Hunger and Homelessness

Omer Tzedakah Project: Religious School students can begin a special tzedakah collection for a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter that begins during Passover, continues throughout the Counting of the Omer, and culminates on Shavuot. The students can visit the recipient of their collection during Chol HaMoed (the week of Passover) to see where their donations will go, and also to spend a day volunteering or learning more about what takes place there.

54 Ways You Can Help the Homeless: This book by Rabbi Charles A. Kroloff contains many programming ideas that can be implemented around the season of Passover and infused with the teachings of the holiday to provide a spiritual foundation for the activities. Rabbi Kroloff includes ways to give money, food, talents, and other resources to the homeless; suggestions for volunteer opportunities in soup kitchens, shelters, and thrift shops; ways to get others involved; what children can do (such as teach their friends, collect toys and games); and how to be an advocate by writing letters, encouraging state homelessness prevention programs, and supporting civil rights of the homeless.

Immigration and Refugee Concerns

“Lunch Sponsorship Program:” the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry (NACOEJ) sponsors this program to provide basic meals for children living in refugee camps throughout Ethiopia who are waiting for their applications for immigration to be processed by the Israeli government. For only $72 nutritious meals can be provided for one student for one year. Encourage religious school classes to use their tzedakah money to “adopt” a student. This and other sponsorship programs can be found at www.nacoej.org.

The Million Quarters Project: It is estimated that there are currently 25,000 Jews living in poverty in Ethiopia. Despite their hunger and poverty, these Jews still struggle to enrich their Judaism and live in a Jewish manner. It costs a quarter to feed a Jewish child one meal. Congregations and Religious Schools can help by collecting quarters in a central location, and then sending them to the Shalom Ethiopia headquarters. Before sending the donations, quarters can be counted in an effort to realize how many meals they will be providing, and how many children they will be helping to feed. More information, including tzedakah box labels and posters for advertising, can be found at www.shalomethiopia.org

Modern-Day Slavery

The Anti-Slavery Seder Centerpiece (Grades 3-6): Religious School teachers can use the story of Passover to teach about modern manifestations of slavery and discuss the need for awareness. This age-appropriate activity, in addition to others available at the www.iabolish.com website, will help children teach their parents about this critical issue:

• Materials needed for each student:
• Scissors
• Glue stick (or other Elmer’s)
• A copy of the “templates” page
• A copy of the “photos” page
• Markers or other decorating supplies

1. Photocopy the “templates” and the “photos” pages so that you have one copy for each student in the class (plus a few spares).
2. Discuss modern slavery, Passover and the Jewish obligation to stop slavery (with the aid of the curriculum material at www.iabolish.com/passover).
3. Cut out the templates on the solid lines only, not the dashed lines. Two templates will result, one rectangular and the other rectangular with tabs.
4. Fold the two templates on all of their dashed lines and make creases. Then lay flat again.
5. Now it’s time to design how you want your centerpiece to look. You can use the photos provided as well as words and pictures of your own creation. To use the photos provided, cut out the pictures that you would like to use and glue them on the templates, within the lined squares. Be careful not to use too much glue so that it gets messy – use just enough for the photos to stick to the template.
6. Write and decorate other parts of your centerpiece as you see fit – perhaps you can write your own prayer, or boldly draw the phrase “Let My People Go” or sketch the word “slavery” inside a circle with a line through it.
7. When you are done decorating, refold the tabs on their dashed lines and glue them lightly. Then fold both templates into their box shapes, fit them together, and press the tabs into the inside of their connecting sides.
8. Let dry. Take home and place on your Seder table. Pick a point in the Seder to say the prayer (found on the Template) on your centerpiece (a good spot would be right before the four questions). Ask the adults at the table “Do you think slavery exists today?” See if they know! Tell them 27 million people are enslaved today. Tell them we can do something about it – just visit iabolish.com to find out!

Domestic Violence

Special Seder Plates: In the weeks before Passover, religious school students can create ceramic or paper Seder plates to be donated to Jewish women who have been victims of domestic violence. These plates can also be used if the congregation holds a Seder for victims of domestic violence (see above information).

Interfaith Relations

An Afternoon of Sharing: Black and Jewish children can join together in an afternoon of learning, singing, and sharing about their common experiences. Each group can present to the other a short dramatic presentation of their respective histories of slavery and freedom. Teacher-led discussion can follow. Common songs of freedom can be taught and sung together. The children can also split into smaller groups with members from both communities, and together develop a modern version of “Dayenu.”

54 Ways You Can Help the Homeless, by Rabbi Charles A. Kroloff (West Orange, NJ: Behrman House Inc., 1993).

Courtesy of www.iabolish.com.