter into the sea, for only by taking the first step can I intervene on your behalf. Well do I remember the service of your people. Raise your staff and come forward." The head disappeared in a wash of salt water, and the water began to split. It rushed up into great walls, to the left and right. When it was done, where once stood the Great Reed Sea, there was now a corridor of dry land. Nachshon lay strewn across it. He slowly pulled himself to his feet.
"What happened?" he asked, in perplexity.
"It seems I was right, after all, dear Nachshon. The Lord needed one of us to step forward before he would respond to our request. I am happy that you have found the step to take, although, next time, you may want to make it more deliberate."
"What is this place?" asked the bowman.
"This is the ancient bridge of the Philistine caravans, called the Dry Land Bridge, or, in Hebrew, Gesher B'toch Hayam. It was destroyed during the second age, when the Lord sought fit to cover it up with Yam Suf, but knowledge of it has been passed down to me through the ancient writings of the Lord. But come now, no more time for explanations. The Mitzrim come. Hurry!"
Stopping only to pick up their packs, the three men hurried down the queer passage, only minutes ahead of the mad pack of Mitzrim.
Yehuda Berlinger
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Passover Story: Bones
The next one in the series was for my eldest daughter, who was just in that phase between reading early books and true classics. It lasted about a year, I believe.
This story is written in the style of Louis Sachar's book Holes, an excellent early teenage read. Not only does it speak to the contemporary child about negotiating family, peers, and coming of age, it also has a wickedly clever series of plot devices that connect past and present in rather fantastical ways.
In my story, Moses has to fetch the bones of Joseph before Israel can leave Egypt. According to one version of the midrash, Asher's daughter Serach, one of the only women named as having descended into Egypt with Jacob, is the one who tells Moses that Joseph's bones were secretly sunk into the Nile river.
Bones
Moshe hid in the lush green vegetation by the side of the Nile river. Sweat collected on his forehead, dripping slowly down his beat red face. The salt made his skin sting.
Peering out through the brushes, Moshe could see thirty feet of sandy beach, strewn with seaweed, gently sloping down to the banks of the great river. The water swept lazily off downstream. Several Egyptian fishing trawlers were resting at various distances off the shore. It was not these that kept him hidden, however, but a small group of Egyptian fisherman standing on the shore itself, a scant twenty meters from him.
Moshe had been sent by Serach Bat Asher to find and bring back the bones of the great Hebrew, Yosef. No one but Serach had known that taking these bones were the key to their freedom from slavery. No one but Serach had known where these bones were hidden. Apparently, no one but Moshe could go and get them. Moshe crouched in the greenery, staring out at the powerful fisherman, shifting his feet back and forth to keep his circulation going, and wondering "Why me?". It was not the first time he had asked himself that question. With a sigh, he admitted to himself that it would probably not be the last.
Who am I? he asked himself. I'm nobody, that's who. Moshe was overwhelmed by a deep sense of shame. Everyone thinks I'm so special, he thought. They all say, 'There goes that miracle worker, Moshe'. I keep telling them, it's not me. I'm not doing anything, but they don't believe me. Moshe felt bitter tears mixing with his salty sweat. He wiped his face with the sleeve of his robe. The more the people heaped praise on him, the more Moshe felt undeserving of any praise at all.
Stop thinking about it, he told himself. You have to get these bones, or we can't go free. Moshe did not really understand why that was, but he trusted Serach. He steeled himself, and looked out again at the fisherman.
How am I supposed to find these bones, anyway. They're sunk in the mud at the bottom of the Nile. What am supposed to do? I can't even swim. He frowned. I can't even get near the shore with these fisherman in the way. Moshe was afraid of the Egyptians. He wasn't sure how many knew him by sight, but he didn't want to take the chance. Considering what God had done to them over the last year, all attributed to him, of course, he knew that there was no lack of ill-feeling towards him. So he sat in the bushes waiting for them to leave.
The fisherman on the bank reeled in their lines, and cast them out again. They were talking to each other.
"Did you hear the latest, P'tah?" said one.
"No," Ram. "You mean the latest threat from that Hebrew priest guy?" said P'tah. He looked around nervously. "What now?"
Ram laughed. "Get this. He said his God is going to make the sun go out! Can you believe it?" Ram laughed again. He cast his line back
in.
"And why do you laugh, Ram? Haven't his threats come true, so far?"
"Oh come on!" said Ram. "Put the sun out? I think Ra, blessed be his name, might have something to say about that. You know, Ra, the Sun God?" Ram gave another laugh. P'tah didn't answer. His face looked serious. Ram looked at him, contemptuously.
"Surely you don't believe this Hebrew more than you believe Ra? I don't think it is one Hebrew doing this, anyway. I think all the Hebrews are doing it, somehow. I never trusted those lice, anyway." Ram spit into the river. "Swine."
Moshe sat fretting in the bushes. He knew he had to hurry, but he wasn't getting anywhere. He knew what a fool he would look like if he came back without the bones. He whispered, "God, I know you're out there. If you want me to get these bones, you need to help me. I don't know what else I can do." Moshe closed his eyes, fervently praying. He stayed like that for good five minutes, when he heard a noise from the fisherman, and he opened his eyes again.
Ram and P'tah were straining trying to pull in their fishing lines.
"We've got a big fish here, P'tah!" exclaimed Ram. Moshe let out a sigh of frustration.
"That's no fish," said P'tah. Moshe looked up again. The fishing lines were now almost in. At the end of the lines was not a large fish, but a large muddy rotting wooden box.
"Ach. What a waste," said Ram. "Bring it in, and let's cut our lines off of it." They hauled the box closer, until they could get their hands under it. Then they lifted it over to the shore.
"What do you think is in it?" asked Ram. "Maybe there's treasure in it."
"It's rotting. It's falling apart. It's probably just mud," said P'tah. "It's not worth anything."
"It's mine," said a new voice.
P'tah and Ram both turned to look at Moshe, who was now standing ten feet away, his shaking hands hidden under his robes. Moshe stared at them with a determined face, silently trying to not to let his fear register in his eyes. He glanced once to the box the fishermen were carrying, and then back to P'tah and Ram, keeping a steady gaze and no expression on his face.
"What did you say, slave?" sneered Ram. Moshe was dressed in priestly garments. Ram knew that he was not a slave, but his prejudice against all Hebrews was plainly written on his face.
"I mean, uh, master" Moshe fumbled, and then continued, "it belongs to master Sari, the Pharaoh's chief servant. Master Sari sent me to retrieve it personally," he lied.
Ram snarled. "What does the chief servant of Pharaoh want with a rotting box of mud. Why should I believe you? Maybe it has something of value in it, after all." His eyes began to gleam, and he moved his hand toward the box.
"Probably something to do with the curse, I think, master," Moshe said. Ram's hand froze in mid-gesture. "My master's specialty is ancient curses, as you surely know, master" Moshe concluded, bowing.
Ram's eyes narrowed. "And why should I believe you, slave?"
"Oh, just give it to him, Ram," said P'tah. "It's just an old box. An old rotting box" He looked at Moshe. "He's just an old man, Ram. Give him the box."
Ram scowled a moment longer, and then shrugged. "Here, slave. Take your box." He kicked it towards Moshe.
"Please be careful with it, master," Moshe said, looking concerned. "My master will be displeased with me if it gets damaged."
"Oh, really," said Ram, with a wicked look on his face. He gave the box a hard kick, breaking off a piece from the bottom corner. Mud oozed out. "That would be a shame." He gave a loud, harsh laugh. Moshe cried out.
"Stop it, Ram!" yelled P'tah. "Take your box and go, Hebrew." P'tah gave Moshe a nervous look. Then he took hold of the laughing Ram and led him further down the beach.
Moshe bent down to the box. It looked like nothing more than a box of mud. Down at the corner of the box, where Ram had broken it, mud was still oozing out. Maybe there's nothing in it, thought Moshe. Maybe it was all for nothing. Maybe I was wrong. Moshe began to panic. In a moment, however, as the mud began draining more slowly, he could discern a small dirty hard lump sticking slightly out through the mud. It looked like a bone. Moshe carefully tucked it back into the box.
He lifted the box from the end that was not broken and waited until the mud seeping out had slowed to a bare trickle. Then he turned around and hefted it onto his back. He began the long journey back to his village. As he entered the vegetation on the side of the river, he stopped. He stood for a moment in thought. Then he looked up and whispered, "Thank you." He waited another moment, and then continued on his way.
Yehuda Berlinger
This story is written in the style of Louis Sachar's book Holes, an excellent early teenage read. Not only does it speak to the contemporary child about negotiating family, peers, and coming of age, it also has a wickedly clever series of plot devices that connect past and present in rather fantastical ways.
In my story, Moses has to fetch the bones of Joseph before Israel can leave Egypt. According to one version of the midrash, Asher's daughter Serach, one of the only women named as having descended into Egypt with Jacob, is the one who tells Moses that Joseph's bones were secretly sunk into the Nile river.
Bones
Moshe hid in the lush green vegetation by the side of the Nile river. Sweat collected on his forehead, dripping slowly down his beat red face. The salt made his skin sting.
Peering out through the brushes, Moshe could see thirty feet of sandy beach, strewn with seaweed, gently sloping down to the banks of the great river. The water swept lazily off downstream. Several Egyptian fishing trawlers were resting at various distances off the shore. It was not these that kept him hidden, however, but a small group of Egyptian fisherman standing on the shore itself, a scant twenty meters from him.
Moshe had been sent by Serach Bat Asher to find and bring back the bones of the great Hebrew, Yosef. No one but Serach had known that taking these bones were the key to their freedom from slavery. No one but Serach had known where these bones were hidden. Apparently, no one but Moshe could go and get them. Moshe crouched in the greenery, staring out at the powerful fisherman, shifting his feet back and forth to keep his circulation going, and wondering "Why me?". It was not the first time he had asked himself that question. With a sigh, he admitted to himself that it would probably not be the last.
Who am I? he asked himself. I'm nobody, that's who. Moshe was overwhelmed by a deep sense of shame. Everyone thinks I'm so special, he thought. They all say, 'There goes that miracle worker, Moshe'. I keep telling them, it's not me. I'm not doing anything, but they don't believe me. Moshe felt bitter tears mixing with his salty sweat. He wiped his face with the sleeve of his robe. The more the people heaped praise on him, the more Moshe felt undeserving of any praise at all.
Stop thinking about it, he told himself. You have to get these bones, or we can't go free. Moshe did not really understand why that was, but he trusted Serach. He steeled himself, and looked out again at the fisherman.
How am I supposed to find these bones, anyway. They're sunk in the mud at the bottom of the Nile. What am supposed to do? I can't even swim. He frowned. I can't even get near the shore with these fisherman in the way. Moshe was afraid of the Egyptians. He wasn't sure how many knew him by sight, but he didn't want to take the chance. Considering what God had done to them over the last year, all attributed to him, of course, he knew that there was no lack of ill-feeling towards him. So he sat in the bushes waiting for them to leave.
The fisherman on the bank reeled in their lines, and cast them out again. They were talking to each other.
"Did you hear the latest, P'tah?" said one.
"No," Ram. "You mean the latest threat from that Hebrew priest guy?" said P'tah. He looked around nervously. "What now?"
Ram laughed. "Get this. He said his God is going to make the sun go out! Can you believe it?" Ram laughed again. He cast his line back
in.
"And why do you laugh, Ram? Haven't his threats come true, so far?"
"Oh come on!" said Ram. "Put the sun out? I think Ra, blessed be his name, might have something to say about that. You know, Ra, the Sun God?" Ram gave another laugh. P'tah didn't answer. His face looked serious. Ram looked at him, contemptuously.
"Surely you don't believe this Hebrew more than you believe Ra? I don't think it is one Hebrew doing this, anyway. I think all the Hebrews are doing it, somehow. I never trusted those lice, anyway." Ram spit into the river. "Swine."
Moshe sat fretting in the bushes. He knew he had to hurry, but he wasn't getting anywhere. He knew what a fool he would look like if he came back without the bones. He whispered, "God, I know you're out there. If you want me to get these bones, you need to help me. I don't know what else I can do." Moshe closed his eyes, fervently praying. He stayed like that for good five minutes, when he heard a noise from the fisherman, and he opened his eyes again.
Ram and P'tah were straining trying to pull in their fishing lines.
"We've got a big fish here, P'tah!" exclaimed Ram. Moshe let out a sigh of frustration.
"That's no fish," said P'tah. Moshe looked up again. The fishing lines were now almost in. At the end of the lines was not a large fish, but a large muddy rotting wooden box.
"Ach. What a waste," said Ram. "Bring it in, and let's cut our lines off of it." They hauled the box closer, until they could get their hands under it. Then they lifted it over to the shore.
"What do you think is in it?" asked Ram. "Maybe there's treasure in it."
"It's rotting. It's falling apart. It's probably just mud," said P'tah. "It's not worth anything."
"It's mine," said a new voice.
P'tah and Ram both turned to look at Moshe, who was now standing ten feet away, his shaking hands hidden under his robes. Moshe stared at them with a determined face, silently trying to not to let his fear register in his eyes. He glanced once to the box the fishermen were carrying, and then back to P'tah and Ram, keeping a steady gaze and no expression on his face.
"What did you say, slave?" sneered Ram. Moshe was dressed in priestly garments. Ram knew that he was not a slave, but his prejudice against all Hebrews was plainly written on his face.
"I mean, uh, master" Moshe fumbled, and then continued, "it belongs to master Sari, the Pharaoh's chief servant. Master Sari sent me to retrieve it personally," he lied.
Ram snarled. "What does the chief servant of Pharaoh want with a rotting box of mud. Why should I believe you? Maybe it has something of value in it, after all." His eyes began to gleam, and he moved his hand toward the box.
"Probably something to do with the curse, I think, master," Moshe said. Ram's hand froze in mid-gesture. "My master's specialty is ancient curses, as you surely know, master" Moshe concluded, bowing.
Ram's eyes narrowed. "And why should I believe you, slave?"
"Oh, just give it to him, Ram," said P'tah. "It's just an old box. An old rotting box" He looked at Moshe. "He's just an old man, Ram. Give him the box."
Ram scowled a moment longer, and then shrugged. "Here, slave. Take your box." He kicked it towards Moshe.
"Please be careful with it, master," Moshe said, looking concerned. "My master will be displeased with me if it gets damaged."
"Oh, really," said Ram, with a wicked look on his face. He gave the box a hard kick, breaking off a piece from the bottom corner. Mud oozed out. "That would be a shame." He gave a loud, harsh laugh. Moshe cried out.
"Stop it, Ram!" yelled P'tah. "Take your box and go, Hebrew." P'tah gave Moshe a nervous look. Then he took hold of the laughing Ram and led him further down the beach.
Moshe bent down to the box. It looked like nothing more than a box of mud. Down at the corner of the box, where Ram had broken it, mud was still oozing out. Maybe there's nothing in it, thought Moshe. Maybe it was all for nothing. Maybe I was wrong. Moshe began to panic. In a moment, however, as the mud began draining more slowly, he could discern a small dirty hard lump sticking slightly out through the mud. It looked like a bone. Moshe carefully tucked it back into the box.
He lifted the box from the end that was not broken and waited until the mud seeping out had slowed to a bare trickle. Then he turned around and hefted it onto his back. He began the long journey back to his village. As he entered the vegetation on the side of the river, he stopped. He stood for a moment in thought. Then he looked up and whispered, "Thank you." He waited another moment, and then continued on his way.
Yehuda Berlinger
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Passover Story: Mah Myth-tanah
The second of my Passover stories is in the style of Robert Asprin's Myth Adventure series.
The Myth Adventure series is one of the funniest fantasy series ever written. Follow the adventures of Skeeve, Aahz, Tanda, and Gleep, as they traverse around the dimensions learning magic and style.
Humor-wise, it is far more accessible to the American reader than Terry Pratchett's Diskworld series, which just kind of makes me scratch my head. Various children I know learned to read English using these books.
The following story depicts Aaron and Moshe's first meeting, and was written for my then ten year-old boy.
Mah Myth-tanah
The hardest part about being a priest is having to put up with your congregation. This may not strike you as a difficulty, but when your congregation is a large mob of half-naked slaves, working 16 hours a day in the hot Egyptian sun to build a palace for the King of the Egyptians, you find that they don't take too well to sermons about peace, love and brotherhood.
I found that out the hard way. That may explain why I next found myself wandering in a barren desert some 20 miles from aforesaid slaves, who have an amazing amount of strength even after working 16 hours. Enough to thrown a man about twenty feet, I would guess. I really didn't take the time to measure the exact distance, having been more preoccupied with the priestly activity of running away as fast as I could to prevent a repeat of the experiment.
The 20 mile run into the desert was not my actual plan, mind you. It just seemed like a safe bet at the time. I figured that two days was about the distance I needed between myself and my loyal congregation. I told myself that I needed a little time to work on my next sermon. What I needed was a safe place for my bruises to heal.
So there I was, sitting on a small mat in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Concentrate, I told myself. What would make a good sermon? How about a little on the values of hard work? Hmmmm, that didn't sound like it would get any better reception than my love sermon.
While I was sitting there ... um, did I mention that this was the middle of nowhere? That's right, 20 miles from civilized Ramses, with a five mile view in every direction. There was nothing but me and my camel. No place to hide, right. Well, while I was sitting there, I heard a noise to my left and I casually looked. OK, so I jumped. But it was just a tumbleweed. My heart settled back into place. Hey, I was still a little jumpy from the throwing incident, give me a break.
Another noise to my right. I jumped again. This time it the clicking pincers of a tiny scorpion. I was beginning to get thoroughly disgusted with myself. I also realized that I was not going to get any sermons written today. I turned around, to pick up my mat.
"Greetings, Kid," said the tall man standing two feet from my nose. Didn't I mention the tall man standing two feet from nose? That might be because he wasn't there two seconds before, and, as I might have mentioned, I had thought that there was no way that he could have gotten this close to me without my noticing. To my credit, this time I didn't jump. I screamed.
"AHHHHH!!!," I said, determinedly.
"I'm not a doctor, Kid," said the stranger. "I don't need to look down your throat."
"Hhhhuuuhh? Whhhuuuh? Hummmm?" I said, with feeling.
"Some spokesman you sent me," said the stranger, looking up at the sky. He turned back to me and said, "If that's your new sermon, it needs some work. Do you have anything to drink. You had to pick a desert for you to meet me?" Once again, he was looking up at the sky.
It was an ancient custom that you must give a drink to anyone who asks you for one in the desert. "On the camel," I said. The stranger said, "Right. Thanks, Aaron," and wandered over to the camel to get himself a drink.
This gave me a few moments to think. I considered the stranger. He was about six feet tall, with wild grey hair and faded royal clothing. He looked about 50, but I sensed that he was probably older, maybe about my own age of 83. I suddenly realized that he knew my name, and I blurted out, "How do you know my name?"
He was busy rummaging through my belongings, tossing them in several directions while searching for the canteen. "Eh? Oh, God told me you would be here waiting for me. Where is the canteen?"
I looked helplessly as my possessions were scattered left and right. "Hanging from the saddlebags," I said. He looked up. "Ah yes". He took down a canteen and gave it a preemptive sniff. "Water?" he said. "I said something to drink, not something to wash with." He tossed the canteen onto the ground. I did manage to pick it up before most of the water spilled out onto the sand.
"Um, try the small canteen on the bottom," I said, closing the canteen. "And could you please not make such a mess?" "Ah, here we are," he said, ignoring my request and opening the small canteen I had pointed out. He took a long pull from my wine bottle. And another. And another.
"You said something about a God?" I prompted, trying to get to the bottom of my visitor's purpose. "How did you sneak up on me?"
"No, not 'a God'. 'God'," he replied, ignoring my second question.
"That's what I said ... wait, what's the difference?"
"There's only one God, but there are many 'a God's. God is the ruler of everything, kid."
Now I figured it out. He was crazy. Well, it happens to people who wander in the desert sometimes.
"Uh, right," I said. "And this 'God' told you to meet me here?"
"That's right. I have been sent to free the Hebrews in Egypt."
"I thought you said he sent you to meet me."
"First to meet you, and then, together, we go to Egypt."
"But I'm not going to Egypt right now. I just left Egypt. What's your name?"
"Moshe. I used to be a prince in Egypt. Then I left, and I met God, and now I'm going back to free the Hebrews."
"Moshe," I said, ignoring his Hebrews references. As much as I wanted my people to be free, I didn't put much faith in this guy. "There's no prince in Egypt named Moshe."
"Well, I used to be called Moses, but I changed my name to a Hebrew name."
"Moses? He was killed by Pharaoh nearly forty years ago," I said.
"Nope, he's me. And I'm your brother."
"Huh? My brother? I don't have a brother!"
"Yes you do, and he's me. And that's why you're coming with me. To be my spokesman."
"I thought you said you were a prince."
Moshe/Moses lifted his arms to the sky in a semblance of mock penetition. "Why me, Oh Lord?" he said. He gave me a steady look. "Look, I was born Moses, to Yocheved and Amram." I gave a start as he named my parent's names. "I have two older brothers, Aaron, that's you, and Miriam. Our mother, fearing the laws about drowning Jewish babies, put me into a boat on the Nile. Pharaoh's daughter found me and raised me in the palace. One day I killed a slaver who was beating a Hebrew slave, and I fled to the desert. Hmmmm. Your story you heard about my so-called 'death' was probably just a cover up by Pharaoh. Anyway, in the desert, I found a bush that burned but was not consumed, and the one true God told me to go back to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. I figure that the Hebrews won't go along with this if I go alone. They will think it is some Egyptian plot. So God sent a Hebrew priest, a.k.a. you, to be spokesman for his messenger, a.k.a. me. Got it?"
I nodded my head vigorously up and down. He squinted at me. I shook my head from side to side.
"Kid ... never mind," he said. "Just get your things and let's get going."
"But I told you," I protested. "I wasn't planning on going back to Egypt, yet."
"Do you want to free your people?" he asked. I looked at him, and nodded, helplessly. "Your plans have changed." He stepped onto the camel's footstrap, and hoisted himself up.
"Wait." I said, hastily collecting the objects he discarded during his canteen search and stuffing them into the nearest open saddle bag.
"Where are we going?"
"Aren't your ears working, kid? I told you, we're going to Egypt, to speak to Pharaoh."
"But I don't know Pharaoh. Why would he speak to me?" I hoisted myself up behind him. My position was precarious, and I clung to his robes to keep myself from falling off. He smelled like ashes and sweat. The camel smelled like a camel. Let's just say, you don't need the smell described to you.
"Oh he will. Don't worry about it," he said. Then he grinned, and kicked the camel in the flanks. We were off.
After we had gone some minutes, I said, "Are you really my brother?"
"Seems like it," he replied. I had to strain to catch the words over the grunting that came from both ends of the camel.
I paused, and said, "I've never, that is, I didn't know that I had a brother."
"Yeah, well, let's not get all sentimental about it, kid. We have plans to discuss on the way."
I sighed, and settled down for a long ride.
Yehuda Berlinger
The Myth Adventure series is one of the funniest fantasy series ever written. Follow the adventures of Skeeve, Aahz, Tanda, and Gleep, as they traverse around the dimensions learning magic and style.
Humor-wise, it is far more accessible to the American reader than Terry Pratchett's Diskworld series, which just kind of makes me scratch my head. Various children I know learned to read English using these books.
The following story depicts Aaron and Moshe's first meeting, and was written for my then ten year-old boy.
Mah Myth-tanah
The hardest part about being a priest is having to put up with your congregation. This may not strike you as a difficulty, but when your congregation is a large mob of half-naked slaves, working 16 hours a day in the hot Egyptian sun to build a palace for the King of the Egyptians, you find that they don't take too well to sermons about peace, love and brotherhood.
I found that out the hard way. That may explain why I next found myself wandering in a barren desert some 20 miles from aforesaid slaves, who have an amazing amount of strength even after working 16 hours. Enough to thrown a man about twenty feet, I would guess. I really didn't take the time to measure the exact distance, having been more preoccupied with the priestly activity of running away as fast as I could to prevent a repeat of the experiment.
The 20 mile run into the desert was not my actual plan, mind you. It just seemed like a safe bet at the time. I figured that two days was about the distance I needed between myself and my loyal congregation. I told myself that I needed a little time to work on my next sermon. What I needed was a safe place for my bruises to heal.
So there I was, sitting on a small mat in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Concentrate, I told myself. What would make a good sermon? How about a little on the values of hard work? Hmmmm, that didn't sound like it would get any better reception than my love sermon.
While I was sitting there ... um, did I mention that this was the middle of nowhere? That's right, 20 miles from civilized Ramses, with a five mile view in every direction. There was nothing but me and my camel. No place to hide, right. Well, while I was sitting there, I heard a noise to my left and I casually looked. OK, so I jumped. But it was just a tumbleweed. My heart settled back into place. Hey, I was still a little jumpy from the throwing incident, give me a break.
Another noise to my right. I jumped again. This time it the clicking pincers of a tiny scorpion. I was beginning to get thoroughly disgusted with myself. I also realized that I was not going to get any sermons written today. I turned around, to pick up my mat.
"Greetings, Kid," said the tall man standing two feet from my nose. Didn't I mention the tall man standing two feet from nose? That might be because he wasn't there two seconds before, and, as I might have mentioned, I had thought that there was no way that he could have gotten this close to me without my noticing. To my credit, this time I didn't jump. I screamed.
"AHHHHH!!!," I said, determinedly.
"I'm not a doctor, Kid," said the stranger. "I don't need to look down your throat."
"Hhhhuuuhh? Whhhuuuh? Hummmm?" I said, with feeling.
"Some spokesman you sent me," said the stranger, looking up at the sky. He turned back to me and said, "If that's your new sermon, it needs some work. Do you have anything to drink. You had to pick a desert for you to meet me?" Once again, he was looking up at the sky.
It was an ancient custom that you must give a drink to anyone who asks you for one in the desert. "On the camel," I said. The stranger said, "Right. Thanks, Aaron," and wandered over to the camel to get himself a drink.
This gave me a few moments to think. I considered the stranger. He was about six feet tall, with wild grey hair and faded royal clothing. He looked about 50, but I sensed that he was probably older, maybe about my own age of 83. I suddenly realized that he knew my name, and I blurted out, "How do you know my name?"
He was busy rummaging through my belongings, tossing them in several directions while searching for the canteen. "Eh? Oh, God told me you would be here waiting for me. Where is the canteen?"
I looked helplessly as my possessions were scattered left and right. "Hanging from the saddlebags," I said. He looked up. "Ah yes". He took down a canteen and gave it a preemptive sniff. "Water?" he said. "I said something to drink, not something to wash with." He tossed the canteen onto the ground. I did manage to pick it up before most of the water spilled out onto the sand.
"Um, try the small canteen on the bottom," I said, closing the canteen. "And could you please not make such a mess?" "Ah, here we are," he said, ignoring my request and opening the small canteen I had pointed out. He took a long pull from my wine bottle. And another. And another.
"You said something about a God?" I prompted, trying to get to the bottom of my visitor's purpose. "How did you sneak up on me?"
"No, not 'a God'. 'God'," he replied, ignoring my second question.
"That's what I said ... wait, what's the difference?"
"There's only one God, but there are many 'a God's. God is the ruler of everything, kid."
Now I figured it out. He was crazy. Well, it happens to people who wander in the desert sometimes.
"Uh, right," I said. "And this 'God' told you to meet me here?"
"That's right. I have been sent to free the Hebrews in Egypt."
"I thought you said he sent you to meet me."
"First to meet you, and then, together, we go to Egypt."
"But I'm not going to Egypt right now. I just left Egypt. What's your name?"
"Moshe. I used to be a prince in Egypt. Then I left, and I met God, and now I'm going back to free the Hebrews."
"Moshe," I said, ignoring his Hebrews references. As much as I wanted my people to be free, I didn't put much faith in this guy. "There's no prince in Egypt named Moshe."
"Well, I used to be called Moses, but I changed my name to a Hebrew name."
"Moses? He was killed by Pharaoh nearly forty years ago," I said.
"Nope, he's me. And I'm your brother."
"Huh? My brother? I don't have a brother!"
"Yes you do, and he's me. And that's why you're coming with me. To be my spokesman."
"I thought you said you were a prince."
Moshe/Moses lifted his arms to the sky in a semblance of mock penetition. "Why me, Oh Lord?" he said. He gave me a steady look. "Look, I was born Moses, to Yocheved and Amram." I gave a start as he named my parent's names. "I have two older brothers, Aaron, that's you, and Miriam. Our mother, fearing the laws about drowning Jewish babies, put me into a boat on the Nile. Pharaoh's daughter found me and raised me in the palace. One day I killed a slaver who was beating a Hebrew slave, and I fled to the desert. Hmmmm. Your story you heard about my so-called 'death' was probably just a cover up by Pharaoh. Anyway, in the desert, I found a bush that burned but was not consumed, and the one true God told me to go back to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. I figure that the Hebrews won't go along with this if I go alone. They will think it is some Egyptian plot. So God sent a Hebrew priest, a.k.a. you, to be spokesman for his messenger, a.k.a. me. Got it?"
I nodded my head vigorously up and down. He squinted at me. I shook my head from side to side.
"Kid ... never mind," he said. "Just get your things and let's get going."
"But I told you," I protested. "I wasn't planning on going back to Egypt, yet."
"Do you want to free your people?" he asked. I looked at him, and nodded, helplessly. "Your plans have changed." He stepped onto the camel's footstrap, and hoisted himself up.
"Wait." I said, hastily collecting the objects he discarded during his canteen search and stuffing them into the nearest open saddle bag.
"Where are we going?"
"Aren't your ears working, kid? I told you, we're going to Egypt, to speak to Pharaoh."
"But I don't know Pharaoh. Why would he speak to me?" I hoisted myself up behind him. My position was precarious, and I clung to his robes to keep myself from falling off. He smelled like ashes and sweat. The camel smelled like a camel. Let's just say, you don't need the smell described to you.
"Oh he will. Don't worry about it," he said. Then he grinned, and kicked the camel in the flanks. We were off.
After we had gone some minutes, I said, "Are you really my brother?"
"Seems like it," he replied. I had to strain to catch the words over the grunting that came from both ends of the camel.
I paused, and said, "I've never, that is, I didn't know that I had a brother."
"Yeah, well, let's not get all sentimental about it, kid. We have plans to discuss on the way."
I sighed, and settled down for a long ride.
Yehuda Berlinger
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Passover Story: A Burning Bush For Little Bear
We start preparing for Passover after Purim.
Every year I try do something different for the seder. I've been doing this for several years, with greater or lesser success. I'll post a few of the successes over the next few weeks.
I'll start with a series of four stories I wrote for my four children some time ago. Each story contained a small part of the Exodus story as re-written by different authors.
The first one was written for my youngest daughter, and is in the style of Elsa Holmelund Minarik's classic Little Bear
series. I loved reading these to my children. They are perfect examples of story-telling at its best: warm, familiar, and humorous.
My story contains a new explanation for God's choice to turn the staff into a snake.
A Burning Bush For Little Bear
Little Bear is watching sheep. He is carrying a stick. How many sheep? One, two, three ... There are a lot of sheep! A little sheep runs over the hill. Little Bear runs over the hill to catch him.
Little Bear sees a fire in a bush. The bush is very small. The fire is very big. Little Bear likes fires. Little Bear is happy. He does a little dance.
Little Bear hears a voice coming from the fire. Little Bear is afraid. He hides his face with his paws.
"Hello, Little Bear," says the voice. "I am God. My little bears are not happy. You must go to the King and say, 'Let my little bears go!'"
"I am afraid of the King," says Little Bear.
"Little Bear," says the voice, "are you really afraid of the King?"
"Yes," says Little Bear.
"What else are you afraid of?" says the voice.
"I am afraid of a lot of things," says Little Bear. "I am afraid of
snakes."
"See the stick?" asks the voice. "See the stick that you are holding?"
"Yes," says Little Bear.
"Throw the stick onto the ground," says the voice. Little Bear throws the stick onto the ground. It turns into a snake. Little Bear is afraid of snakes. He hides his face with his paws.
"Pick up the snake," says the voice. "I am afraid of snakes," says Little Bear. "It is okay," says the voice. "I will make sure that the snake does not bite you. See, there is nothing to be afraid of."
Little Bear bravely reaches out his paw and picks up the snake. Now it is a stick again. Little Bear is no longer afraid. In fact, Little Bear is happy. He is almost laughing. He does a little dance.
"See?" says the voice. "You were afraid of the snake, but I made sure that it did not bite you. You are afraid of the King, but I will make sure that the King does not bite you, either."
So Little Bear goes to the King.
Yehuda Berlinger
Every year I try do something different for the seder. I've been doing this for several years, with greater or lesser success. I'll post a few of the successes over the next few weeks.
I'll start with a series of four stories I wrote for my four children some time ago. Each story contained a small part of the Exodus story as re-written by different authors.
The first one was written for my youngest daughter, and is in the style of Elsa Holmelund Minarik's classic Little Bear
series. I loved reading these to my children. They are perfect examples of story-telling at its best: warm, familiar, and humorous.My story contains a new explanation for God's choice to turn the staff into a snake.
A Burning Bush For Little Bear
Little Bear is watching sheep. He is carrying a stick. How many sheep? One, two, three ... There are a lot of sheep! A little sheep runs over the hill. Little Bear runs over the hill to catch him.
Little Bear sees a fire in a bush. The bush is very small. The fire is very big. Little Bear likes fires. Little Bear is happy. He does a little dance.
Little Bear hears a voice coming from the fire. Little Bear is afraid. He hides his face with his paws.
"Hello, Little Bear," says the voice. "I am God. My little bears are not happy. You must go to the King and say, 'Let my little bears go!'"
"I am afraid of the King," says Little Bear.
"Little Bear," says the voice, "are you really afraid of the King?"
"Yes," says Little Bear.
"What else are you afraid of?" says the voice.
"I am afraid of a lot of things," says Little Bear. "I am afraid of
snakes."
"See the stick?" asks the voice. "See the stick that you are holding?"
"Yes," says Little Bear.
"Throw the stick onto the ground," says the voice. Little Bear throws the stick onto the ground. It turns into a snake. Little Bear is afraid of snakes. He hides his face with his paws.
"Pick up the snake," says the voice. "I am afraid of snakes," says Little Bear. "It is okay," says the voice. "I will make sure that the snake does not bite you. See, there is nothing to be afraid of."
Little Bear bravely reaches out his paw and picks up the snake. Now it is a stick again. Little Bear is no longer afraid. In fact, Little Bear is happy. He is almost laughing. He does a little dance.
"See?" says the voice. "You were afraid of the snake, but I made sure that it did not bite you. You are afraid of the King, but I will make sure that the King does not bite you, either."
So Little Bear goes to the King.
Yehuda Berlinger
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)