Passover feast (Mitchell Bundick)

During class last week, we participated in an abbreviated version of the Jewish Passover ceremony. Before this class, I was not familiar with the ceremony's process or the food consumed during it. I thought the idea of the scripture guiding the meal was an interesting aspect of this ceremony. More specifically, the story of Exodus is retold from a text called the Haggadah. The interactive nature of this allowed the meal to be more enjoyable, and I imagine it is only amplified in the real ceremony, which lasts multiple hours. It also invites those who are celebrating back into the past to reflect and try to feel what was felt back then. 

I also found it interesting to learn the symbolic meaning behind the specific food in this ceremony. On their own, it was difficult for me to see how the matzah, grape juice, egg, lettuce, horseradish, etc. related to one another. The matzah (unleavened bread) represents the Israelites fleeing from Egypt, the grape juice (wine) represents the four promises God made to the Israelites, the salt water represented tears, the horseradish represents the bitterness and pain of slavery, and so on. I was also unfamiliar with the charoset, which is a mixture of fruit and nuts that represents mortar used by the Israelites. The value and meaning of each item of food in the ceremony furthered the immersion and highlighted the relevance and significance of the Passover in my opinion.

Overall, I learned a lot about this ceremony and was able to begin to understand a little bit about the values and practices of this religion. The interactiveness of the Passover ceremony made it interesting to follow. 

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