The Passover Journey: A Seder Companion

At one point in "The Passover Journey: A Seder Companion," author Barbara Diamond Goldin explains that there are four different places in the Bible that instruct parents to tell the Passover story to their children. The Rabbis who created the Seder came up with the idea of four different children who represent four different ways to tell about the Exodus: the wise child, the wicked child, the innocent child, and the child who does not even know how to ask a question. This develops the goal of telling about Passover so that each child can understand the story. Within that context it becomes clear that "The Passover Journey" is a volume that can speak to any child (or former child) whatever initial knowledge about the Seder they have to the reading of this book.Illustrated by Neil Waldman with drawings of warm pastel colors that recall the temple art of Ancient Egypt, "The Passover Journey" is divided into two parts. Part One, The Israelites' Journey: The Story of the Exodus, goes back to the enslavement of the Israelites and the birth of the baby Moses. The story tells of the ten plagues that befell Egypt and ends with the Israelites walking through the parted Sea of Reeds to freedom. Part Two, Making the Israelites' Journey Our Own that tells us all about the Seder and then details its Fourteen Steps. The first part is fairly familiar to those who have read the book of Genesis or seen either "The Ten Commandments" or "The Prince of Egypt." Obviously the second part is going to be the most informative and Goldin explains everything from haroset (an apple and nut mixture that looks like the bricks and mortar the Israelites used to build Pharoadh's cities) to the well known Seder song, "Dayyenu." The Fourteen Steps of the Seder are laid out and Goldin makes a point of anticipating and answering the questions that could be asked (by any one of those aforementioned four children).The strength of this book is that it asks and answers questions about Passover that not only lead to an understanding of its rituals and symbols, but also provides an appreciation of their historical context. I knew that as much as I knew about the story of Passover that I knew little about the Seder; this book simply proves how little I knew. This book is ideal either for children who have questions about Passover and the Seder, or for their parents, who would like to be able to answer their children's questions on their own.

I have been at a seder for several years where every participant was given a copy of this book for the night, in addition to whatever varied haggaddot they brought. Every year i thought this was a great idea. I recommend trying this at home! About the book: The pictures are lovely, and it really does act as a good companion to a standard Passover haggadda. This book tries to revitalize the stories and add new facts and perspectives. This is worth buying!