More than 100,000 students from grades 2 through 6 from all over the country took part in a unique activity in honor of the Seder night organized by Rabbi Yitzhak David Grossman, Israel Prize laureate, Ashkenazi Rabbi of Migdal Ha'emek, and head of the "Migdal Or" national education network.
As part of the activity, Rabbi Grossman performed a short Seder night program for the students, with stories, songs, and blessings for the holiday. Students who watched the class, each in his own school, sat around the Seder table and reveled in the symbols of the holiday.
The exercise took place over the advanced digital management and learning platform of the of the "Sisma l'Kol Yeled" project, and was viewed in real time by some 100,000 students from 80 schools participating in the project from all over the country, members of the Ohr l'Yisrael youth group, and Jewish schools in the United States, Russia, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
Before the lesson, the children were invited to send questions to the rabbi. Among the questions asked were, "Why is the Haggadah written in Aramaic?", "Why must we burn the chametz and not bury it or throw it away?" And "Why do we use a special plate on Passover?"
The holiday activity with Rabbi Grossman, led by the "Sisma l'Kol Yeled" project, took place in a collaborative learning framework, which enables students from all over Israel and the world to meet and study together. In order to augment the connection between the students, at the end of the lesson, each class was asked to upload a picture of itself from the course of the Seder, in order to underline the similarities uniting them and to enhance their shared online learning experience.
"In reading the Passover Haggadah, we commemorate the birth of the Jewish people and their exodus from Egypt to eternal life," said Rabbi Grossman. "In this way, we fulfill the commandment of 'You shall tell your son' (the commandment that gave rise to the seder and accompanying Haggadah reading, ed.) and thus dedicate the holiday to educating our children and instilling faith in future generations. I am happy to take part in this innovative project that connects thousands of children from Israel and abroad to their past and history of their people. These children are the future generation and investing in their education will serve as a basis for a better future for them and for Israeli society."
Rabbi Grossman promised to continue similar classes in the future and said that he considers giving a general lesson to all of Israel's students to be a great privilege.
"It is a great honor for us that Rabbi Grossman taught and enriched the students with learning about the upcoming Pesach holiday," said Maggie Asayag, director of the "Sisma l'Kol Yeled" project. "This is an educational-value-based activity, one of many, using the project platform to advance 21st century skills, according to the vision of Udi Engel, the project's leader, to promote universal values of giving and kindness, acceptance and tolerance, via digital means."
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the chairman of the project, the donors, the Ministry for Development of the Periphery (outlying communities, ed.), the Negev, and the Galilee; and the Social Equality Ministry, who continue to believe in giving equal opportunity to every child in the State of Israel - and to wish the Jewish People a happy Passover," added Asayag.