About the Video

NOTES FOR PARENTS & TEACHERS
Introduction
The Four Questions (Ma Nishtanah – What Has Changed?)
Arba Banim - “The Four Sons”
Abraham And The Idols
Descent To Egypt
Exodus From Egypt

INTRODUCTION
In these notes we draw some connections between the traditional text and the images used in the video and book. We also give some general background on the Haggadah stories and suggestions as to their relevance today. We hope that children will see the video before the seder and have an opportunity to discuss it with a parent or teacher.

“In every generation we must each regard ourselves as if we personally came out of Egypt.” In learning our past we are also searching for the meaning of our lives in the present.

This is the challenge that faced us when we came to translate the Haggadah into the language of picture and sound. We did not content ourselves with conveying only the verbal message but also searched for a way to animate this ancient story — literally and metaphorically. Even here we chose a unique style — clay animation. Clay is special because of its ability to constantly transform its shape. In other words the metamorphosis of characters and settings in clay enable us to move back and forth between past and present as if we ourselves are participating in the Exodus from Egypt. Through the technique of clay animation the Seder table is transformed in front of our eyes into Egyptian pyramids and the family members become the children of Israel toiling in slavery.

Seder night is directed towards children. It is an expression of the commandment: “And you shall tell your child”. An entire array of customs and foods, songs and symbols arouse the child’s curiosity. We too have chosen the child and his world as our focus — and the video narration comes from the child’s point of view.

The hero, Danny, is a modern child who doesn’t really understand the ancient language of the Haggadah and prefers to drift off into a daydream in which the Passover stories become mingled with his own contemporary reality. Thus, for example, he sees the children of Israel going down to Egypt in an aeroplane. And Abraham our forefather who smashes the idols is actually Danny himself face to face with the “idols” of our own era (obsession with money, power etc.), struggling against them.

Simply looking at the pictures and viewing the video can be fun. But a child will gain a deeper understanding of the special relationship between our historical past and the reality of his own life through discussion and dialogue among family members. We have tried to make this possible by suggesting a number of topics.


THE FOUR QUESTIONS (Ma Nishtanah – What has changed?)
The concept underlying the four questions is “change.” Change from our daily routine is expressed in the special customs, foods and songs for the holiday. This departure from the routine creates a uniqueness for the Jewish child wherever he may be. In the video we have given each of the four questions to a different child – American, Russian, Ethiopian and Israeli. Although these children are worlds apart throughout the year, this night “Halayla hazeh” is different. They feel what is common to all of them as they celebrate the seder, which unites them as Jews. In this way the ma nishtanah becomes a song of specialness and uniqueness of the Jew all over the world.

SUGGESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1) What is the difference between your daily life all year round and the seder night.

2) Do you feel a connection to other Jewish children from other countries whose life is totally different to yours. If so, why?

3) What do you both do on seder night? How could a change in routine on this night bring you closer to a Jewish child in a distant land?


ARBA BANIM - “THE FOUR SONS”
The four children in the Haggadah are the wise, the wicked (rebellious), the simple and the one who doesn’t know how to ask. Who are these four children? The word “rasha” incorporates many different meanings: bad, wicked, evil... We chose to use the word rebellious in order to emphasize that alienation, which is a negative force, can be harnessed for positive ends.

Is there a child who is only wise or only rebellious? Each of us is an interplay of the four attributes. We expressed this idea in the video by showing four sides to the same head. The head turns every time, revealing a different facet of the child’s personality.

In each one of us is the “wise” – manifest in curiosity and interest in tradition and its meaning. On the rebellious side is the alienated personality who rejects any connection with historical tradition, authority and the Jewish way of life (which is why he is portrayed in the video as the one who pushes aside all the symbols on the seder table.) The simple one demonstrates the superficiality that cannot look beyond external and obvious aspects of the ritual (which is why all he can do is to eat and eat.) The one who doesn’t know how to ask shows his impotence – our inability in the face of the complex and confusing world of Judaism which we sometimes do not know how to approach. In our portrayal he does not even have a mouth – the basic tool for asking and partaking of the ritual.

Another idea is that in the course of our lives we go through each of these phases. In the beginning we are the child who doesn’t know how to ask; then we become somebody who asks but is the simple one; in our adolescence we rebel against the authority of parents and teachers. Only later can we become wise.

Wisdom is not just the last stage, but contains in itself all the positive aspects of the different characteristics.

SUGGESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1) Why are all four children shown as one character with a turning head? (What would have happened if they had been four separate characters?)

2) What is the connection between the question that each of the children asks in the Haggadah to how they are portrayed?

3) With which of the four children do you identify and why? Do you have anything in common with the other children?


ABRAHAM AND THE IDOLS
This scene, in which we bring the ancient story of Abraham and the idols into a modern context, is dealt with in depth in the video but only hinted at with some of the illustrations on page 12 of the book. If you have not seen the video you can still discuss the story and its application to the beginnings of the Jewish people. In the video, the story is told with a deliberate dissonance between the soundtrack, which tells the original Midrashic tale, and the picture which is contemporary.

The following is a shortened, adapted version of the original Midrashic story: In the house of Abraham’s father they used to make and sell idols. One day it was Abraham’s turn to serve. Abraham asked his father, “What am I supposed to do?” His father told him to put food and drink in front of them. So Abraham gave them food and drink and said, “Come on eat, drink so that you will be happy and do good to mankind.”

But of course none of them took anything. Abraham said: “They have mouths but they do not speak, eyes but they do not see, ears but they do not hear...” A woman came carrying a bowl of grain which she asked Abraham to put in front of the idols. But instead, Abraham picked up a cane and broke all the idols except for the largest, in whose hand he then placed the cane. When his father returned he was furious.

“Who did this?” he cried.

“Why are you angry at me?” said Abraham. “I gave them the food and they began to fight over it. Then the big one came along and broke all of them.”

“Are you trying to make a fool of me? Are they able to do such things?”

“Of course they aren’t,” said Abraham. “But do you hear what you are saying? How can you believe in these idols?”

We have presented the story in a setting combining ancient and modern in order to emphasize that every generation has its own idols – conventions that nobody dares attack and to which everybody eventually becomes enslaved. It is usually the youth who can rebel against such worship. The actual Midrashic version of the story presents different possibilities for modern idols, such as unbridled pursuit of wealth and power (portrayed by the $ symbol), violence (symbolized by the cannon) or technology that knows no limits. The story of Abraham’s rebellion against enslavement to the idols is a challenge to every generation.

SUGGESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1) Does the story of Abraham and the idols have only a historical meaning for us?

2) Do we have “idols” today? How can we overcome them?

DESCENT TO EGYPT
The main idea in this sequence is to bring the story to life and show it from Danny’s perspective. For example, in Danny’s imagination the Children of Israel travel to Egypt in a plane and pass through customs and immigration. This lighthearted use of contemporary images helps children identify with the ancient story.

a) Settling in Egypt The Jews who come to Egypt are advised by the “Bureau of Tourism” to blend in with the surroundings. As the passports (symbol of their Jewish identity) are stamped, a metamorphosis takes place and they suddenly begin to look like Egyptians. Egypt is thus a prototype for the diaspora throughout the generations in which Jewish identity has often been threatened.

b) Slavery and suffering The Midrash tells us that enslavement did not happen suddenly. The Children of Israel were very comfortable in Egypt at first. As they became more involved in “modem” Egyptian culture they were tricked into slavery. The Midrash tells us that Pharaoh himself dressed for work and persuaded the Children of Israel to participate in a “national building effort.” Slavery in Egypt is a forerunner of subsequent Jewish suffering.

There is even a hint of a parallel with more recent events in which Jews were deceived as they were transported to “work-camps.” Although we did not pursue this line in the video, parents and teachers may wish to raise the subject of the Holocaust in this connection for discussion separately.


c) Ten Plagues In the ten plagues we portray the Egyptians’ arrogance, and pride in their “advanced civilisation.” Pharaoh’s advisors and magicians were the scientists of the day. The plagues demonstrated their human limits and brought them down to size. Moses challenges Pharaoh to a duel, using the staff that becomes a snake. At first it seems that the magicians will be more than a match for Moses. But Pharaoh’s confidence in their power proves misplaced, and through the subsequent plagues Pharaoh’s palace is destroyed and he physically shrinks, as morality triumphs over power.

EXODUS FROM EGYPT
The experience of leaving Egypt is conveyed in the Hallel prayer, which becomes a song of praise for the wonder of Jewish existence throughout the ages. The video contains a collage of scenes from the Exodus, parting of the Red Sea, through the Shtetl in Eastern Europe and the redemption of modern Israel. This is the meaning and overall message of the Haggadah, expressed in the song “Vehi Sheamdah” – in every generation God has saved us from our destroyers. The miracle of the continued existence of the Jewish people, despite all the hardships, is the inspiration behind this song of praise and rejoicing.

Udi Lion