Monday, 26 June 2006: selections from the Exodus story in the Old Testament of the Bible (student provides; King James / Revised Standard version preferred);

Poetry reader: Midge Gorman

Poem: Michael S. Glaser, “Preparations for Seder,” UA 176

Biography:

Michael Glaser was born 1943 in Chicago, Illinois and lives in St. Mary’s, Maryland . Received his graduate degrees from Kent State University and began teaching at St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 1970 where he is a Professor of English. He was named Poet Laureate of  Maryland August, 2004 plus many other awards and recognitions over his lifetime.  “ As poet laureate, he said, he hopes to reach people across the state, reading poems that he loves and encouraging people to write”.  He has written two books of poems and two books of anthology.  He has said his poetry is a means of asking and often answering questions life has to offer regarding the world at large, family and of his own Judaism (which has been a source of inspiration to him).

What is Seder?

Seder is the most important event in the Passover celebration. It takes place the first two nights of the eight day celebration.   The Seder is steeped in long held traditions and customs, includes family and friends

Seder plate--at the center of every seder.  Because of the popularity of the Passover seder, and because of the seder plate's central position in its observance, the plate has become a very common outlet for Jewish artistic expression.

Most seder plates have six dishes for the six symbols of the Passover seder, although some do have five

The Seder plate contains foods that have special meaning for this holiday

1.      Haroseth - A mixture of chopped walnuts, wine, cinnamon and apples that represents the mortar the Jewish slaves used to assemble the Pharaoh's bricks

2.      Parsley (dipped in salt water) - Symbolizing Springtime, it is dipped in salt water to remind us of for the tears of the Jewish slaves

3.      Roasted egg - Another symbol of Spring

4.      Shank Bone - Symbolic of the sacrificial lamb offering, the bone can come from whatever the family is eating, such as the leg bone of a roasted turkey

5.      Bitter herbs Freshly grated horseradish reflects the bitter affliction of slavery

Poem:  Demonstrates the points brought up in Objective 5

Objective 5:  To observe and analyze the effects of immigration as assimilation on cultural units or identities:

Family

Gender

Community and Laws

Religion

Demographics

-maintaining religious traditions remembering the Exodus and how life was for family, extended family, and the community during their displacement

“think of my father: how he stood at the elbow of his mother”, 176

-in old days preparations was more difficult, wood stoves, chickens

ran free making them more muscles with less fat…., 177

-Matzoh is a symbol that commemorates the Israelites who fled quickly into the desert with no time for their breads to rise and were forced to bake the dough into hard crackers in the desert sun.  Matzoh is a very important element in the Seder.

-now fat is plentiful, preserved with chemicals, 177

-I will not forsake the traditions of my ancestors, 177

References:

http://www.smcm.edu/users/msglaser/poet_laureate/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/
articles/A48830-2004Aug7.html

http://www.jewishtimes.com/scripts/edition.pl?
now=8/18/2004&stay=1&SubSectionID=48&ID=2370

http://www.holidays.net/passover/seder.html

http://nj006.urj.net/seder/plate.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seder