Heschel West students celebrate Passover

Students at Heschel West Day School celebrated the Jewish holiday, Passover, by reenacting Seders of 2,000 years ago and spending the night in a symposium based on the original ancient Greco-Roman style.

The sixth-grade students created an interactive museum that described the holiday through words, music, art and drama. They sang, prayed and gave thanks for their freedom, from thousands of years ago to present times.

Passover commemorates the freedom of the Jews from Egypt during the reign of the Pharoahs. This story is retold during a Seder ceremony which is accompanied by a lavish meal. The holiday began on the evening of Wed., April 12 and is an eight-day observance.

"When the children of Heschel West celebrate Passover they connect with their past, and by understanding their history they secure their future," said Rivka BenDaniel, director of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at Heschel West. "We

hope that the message of Passover, which celebrates freedom, will be an inspiration to ending slavery in Darfur and other places around the world."

For more information about Heschel West, call Stephanie Levin, development coordinator at (818) 528-7200.