Final Project- The Symbols Of Passover

Basic History- Passover comes from the Jewish tradition of commemorating the Jewish slaves escape from their servitude in Egypt. Moses called for God’s help and he sent ten plagues upon the Egyptians, the last seven were supposed to not affect the slaves at all. They were turning water to blood, frogs, lice, disease that affected livestock, boils, hail, locusts, and the ninth was darkness. When God sent the tenth and final plague on the Egyptians, the death of the firstborn child, all of the Jewish families slaughtered a lamb and spread the blood on their door, thus the Angel of Death would Passover those homes. Passover is also known as the Pesach.

Matzah- when the Jews fled from Egypt, they did not have time to allow their bread to leaven, leaving them with the flat bread known as Matzah. This includes “anything made from the five major grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt) that has not been completely cooked within 18 minutes after coming into contact with water.” Because of this, no leavened bread is eaten during the duration of Passover, which lasts seven or eight days. The extra day is added in preparation of many things. In case of discrepancies in the interpretation of the Jewish calendar, local calendars compared to the temple at Jerusalem and to allow travelers time to arrive, and in areas of danger, to prevent knowledge on the better day for enemies to attack.

Minor Fast- the first born must partake in a minor fast the day before Passover, which consists from dawn to nightfall in honor of being one of the firstborn spared during the tenth plague. If the firstborn son has not reached his Bar Mitzvah, the Jewish coming of age ceremony, his father observes the fast for him.

Haggadah- This translates to “telling” and is the book that holds the instructions for the Seder. In Hebrew, the book is read from the top right, to the top left and down from right to left. Thus the books’ spine is located on the right and the pages flip that way as well.

Elijah- was a prophet and maricle worker in Israel. Elijah raised the dead, brought fire down from the sky, and ascended into heaven in a chariot.There is always an empty chair left at the table for him during the Passover Seder. He also has his own wine glass and at some part during the meal, the door is open and he is invited to join the Seder.

Candles- in the Jewish tradition, the day begins and ends at sunset. The lighting of the candles symbolizes the change into a new day. They are lighted before the Seder begins and a blessing is recited.

The Seder plate consists of six symbolic foods-

The Zeroa- this is a roasted shank bone that represents the lamb sacrificed on the temple of Jerusalem as a offering to God.

The Beitzah- a hard boiled egg that symbolizes the rebirth of spring.

The Morar- a bitter herb that is a remembrance of the bitterness of slavery. It is dipped in saltwater before being consumed.

Charoset- a combination of dates, apples, nuts, cinnamon, and wine that symbolizes the mortar the slaves of Egypt used in their labors.

Karpas- a green vegetable that is another sign of the coming of spring and hope.

Chazeret- another bitter herb as a reminder that the Jewish ancestors ate matzah with bitter herbs.

Saltwater- this represents the tears shed during the slaves' time in Egypt. The bitter herbs are dipped in the saltwater before being eaten.

Wine-Wine symbolizes the "joy of life." This is drunk four times during the Seder to represent the four promises God made to the Israelites in their freedom from slavery.

1. "I will free you."

2. "I will deliver you."

3. "I will redeem you."

4. "I will take you to be my people."

"I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an out-stretched arm and with great acts of judgment, and I will take you for my people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord" (Exodus 6:6-8).

Hand Washing- the hands are washed in preparation for the Seder, as a way of getting ready.

Breaking the Middle Matzah- The leader at the Seder breaks the middle piece of Matzah in half, the larger of the two pieces is set aside as the Afikkoman, which will be explained below. The smaller piece is returned to the table.

Questions- these are traditionally asked by the youngest child present. This symbolizes the need to share the traditions of the Seder with children and many parts of the Seder are directed towards the education of children.

-"Why is this night different from all other nights?"
-"On all other nights, we eat either unleavened or leavened bread, but tonight we eat only -unleavened bread?"
-"On all other nights, we eat all kinds of vegetables, but tonight, we eat only bitter herbs?"
-"On all other nights, we do not dip [our food] even once, but tonight we dip twice?"
-"On all other nights, we eat either sitting or reclining, but tonight we only recline?"

Telling the story- The story of passover is told during this section of the Seder, as a reminder of what God did for their ancestors in Egypt.

The four sons- This section also relates to the importance of the education of the children in relation to the Passover tradition. Four sons, one wise, one wicked, one simple, and one who does not know to ask. They are all given answers to their questions in ways that will benefit them individually.

-The wise son inquires "What is the meaning of the statutes and laws that God has commanded you to do?" He is answered with "You should reply to him the laws of pesach: one may not eat any dessert after the paschal sacrifice."

-The wicked son asks, "What is this service to you?" He is rebuked by the explanation that "It is because God acted for my sake when I left Egypt."

-The simple son, asks, "What is this?" and he is answered with "With a strong hand the Almighty led us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage."

-The son who does not know to ask is told, "It is because of what the Almighty did for me when I left Egypt."

Afikkoman- This is the larger of the two pieces of Matzah broken earlier in the Seder. The piece is traditionally either hid by the parents for the children to find, and when they do, they are usually rewarded with some prize which varies. The children can also hide the Afikkoman for the adults to find. Sometimes it can be stolen during the meal by the children, who then demand a reward for it's return. This tradition is also aimed at keeping the children invested and excited about the Seder.

This is not an entirely comprehensive list of the Passover Seder, there are many repetitions of certain actions, such as hand washing that occurs during the Seder. There are also many other subtleties that can be followed in the Haggadah. There are songs, blessings, and other traditions that happen during the meal, as well as special foods that are traditionally eaten, such as gefilte fish (left) and matzo ball soup (right).

The Religious Side of the Swastika

So, awhile back I blogged about the Baha'i temple in Chicago, and I promised some more information in regards to a picture I took while I was there. That included what looked like a swastika on the side of the temple. Which, if that was true, would be about as opposite to the religious beliefs of the Baha'i as possible. While watching part two of the video presentation that introduces the temple, they explain that there are other religious symbols included in the side of the temple to symbolize their acceptance of everyone. In the picture to the left you can see the Cross that represents Christianity, the Star of David that represents Judaism, and what is called the Hooked Cross, which has been used, according to the video, to represent Hinduism, Buddhism, and some Native America religions. However, the same symbol was used by Nazi Germany. In their case, the hooked cross represented the "Aryan race," while when it is used as a religious symbol, it means good fortune. The way the hooks of the arms face matters, but it is a religious symbol either way. According to a website about the Hindu swastika, "The auspicious symbol of the swastika is very commonly used in Hindu art, architecture and decoration. It can be seen on temples, houses, doorways, clothing, cars, and even cakes. It is usually a major part of the decoration for festivals and special ceremonies like weddings."

"The right-hand swastika is one of the 108 symbols of the god Vishnu as well as a symbol of the sun and of the sun god Surya. The symbol imitates in the rotation of its arms the course taken daily by the sun, which appears in the Northern Hemisphere to pass from east, then south, to west. (It is also a symbol of the sun among Native Americans.)"

"The left-hand swastika (called a sauvastika) usually represents the terrifying goddess Kali, night and magic. However, this form of the swastika is not "evil" and it is the form most commonly used in Buddhism."

Link to the website about the Hindu Swastika

Separation of Church and State

Apparently the phrase "Separation of Church and State" does not appear in the United States constitution. It was introduced as a part of the first amendment as "the wall of separation between church and state." One of the first references to this idea is by Thomas Jefferson in a letter he wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802, stating "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his god, [the people, in the 1st Amendment,] declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state." "In 1785, Jefferson drafted a bill that was designed to squash an attempt by some to provide taxes for the purpose of furthering religious education. He wrote that such support for religion was counter to a natural right of man:'... no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.'"
If the separation of Church and State is apart of our national constitution, then why was such a big deal made about Barack Obama possibly being Muslim? About his having a crazy pastor, Reverend Jeremiah White? Why is "under God" in the pledge of allegiance? Why is "In God We Trust" stamped on all of our coins and dollars? Why do people have to swear on the Bible in court? Why are all political speeches ended with "God bless America?" Why was prayer in school even an option? Religion and "polytricks" cross and conincide often and though politicians may like to assume that there is a separation between the Church and the State, there are many instances that prove otherwise. Actually, the only way that I can think of their separate is through the exemption of places of Worship in paying taxes. A Time magazine from January 1934 states, "Of the $20,000,000,000 worth of U. S. property exempt from taxation, nearly one quarter is owned by churches." If that was the cost back in the 1930's, the numbers must be astronomical now. This suppose separation does not appear consistent or in some cases, even legal.

This is a link to the website where I found the information on the Constitution

Time Article- Religion: Church Taxes

Baha'u'llah and the Processes of a New Religion

To me, the founding of a new religion seems to be a intense process wrought with persecution, prevention, and premature deaths. The new religion needs a founder, a person on whom to base basically everything. This leader needs to be charismatic and persuasive, and in most cases, leads by love instead of fear. In the Baha'i Faith, there was two leaders. The first was called the Bab and he was the precursor to Baha'u'llah, pictured to the left, who then became the head of the new faith. The Bab started the movement and predicted the leadership that Baha'u'llah would eventually produce. To prove the idea of love over fear, there were mentions of suicide in the book at the thought of followers being separated from Baha'u'llah, their leader. The span of the section assigned was over twenty four years, and it was not until near the end of that time that the Babis changed their title to the Baha'is in honor of their leader. It also took Baha'u'llah an extended period of time to announce to his followers that he was "He Whom God shall make manifest," an individual that the Bab had foretold of. The Baha'u'llah's self proclaimed title indicated a change in authority, but not in his actions. Baha'u'llah was always non violent peaceful, choosing to talk with his attackers, assassins, and protesters instead of accepting the protection he was always offered. His ways of peace inspired many of his followers. Baha'u'llah's barber was propositioned by Azal, his half brother, to kill Baha'u'llah and the barber almost killed Azal on the spot, but instead restrained himself because he knew Baha'u'llah would ask him why he had done it and he did not have a good enough reason. Baha'u'llah and his family were continuously forced to move locations, basically being asked to go into exile. In every place he went, Baha'u'llah influenced a large gathering of those interested in the Babis/ Baha'is faith, inspiring intense loyalty and dedication until the group was deemed to large and dangerous to be allowed to remain. The leader is a figure that the followers are desperate to learn from and imitate. Without a leader to cling to, new groups would be impossible. The fierce love and devotion shown to Baha'u'llah allowed for him to help benevolently control and inspire the Babis/ Baha'is faith. The continuous process of motivation, defense, and movement that Baha'u'llah, his family and followers went through shows that instigating a new religion involves dedication, immense effort, a charismatic leader or two, as well as bloodshed.

Rastafari Art

While reading the final chapters of Rastafari, the idea of the artwork of the Jamaican Rastas interested me. I was of course aware of the cultural effects that reggae has had on the Rastafari faith, as well as the rest of the world, but I was unaware of the important artistic works of the era. These were and still are important works, however, they are not as well known as the music of Bob Marley, at least to me. My initial thought for this blog was to show some of the art mentioned in the book, however, most of the works I researched are not easily accessible online. To the left is a sculpture by Edna Manley, entitled Negro Aroused was one of the only pieces of artwork mentioned in the book I could find. I am curious as to why the pieces of art are not visible on a common search engine, such as google. I am lead to dead ends in google books that have a brief reference to the works, as our textbook has. Other famous pieces of art appear; the Mona Lisa is plastered all over the Internet. The book explains that there are "dreadlocksed Jesus" and "black madonnas," indicating that cultural divides are breached when it comes to Rasta artwork. There are many non-Rastafarian artists who borrow images and symbols from the Rastafari culture to use in their work. A black madonna, by the way, is also called the Black Virgin and is the virgin Mary depicted as a black women. Why are these works that were heavily praised and deemed important in the book not available for others to enjoy, appreciate, and learn from?

The website of the National Gallery of Jamaica

Rastafari Symbols from the Video

Some of the symbols and traditions I caught from the video include the specific times of prayer the Boboshanti branch of the Rastafari faith observe are 3 am, 9am, and 3pm, and I am not sure of the significance of these times, but the individuals on the video expressed how religious (ha!) they were about the timing of these prayers. The colors red, yellow, green, and black were prevalent through, mainly on the homes. The people where clothed in red, with red turbans over dreadlocks. The signs around the village had bible teachings and encouragement for equality. They had black over white, and r over x. Both R and black represented righteousness while white and x were evil and wrong. They always made sure the "fire of life" was lit at the top of the mountain, as close to God as they could be. The people observed the Sabbath. The creators of the video had a similar design as is seen on the back of Bob Marley's "Exodus" cd cover, seen to the left. A verseion of the lion from the video, with the flag, or simiar object with the green, yellow, and red coloration is shown above.

The differences between the imagery of the Rastafari people I get when I listen to Marley and the actual images of the Boboshanti people involve basic ways of life. To the Boboshanti, the turbans are important, but to the sect that Marley believes in, the visible dreadlocks are more important. I had never really considered that there are sects that might live in shacks or may not have clean running water or that their livelihood comes at least partly from creating brooms. Marley's music makes me think more about a civilized nation that is working for more rights and equality. Maybe more along the lines of a middle class, especially with the popularity of Bob Marley? The views of the lifestyle, at least in comparison to the lifestyles I imagined, was the biggest difference, but now that I have more insight through the video, I understand that there are diverse sects of Rastafari who live differently.

here is a link to the website of the people who made the video

Bob Marley

So, after starting the reading about the Rastafarian ideals, I immediately thought of Bob Marley, and he is even quoted in our textbook. I'm a big fan of reggae, and he and the Wailers are masters and are the face of reggae. It is really hard to chose a song to show here, but I decided on "Exodus,"so here is a video and the lyrics via links-

Sorry, the ability to embed this video was removed, but here is the link to a video of Bob Marley performing "Exodus" live.

Here is a link to a page that has the lyrics to "Exodus"

and just for fun, this a link to Bob Marley's website.

Exodus relates to many of the topics we have been studying, from the original flight out of Egypt, to the pilgrimages to Jerusalem as expressed through the Psalms, to the latest movement from Israel to Ethiopia. Bob Marley sings, "We're leaving Babylon, We're going to our Father land." Depending on who is relating to this, it could mean a multitude of pilgrimages.

From his website, "Bob's story is that of an archetype, which is why it continues to have such a powerful and ever-growing resonance: it embodies political repression, metaphysical and artistic insights, gangland warfare and various periods of mystical wilderness. And his audience continues to widen: to westerners Bob's apocalyptic truths prove inspirational and life-changing; in the Third World his impact goes much further. Not just among Jamaicans, but also the Hopi Indians of New Mexico and the Maoris of New Zealand, in Indonesia and India, and especially in those parts of West Africa from wihch slaves were plucked and taken to the New World, Bob is seen as a redeemer figure returning to lead this."

Bob Marley is not afraid to discuss unsafe topics for modern music. "When you need to refer to a certain situation or crisis, there will always be a Bob Marley song that will relate to it. Bob was a musical prophet." claimed Judy Mowatt of the I-Threes, also found on his website.

If you have never listened to any of his music, you probably should. It is powerful and poignant.