Nisan – The Story of the Exodus from Egypt

• The students will learn about what the Children of Israel went through from their going down to Egypt through the Exodus from Egypt.
• The students will understand the importance of the transmission of “our story” from generation to generation, which has helped to form and strengthen Jewish identity.

•   Play a game: Assemble the students standing in a circle. Have the first student make some motion instructing the other students to repeat that motion. Repeat this process until every student has had a turn.

•   Explain that this is how a story is passed down from one generation to the next. Each generation adds something new of its own to the story before passing it onward.

•   Read or write on the board the following sentence from the Passover Haggadah: “Even if we are all wise, all clever, all knowledgeable of the Torah, we are, nevertheless, commanded to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt.”

•   Ask: What is the main message of this sentence? Why is it important to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt? To what do all of these things contribute?

Main Activity – From Slavery to Freedom

•   Here is a digital adventure game that follows the journey of the Children of Israel from Egyptian slavery to the exodus to freedom on Passover. The journey is divided into eight parts.

•   Divide the class up into pairs. Using the character, advance along the path on the numbered cards. At each step, every student pair will be presented with a question or task that corresponds to something in the story.

Parts of the Story:

1. Slavery in Egypt

2. Moses in the basket

3. Moses and the burning bush

4. “Let my people go”

5. The 10 plagues

6. The Exodus from Egypt

7. Crossing the Red Sea

8. Giving thanks and continuing the journey

Conclusion

•   Remind them that on Passover we must recount the events of the Exodus from Egypt. End with these words from the Mishnah: “In every generation, a person is obligated to see himself as if he left Egypt.” (Mishnah, Pesachim 10:5)

•   For discussion: At the Seder, what customs and foods remind us of the slavery and the Exodus from Egypt? What is your Seder like? Does your family have any special customs or ways of presenting the story of the Exodus from Egypt?

Digital game (accessible via QR code provided in the document)

Board or projector (to display the Haggadah sentence)

An informational presentation about the connection between the Seder plate and remembering the exodus from Egypt.