The Devil's Arithmetic
Ms. Harris' class was reading a novel called "The Devil's Arithmetic." The story was about a girl named Hannah who didn't respect her religion (Jewish). But during the first night of Passover, during Seder Dinner she was transported to a 1942 Polish village, during the Holocaust. She has to find a way to get back home and save her new family from the brutal Nazis.
To experience some of the cultural traditions they were reading about, Ms. Harris' class had grape juice (wine), parsley dipped in salt water (bitter herbs), matzot (bread), and a mixture of cinnamon, apples, walnuts, and horse radish (our version of Yemenite Charoset.) The last piece of matzot wrapped in a ceremonial cloth and hidden. The one who finds it gets a prize. This game is called afikomen. The way we played, the one who found the hidden chocolate bar wrapped on a towel got to keep it!
To experience some of the cultural traditions they were reading about, Ms. Harris' class had grape juice (wine), parsley dipped in salt water (bitter herbs), matzot (bread), and a mixture of cinnamon, apples, walnuts, and horse radish (our version of Yemenite Charoset.) The last piece of matzot wrapped in a ceremonial cloth and hidden. The one who finds it gets a prize. This game is called afikomen. The way we played, the one who found the hidden chocolate bar wrapped on a towel got to keep it!
