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And you shall teach them diligently to your children...

And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

Exodus 12:26-27 (NKJV)

As I was preparing the lesson last night for our children's Shabbat School, I thought it might be a good idea to post it on here for you to use with your children! As usual, I learned much as I studied the subject of the Four Questions of the Passover seder (seder translates to "order" in English, referring to the order of the festive meal).

Shabbat School (or Homeschool) Lesson: The Four Questions

Materials needed:

- Fresh parsley sprigs (one for each child)

- Small plates (one for each child)

- Bowl of salt water

- Piece of fresh horseradish (or spoonful of prepared horseradish)

- You may make charoset for the children if they won't be attending a seder (see recipe link)

- Pillow (one for each child)

- Coloring pages for each element

- CD including song "Ma Nishtana" (Four Questions in a song - I have this one)

*If your children are new to Passover, you may want to introduce the story found in the beginning of Exodus to them first. For the purposes here, I will begin where I will be teaching from (most of our children have done a Passover seder at least once).

Who asks the Four Questions at the Passover seder?

- Traditionally at the seder meal, the Four Questions are sung or read by the youngest child.

- The answers are to give a brief overview of the story of Passover, as found in Exodus 12.

What are the Four Questions?

It is really one main question with four clauses.

Main question: "Why is this night different from all other nights?"

Four clauses:

1. On all other nights we eat bread or matzah, why on this night do we only eat matzah?

2. On all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, why on this night do we eat bitter herbs?

3. On all other nights we do not dip our vegetables even once, why on this night do we dip our vegetables twice?

4. On all other nights we eat sitting or reclining, why on this night do we only eat reclining?

Answers to the Four Questions

1. We only eat matzah on Passover because our ancestors had to leave Egypt in a hurry. God told them not to put leaven in their dough, as it would not have time to rise (Exodus 12:34). We observe it today to remember the temporary nature of our earthly home.

- Show the children a piece of matzah and ask them how it's different from regular bread.

- Explain how leaven works.

Messianic significance: In the Bible, leaven is a symbol for sin or pride. It is that which "puffs up." Talk to the children about how Messiah Yeshua was sinless, so the matzah can be a symbol for Yeshua!

2. We only eat maror (bitter herbs) to remind us of the bitterness of slavery that our ancestors endured in Egypt.

-Show the children the horseradish and tell them how bitter it is.

-Tell them they will get to try it later.

Messianic significance: We can remember the harshness and suffering of Yeshua's execution through the bitterness of the maror. It may even bring you to tears!

3. We dip twice:

(1) Parsley in salt water - representing tears from the bitterness of slavery

(2) Bitter herbs in charoset (sweet mixture of fruit, nuts and wine or grape juice)

Messianic significance: We remember the tears of those who were close to Yeshua when he died, but their tears turned to joy when they saw the resurrected Messiah. It's a reminder that God turns our mourning into joy!

4. In ancient times, only those who were free were allowed to recline at a meal. The slaves had to eat standing or sitting straight up. Once we were slaves, now we are free!

Messianic significance: Yeshua did this at his Last Seder (Matthew 26:20). We can rest (recline) in the work of atonement that Messiah's death and resurrection accomplished!

- Now give each child a small piece of matzah, a tiny (very tiny!) piece of horseradish, a sprig of parsley, spoonful of charoset (if you make it), and their pillow.

- Help them dip the matzah in the horseradish (and charoset) and taste, the sprig of parsley in the salt water and taste, and recline on their pillow.

Coloring Activity/Song

- Now allow the children to color the pages. I love using Torah Tots, as they have great coloring pages for every single part of the Torah! The Passover coloring pages are found on this page. The ones I am using for the Four Questions are this one, this one, this one and this one.

- While the children color, you could play the Four Questions song ("Ma Nishtana") for them and then teach them the words if you like!

Let me know if you have any questions. I hope this is a great help for introduction or preparation for children to the Passover seder. I will continue to post my preparation tips as the holiday nears (evening of April 19th this year)! Remember, you can still get your FREE Passover Resource or order your own Passover HaGaddah here. Not sure if Passover is for you? Read this post.

To order the book pictured above, go here.

Cover Girl TruBlend Makeup Moneymaker at CVS!

Yes, that's right...You can take home Cover Girl TruBlend makeup AND make money this week (and month!) at CVS.

Pictured above is what I bought today.

Here's how I did it:
Buy 3 participating TruBlend items for $6.99 (or $6.88 at some stores) each.
Use $5/$15 (if you are still able - we haven't had any problems in Florida).
Use CoverGirl BOGO coupon from 4/6 P&G.
Use $2 off CoverGirl TruBlend from Reinventing Beauty magazine.
Paid: 6 ECB's and $1.50 out of pocket.
Received: $10 ECB's!
Therefore, I made $2.50 and brought home a foundation, pressed powder, and blush.

I also did a similar transaction yesterday with the TruBlend Whipped Foundation ($9.29 each). I bought 2 and used the $5/$15, the BOGO (manager had to key it in manually though), and a $2 from Reinventing Beauty. I made money on that deal as well!

If all of this is greek to you, see my post "How to CVS."

For more ideas like this one, see MoneySavingMom's post here.

Whose feasts are they anyway?

I've been asked this question many times. "Well, weren't those things (meaning the Biblical feasts, diet, Sabbath, etc.) only for the Jews?"

My answer is always the same - "Read Leviticus 23."

That chapter is God's calendar, as it were, for His people. But if you read it (which I highly recommend), He never says "the feasts of the Jews" or even "the feasts of Israel." He specifically calls His appointed times "the feasts of the LORD."

Therefore, if you are not of Jewish descent, but have joined yourself to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then these are your feasts too! The Messiah that you have placed your faith in is the same one who is the "substance" of all these feasts!

For more Scriptures on this check out the following:

- Exodus 12:15-20 "It doesn't matter whether he is a foreigner or a citizen of the land..."

-Numbers 9:14 "...you shall have one statute, both for the alien and for the native of the land."

-Deuteronomy 16:10-11 "...and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst..."

- Zechariah 14:16-19 (prophecy that ALL NATIONS will go to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles)

If you have never celebrated any of the Feasts of the LORD, I invite you to join in! The next one of His appointed times is Passover, which begins on the evening of April 19th. Here's a free Passover guide to get you started! I pray that you will be blessed beyond belief as you "take hold" of your Biblical heritage.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment or send me an e-mail (located on the sidebar). I'd love to help!

Free 36-Page Passover Resource!

Many people have been asking me for instructions on how to celebrate the feasts at home, which I hope to do more of on here. For now, I just found out that First Fruits of Zion has prepared a wonderful resource (in PDF format) that you can download by clicking here and clicking on the box that says "FREE Passover Resource" about half-way down the page. It's great for beginners and not-so-beginners alike!

Keep checking back for more on the festival of Passover, which begins the evening of April 19th this year (and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is observed for seven days after Passover). I hope to post my cleaning the leaven out of my house (with pictures!), and some of my favorite Passover recipes! You won't believe the yummy things you can make with matzah!

Time Magazine Article: The Top Ten Ideas that are Changing the World

Yesterday I heard about a recent Time Magazine article entitled "The Top Ten Ideas that are Changing the World." Number 10 on the List was "The Re-Judaizing of Jesus."

I find it very interesting that even the secular world is taking note of a spiritual phenonmenon. Actually for once, I agree with one of their lists! I do believe that this is an idea that is changing the world; not that this in itself is a "new" idea, but that we are beginning to dust off our Bibles and see who Yeshua (Jesus' Hebrew name) was in the time period he was on earth and who he still is today! He did not live in America, eat at McDonald's, wear Levi jeans or even sing "Amazing Grace." The reality is that he lived in Israel, ate kosher food, wore a prayer shawl and tzitziyot and more likely prayed the Amidah.
Check out the Time article and let me know what you think!

Free Sample of Messiah Magazine

This magazine is wonderful for anyone that wants to learn more about Yesha (Jesus) and His Hebraic heritage. I highly recommend it!
Download a free PDF version sample here.
Get a trial subscription for free by signing up here (includes 3 free issues mailed to your home)!