Bedikat Chametz tradition for Pesach and other activities for children


Pesach activities
For people with young children:
The tradition of searching for leaven (Bedikat Chametz)
For this you will need: Candle, wooden spoon, feather, paper bag and some leavened bread that has been “hidden” to be “found” on the start of the 14th of Aviv (this year it corresponds with evening of 3rd of Apr 2015- the evening before the evening that we have our Seders.) The Pesach Seder takes place on the end of the 14th of Aviv when it goes over into the 15th of Aviv. 

About this tradition:
Prior to the celebration of Passover, the Jews have traditionally a ceremony for searching and casting out leaven from your home. In Hebrew this ceremony is called, Bedikat Chametz which means, the search for leaven. (A very good tool to teach the children)
The ceremony is as follows: Prior to Passover, the wife thoroughly cleans the house to remove all leaven -- Chametz.   (Just note: We have all done this already for the last week or two, not just the mothers with small children, but now this ceremony will take place on the evening before the Seders.)
  1. The wife leaves ten small pieces of leaven -- bread -- in the house. (This is now of course only for the mothers with young children).
  2. The evening before the evening of the Pesach Seder a final and comprehensive search is performed. The father, with his children, takes a candle, a feather, a wooden spoon, and a piece of linen cloth to search through the house for the ten pieces of leaven.
  1. This time the house is completely dark except for the candles. Before the search begins, the following words are said:                                               
Blessed are You, O YHVH our Elohim, King of the Universe, who has set us apart by His commandments and commanded us concerning the removal of Chametz (leaven).
  1. The spiritual understanding of the candle is that it represents the Word of Elohim. Spiritually you are to cleanse the leaven -- sin -- from your house -- life -- by allowing the Set Apart  Spirit -- Ruach HaKodesh -- to reveal to you, through the knowledge of Yahshua/Yeshua, and the scriptures, the sin which is in your life. It is only through Elohim's Word that you are able to identify sin in your life. – Tehillim/Psalm 119:105
  2. The feather represents the Set Apart Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh). Even though you have the Word of YHVH our Elohim, you need the Spirit of YHVH—the Ruach HaKodesh (Hebrew) -- to illuminate the Set apart scriptures to you. -- I Corinthians 2:11-14
  3. The spoon represents the tree that Yahshua/Yeshua died upon. -- Deuteronomy 21:22-23. Remember, the leaven-- Chametz, representing sin -- is swept on the spoon-- representing the tree -- by the father when he and his children cleanse their house of all leaven. Likewise, your sin is swept, or cast upon Yahshua when He died on the stake. II Corinthians 5:21
  4. The leaven -- Yahshua and our sin upon the tree -- Galatians 3:13, -- is then wrapped in linen -- Yahshua in the tomb -- John 19:40 -- and cast out of the house -- Yahshua's body. Yahshua died for us. Fulfilling the cleansing ceremony when the father takes the linen cloth with its contents to cast it into the fire to be burned symbolizing that Yahshua took all our iniquities on Him.
Some advice for the setting of the Seder table
We do know that during the time of Yahshua they ate around a U-shaped table, called a triclinium. It is placed low on the floor to allow for the people around it to recline/lying on their left side while eating with their right hand. On the opposite side of the u shape, everyone is lying on their right hand arm eating with their left hands. 
On each side everyone is facing the same direction around the table, often making it hard to speak to those behind you. That is to recline around the table, enjoying one's freedom in the Land. It is also possible that ALL were lying on their left hand sides, eating with their right hands.

It would be impossible to recline around a table such as we eat at today. It will be very nice for you with young children if you could try and get this setting of a flat table (be creative and make a plan) and sit and recline around it. For us older people it is difficult.

PASSOVER ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN
Suggested Activities That Involve Children in Preparing and Participating:
(Barbara M. Lerner, Jewish Family Educator for Greater Philadelphia, ACAJE - we as Messianic believers edited it a bit)
Making the seder a fun experience for the entire family does not have to entail
huge amounts of time. Think of the Seder as an opportunity to re-enact the Exodus through the ages and the senses.
1. Hang sheets from a corner of the ceiling to think of the tents that desert nomads like B'nei Yisrael (the children of Yisrael) must have used in their travels.
2. Get a bucket of rocks from a garden supply store. Keep family members busy piling up rocks to symbolize the types of walls used in Canaanite homes and settlements.
Who can build the highest wall?
3. Use Israeli salt for your salt water
4. (In preparation for the Seder) Have the younger make mud pies -- or clay bricks, but have them make them in old ice cube trays. Have half of the mud bricks made with grass clippings and half without any reinforcement. Check the strength of each *brick* with a clamp - Can be messy, but fun. Someone could give the background of putting re-bars in cement buildings and patios (try it with tooth-picks).
5. Give home-work to your guests. Each family or person can be responsible for a
different part of the Haggadah, a particular commentary, or explanation (assign to each person the portions that they must read).
This division of the Seder makes for more participation and anticipation of who is the next presenter.
6. Encourage children to plan on the ten plagues and make up their own “bag of
plagues” bringing symbols of the traditional Ten Plagues. OR… mom can make finger puppets that represent each of the ten plagues. Use your imagination and be creative. Another way children can distribute symbols of the hail and the darkness: ping pong balls for everyone to throw at the mention of “hail” or sunglasses to symbolize darkness. While there are commercial “Plague Sacks” which have symbols for each of the plagues, you should consider planning with the kids for their own interpretations.


 ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE SEDER
Costumes are a wonderful way in which children can be kept involved in the Seder. They can dress up as guests and come in through the door for “Ha Lachma Anya” and even be dressed up as Jewish historical guests – but remember to save Eliyahu the Prophet for opening the door after the meal (If you choose to bring this part into your Haggadah). Explain that it was Eliyahu that spoke about the pagan things that must come out of our lives and that we must come out of the pagan things too.


Questions that can be asked (for this, you as adult must make sure that you teach them ahead of time all the things that they need to know in order to be able to answer these questions therefore you yourself must have studied all to be able to have it in your hearts- to know what it is all about. If you study all the documents that we give out, it will be good.)

1. What are the other names of Passover and the Passover week?
2. On what day was the slaughtering of the pesach lambs?
3. What Biblical day on the Hebrew calendar did Yahshua die on the stake?
4. What time did Yahshua die?
5. Can we offer lambs (called the pesach) on the 14th of Aviv nowadays? If not, why not?
6. What do we now do on the 14th of Aviv?
7. What is the Pesach Seder?
8. We use a specific book for the Pesach Seder. What do we call this book?
9. When do we hold the Pesach Seder?
10. For how long are we now going to eat unleavened bread with other food that has no leaven in it?
11. What must not be found in our houses during this seven days?
12. What is leaven?
13. Name one thing that has leaven in it?
14. What does leaven symbolises?
15. What is the original name of the First Hebrew or Scriptural month?
16. What did the Jews start calling this month since they were in Babylonian exile?
17. Which name is out of place? Pharaoh, Aaron, Miryam or Moshe?
18. Who was Zipporah?
19. What doesn't belong? Frogs, lice, ants, locusts?
20. What was the tenth plague?
21.What word is out of place? Shankbone, bitter herbs, cheese, salt water.
22. Complete this phrase: "On all other nights we don't dip"
23. Why are four cups of wine poured during the Seder?



ANSWERS FOR ADULTS AND FOR CHILDREN
1. Pesach is the Hebrew name for Passover. Then other names are also Z'man Herutenu - Season of our Freedom, and Chag HaMatzot is the name for the rest of the week, the Week of Unleavened Bread called “Feast of Unleavened Bread” in English.
2. On the 14th of Aviv “between the evenings” which is around 3pm our time. It was called the Ninth hour.
3. Yahshua died on the 14th of Aviv.
4.Yahshua died on the Ninth Hour which was the same time that the pesach lambs were offered.
5. No we can’t, because the temple is not standing in Yerushalayim anymore and it is not yet rebuilt. There is no altar at the moment.
6. We prepare for the Pesach Seder.
7. It is a specific way that we do things and hear all the things that happened in Mistrayim (Egypt) with the Hebrews and how they were led out of Mitsrayim with the last plague when they had to each family slaughter a lamb and put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts so that they could be protected – their First born sons didn’t die and they could leave Mitsrayim that night. Then we also talk about Yahshua that became the most important Pesach Lamb that Elohim sent so that Yahshua could die for us. Now Yahshua’s blood is also getting us out of bondages. We do and say all things to help us to remember it all because Yahveh said our parents must tell us the story.
8. A Haggadah.
9. We hold the Pesach Seder on the same night as the night that the Hebrews left Mitsrayim and that is the beginning of the 15th of Aviv.
10. For seven days.
11. Leaven
12. It is when something especially in doughs happen that makes it ferment and then the dough batch puffs up and becomes bigger.
13.  Bread that is high
14. It is like the sin in our lives. Sin puffs you up.
15. It is called the Month of the Aviv or according to the name given after Babylonian exile called Nisan or just First Month.
16. The Jews start calling it Nisan but we call it by its original name which is the Month of the Aviv or the First Month
17.  Pharaoh is the name out of place. Aaron and Miryam were brother and sister to Moshe.
18. Zipporah was Moshes' first wife.
19. "Ants" does not belong in this list as frogs, lice and locusts were three of the Plagues that Elohim sent upon the Egyptians corresponding to the deeds they had perpetrated against the children of Israel.
20. The Tenth Plague was the slaying of the first born sons where there were no blood on the doorposts of the doors of each house.
21. "Cheese" is out of place; the other items refer to symbols used during the Seder.
22. "On all other nights we do not dip even once, but on this night we dip twice."

23. The four cups are describing YHVH's salvation plan: I will bring you out (to set you apart from the world); I will deliver you (by the strong arm of YHVH the Redeemer, from the world, flesh and Satan); I will redeem you (the believer’s salvation); I will take you to be my people (the Millennial Reign and then Eternity.)3. To symbolize the four expressions of liberation which the Bible uses. (Exodus 6:6-7)