Hava Nedaber Ivrit: Celebrating Pesach in Israel

Each month in this space,
L'Chayim will present a Hebrew
lesson entitled, "Hava Nedaber
Ivrit!" (Let's Speak Hebrew), whose
aim is to encourage further study of
Hebrew. The lesson will include a
brief story utilizing the Hebrew
words to be studied, a vocabulary
list with English translations and a
family activity which involves using
the new words. The lessons will be
prepared by Nira Lev, associate
professor of Hebrew language and
literature at the Midrasha College of
Jewish Studies.
Following is this month's
lesson:
Pesach in Israel has always
been for us a chag full of
hitragshut, hana'ah and simcha;
the most central chag on the
Jewish calendar — first as yeladim
and then as mevugarim and horim.
As yeladim, the hitragshut and
the hachanot for Pesach started
zman katar after Purim. Pesach
was in the air everywhere —
babayit, b'vet-hasefer and
bachootz. Babayit, kol ha'mishpacha
participated in the hachanot for the
chag — the big clean-up,
hachlafat-ha'kaylim, shopping for
the special foods of Pesach, siddur-
ha'aronot buying new clothes and
matanot for kol echad
bamishpacha — all that seemed to

be a kind of a rebirth, a kind of a
new beginning, a new era.
Pesach always brought
associations of exciting long
hachanot and expectations, of
meetings with krovim and chaverim
that we have not seen in a while
and a bayit full of orchim, full of
simcha, and, of course, the
highlight of the chag — the seder.
The seder has never been just
an "arucha chagigit," like the one
we have on other chagim. The
seder is a special chavaya, a kind
of "family happening." Pesach is a
chag mishpachtee par excellence.
The main matara of this chag is to
remember, re-live and re-experience
Yetzee'at-Mitzrayim, the greatest
event in our hustory when we
became an am, when Hakadosh
Baruch Hoo delivered us from
Avdut Mitzrayim and granted us our
long desired cherut. It is at the
seder that we fulfill this mitzva
chashuva of re-experiencing
Yetzee'_at Mitzrayim through
kree'at-ha'hagadah.
The seder is full of activities
and symbols to involve and interest
the children. It was always an
exciting time of sichot, sipurim,
she'elot u-tshuvot and, of course,
the activities around the Afikoman
and the Pesach songs.
Like other chagim yehudiyim

Pesach is not only a historical
chag, but also a chag she! tevah.
It is "chag ha'aviv," the Festival of
Spring, when ha'tevah like ha'am
starts chayim chadashim. In
Yisrael, you could feel and sense
the approaching Pesach not only
ba'bayit but also ba'chootz, in the
air. It was as if the whole tevah is
celebrating with you.
Throughout the years, Pesach
has always assumed a current
significance.

Meelon (Vocabulary)

chag
hitragshut
hana'ah
simcha
yeladim
mevugarim
horim
hachanot
zman katzar
babayit
b'vet hasefer
bachootz
kol hamishpacha

holiday
excitement
pleasure
happiness, joy
children
adults
parents
preparations
a short time
at home
at school
outside
the whole family

changing
the dishes
cleaning
siddur-ha'aronot
the closets
gifts
matanot
everybody
kol echad
in the family
bamishpacha
a festive meal
arucha chagigit
holidays
chagim
an experience
chavaya
chag mishpachtee a family holiday
an aim, a goal
matara
yetzee'at-Mitzrayim the Exodus from
Egypt
nation
am
God
Hakadosh Baruch Hoo
Almighty
slavery
avdut
an important
mitzva chashuva
mitzva
the reading of
kree'at ha'hagadah
the Haggadah
conversations
sichot
stories
sipurim
questions
she'elot u-tshuvot
and answers
a holiday of nature
chag shel teva
Nature
h a'teva
a new life
chayim chadashim
outside
ba'chootz

hachlafat hakaylim

ANSWERS TO PASSOVER QUIZ

From Page L-2
1. b
2. b
3. True. They are both celebrations of independence.
4. blood, frogs, death of first born, boils, lice, pestilence, swarms, hail
and fire, locusts, darkness.
5. Z'man Cherutenu - Time of Freedom
Chag Ha'Aviv — Spring festival
Chag Ha'Matzot — Feast of Unleavened Bread
6. three
7. the middle one
8. a charity fund to enable the needy to have the necessary foods for
Pesach
9. Search for Chametz
10. Burning of Chametz
11. d
12. d
13. Karpas — Green vegetables
Korech — Sandwich
Maror — Bitter Herbs
Beitzah — Egg
Zeroah — Shankbone
Charoset — Mixture of nuts, apples, wine, cinnamon
Chametz — A no-no for Pesach
14. c
15. Maror — reminds us of the bitter times the Jews experienced
Karpas — symbol of spring
Zeroah — paschal sacrifice
Charoset — reminder of the mortar that Jews used to make bricks

— Submitted by
Cy Servetter,
Education Director
Congregation Beth Shalom

BOOKS

The Why Haggadah, Simon and Fridman; No
Cholesterol Passover Recipes, Wasserman and
Stahler; Festival of Freedom, Silverman; Something
Different for Passover Cookbook, Schulman; The Story
of Passover for Children, Silberg; Ryland Haggadah;
Creative Activities for Passover, Gerber; Book of
Proverbs; large print Passover Haggadah, Goldberg;
Concise Family Seder, Kolatch; Pesach Haggadah In
Memory of the Holocaust; Diaspora Haggadah, all at
Spitzer's. A Family Haggadah, Silberman; Gates of
Freedom — A Passover Haggadah, Stern; Dayenu —
How Uncle Murray Saved the Seder, Schilder; Chagall
Illustrated Passover Haggadah; My Very Own
Haggadah; Passover, June Behrens; Only Nine Chairs,
Miller; Everything's Changing — It's Pesach,
Auerbach; Where Is The Afikoman?, Groner and
Wikler; I Have Four Questions; Not Yet, Elijah!, Feder;
Farfel — The Cat That Left Egypt, Geller; Miku the
Detective, Halpern; The Spice and Spirit of Kosher
Passover Cooking, Lubavitch Women's Organization;
Passover Haggadah — Legends and Customs,
Hacohen and Ron; Appreciating People (Including
Yourself), Adahan, all at Borenstein's.

TOYS AND GAMES

Pesach Card Game, Passover seder wood puzzle
(age 3-6), both at Spitzer's.

Spitzer's is located at 21770 W. 11 Mile, Southfield.
Borenstein's is located at 25242 Greenfield, Oak Park.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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