I just uploaded some notebook pages for Passover to my group, Homeschool Treasure Trove (or you can click on the link to the right). I know it's really close to Passover (begins Saturday, April 19 at Sunset), but I've been so preoccupied with cleaning out the house lately, the "creative juices" just haven't been flowing in that direction. The pages include...
Finding the Chametz
Passover Calendar (3 versions...1 specific for this year, and 2 blank...Mar-Apr & Apr-May based on single or double Adar years)
Passover Timeline
Seder Plate
Seder Meal
Ten Plagues
Ten Plagues Timeline
The Exodus (both Regular and Primary lines)
I was going to do some more, but that may have to wait until next year...
I was kind of disappointed this year when Passover didn't fall at the same time as Easter, but the more I think about it, I'm actually excited that it isn't at the same time. It really allows us to focus on Passover rather than trying to rush from one holiday to the next, practically "changing gears" completely. If I can just get my act together, I could actually teach my kids something about it BEFORE the meal.
One of the interesting things I found was that not only does Passover (also called Pesach) not always coincide with Easter, Jewish people don't count the years like we do. To them it is the year 5768..but to us it is 2008. It has been (approximately) 2008 years since the birth of Christ (I know that's not exact, but it was the original basis for choosing the "starting point" of our years). However, obviously the Jewish people do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah, so they also do not recognize his birth as the starting point of the "Common Era". The year 5768 represents the number of years since the creation of the world. They also prefer to use the terminology "BCE" and "CE", even though many Christians prefer "BC" and "AD"...it reminds us of our Savior who came to earth for the sole purpose of dying for our sins...He became that Passover Lamb. It also reminds the Jews of a man who they feel was a "blasphemer" and "deceiver"...Jesus. Which is why they (as well as many atheists and agnostics...or secular-minded people) will refer to the years as "BCE" and "CE" They are not recognizing Jesus as LORD and Messiah...they are acknowledging that in order to "function" in the world around them they need to have a "common frame of reference" on the calendar, so they call it the "Common Era" since it it the Era common to the majority of the world's calendar system. When I thought about it this way (many secular-minded people just want to take God out of time), it gives me a greater "patience" when people use this notation. After all Jewish people still recognize God in their calendar system...his second most awesome act...Creation...right behind His Son's perfect payment for our sins through his spotless blood.
The Jewish people are still God's chosen people. The book of Revelation (and the fact that God has preserved their people and returned their land after thousands of years when He hasn't done that for any other nation...except perhaps Egypt) proves that. I have a great love for the Jewish people. There is so much richness we can learn from them that would "fill in" the "corners" of Christianity. I am certainly not advocating that we all become Jewish and adhere to all the Jewish laws (some of which are not found in the Bible/Torah), but in order to understand who we are in Christ, we should also understand our roots in Judaism...after all Jesus was in fast a Jew...It was one the of two "religions" that God established...which are really not two, but the second is an "extension", fulfillment and enrichment of the first.
While I was surfing the net looking for resources I found these great "kid" sites for Passover. Again...some are Jewish sites, some are Christian sites, and some are "non-religious" sites. Having them here makes it easier for me to remember where I put them later (my bookmarks "overfloweth"...i.e. I can't find anything there any more. )
Some of these are from Christian sources. Others are from Jewish sources, but all are about the Biblical Feasts and Holy Days established by God in the Torah (or first five books of the Old Testament).
Welcome to my blog...Why "gidget"? Well...my husband tried to teach me how to surf before we were married. I was lousy at it, but he called me his "gidget" and the name stuck.
Why "Treasure Trove"? I love sharing about my sweet little "treasures"...and God has blessed me beyond measure....and no, I didn't mean that to rhyme.
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