The Zanger family - 1980 - In Japanese
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Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, and birthplace of three religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Today's story is about a Jewish boy who lives in Jerusalem and how he celebrates a holiday. Spring, has once again come to Jerusalem. Here is Mary's Well, overflowing with water. The well, located in the suburbs of Jerusalem, is not only a tribute to Saint Mary, it is also the playground of the children who live nearby. The children thoroughly enjoy the long-awaited spring. Yoel, is one of those children. My name's Yoel. I'm nine years old. My home is right near Mary's Well. When we all play together like this, it really feels like spring has come. There are lots of ruins near my house, like the Church of John the Baptist. In other words, it's a typical Jerusalem neighborhood. This girl is my good friend, Aharona. And here's my neighbor Rotem. When spring comes everyone gets super-excited, even me, because it's almost time for the spring holiday of Passover. Once a largely Arab neighborhood, The Jerusalem suburb of Ein Karem is full of luxury homes. Many of the homes reflect the Arab style. Yoel's house too reflects undertones of Arab design. Today is March 31st. According to the Jewish calendar, it's the 15th day of the month of Nisan, which means "the first month of spring." It's the first day of Passover. In any home? preparations for Passover begin many days ahead of time. A major housecleaning is part of such preparations. Doing the dishes here is my older sister Mikhal. All dishes get put away, except the special ones for Passover. This is my Mother. Her name is Nina. During the seven days of the Passover holiday, the most important observance is to not have any items that contain yeast anywhere in the house. That's why, even though it's waste, we throw out all of our bread. Here's my younger sister, Jenia, who will be five this year, helping our father. They are sweeping thoroughly, both inside and outside the house. Passover is a fun festival, announcing the start of spring. But it's not just about the fun. To us Jews, this holiday has a great deal of meaning. There's a very important reason why we take the trouble to throw out bread and make similar preparations. About three thousand years ago, our ancestors were slaves in the land of Egypt. Led by Moses, our ancestors fled Egypt. They headed for Israel. They didn't have any yeast and they underwent a lot of hardship along the way. The Passover holiday marks and acknowledges their hardship. That's why, for this one week of the year, we eat bread that has no yeast in it. Father is carving up a Turkey. This is also symbolic of an event in the Old Testament. And now, all the preparations are ready. The friends of Jerusalem have arrived for the Seder. Friends and family gather for the Seder. It's dusk and as the sun sets and the day draws to an end, the Passover celebration begins. The first day of Passover is celebrated by the very important Seder ritual, which is now underway at Yoel's house. According to the Old Testament, a long time ago, when the Jewish people lived in Egypt, they were able to escape a great curse. The curse skipped over the Jewish households. In other words, the curse "passed over" the Jews. And that's why the holiday is called "Passover". After evading great disaster, the Jewish people were brought out of Egypt by Moses. The Old Testament Book of Exodus is the theme of the Haggadah, which is the name of the book used during Seder celebration. It's time for the high point of the Seder the celebration. Yoel's father, who is an ordained rabbi, is an enthusiastic teacher and student of Judaism. For that reason, the Seder in this house, is conducted in strict adherence to an ancient custom. The Passover holiday commemorates the suffering of the Jews as they crossed the desert, and the hardships they incurred in building the land of Israel. And that's why they dip raw vegetables in salt, in remembrance of suffering. There's a song in the Haggadah called the 4 questions The song is always performed by the youngest children that together convey the significance of Passover rituals Yoel is singing the traditional questions. Tonight's food is somehow different from the food we eat on other nights. How is this night different from all other nights? On all other nights, we eat regular bread, But tonight, all we can eat are certain kinds of seedless bread and vegetables. Singing and reading from the Haggadah, the ritual continues as laid out in the Old Testament. This is called Matza. It's a yeast-free bread. It is eaten together with turkey bitter herbs, Maror, and hard-boiled eggs, all staple foods of the Seder ritual. The yeast-free bread, Matza, is a very bland cracker-like bread. As a symbol of the bitter suffering that our ancestors had to taste we eat bitter herbs and ginger, and get a taste of their hardship. This first-hand experience with the struggle of our ancestors underscores our commitment to together continuing to build our strong and splendid country. The Passover ritual continues well into the night. Without a homeland for 2000 years, the Jewish people came to live all over the world, always dreaming of returning to Israel, and building their own country there. That dream finally came true about thirty years ago. Jews from all over the world came to gather here and began to build a new and peaceful country. During the seven days of Passover the grownups don't go to work and us kids, we don't go to school. The buses and trains even stop running. On one of these days off I've decided to go to my judo dojo. I love judo, and so does everyone else. Because judo requires that you confront your opponent without weapons, I actually think it's a pretty peaceful sport. The physical training leaves me drenched in sweat. It's a great feeling. Many Jews take advantage of the Passover holiday to bring food and drink over and visit with friends. Yoel and his whole family go over to visit friends who also immigrated to Israel from the United States of America. For that long period of 2000 years the Jewish people lived in all of the countries of world. In each of those countries they found community and build unity to preserve the Jewish faith. They prayed that someday they would have their own country. Now, even after the foundation of the state of Israel, these Israelis don't forget the friendships and communities of their countries of origin. Perhaps that's why they go round to visit with others of similar backgrounds. The spirit of Passover lives on in this picnic. The meal revolves around the ritual Passover food and drink, matza and raw vegetables and wine. Since coming to Israel from the USA, Yoel and Aharona's families have worked hard to preserve their mutual connection. They remember that in the USA they were part of the same community. And so it is that the Passover holiday provides Jews a chance to taste history as well as to celebrate the arrival of spring. This fun picnic will go on until who knows when. Yoel's father sometimes reads to him from the Talmud. The Talmud provides simple explanations of the teachings of Judaism. The Talmud is full of stories much like Aesop's Fables, and is written like a text book-- easy to understand. Here's one of the stories. 3 frogs fell into a pail of milk. One of the frogs did nothing, thinking this was God's will. The second frog gave up and ended up drowning. But the third frog had an incredible will to live. He kept swimming and swimming and eventually he felt something hard beneath his feet. The milk had hardened and turned into butter. And the frog was standing on top of that butter. That third frog was able to jump free of the milk pail without getting hurt. Through listening to this story from Talmud, we get the sense that Yoel really understands the importance of hard work and never giving up. The oldest relic in the Old City of Jerusalem, and a classic symbol of the city, is the Old City Wall Road. Yoel's father has taken Yoel and his big sister, Mikhal, To the famous Western Wall. The wall was originally erected by Herod the Great, an old King of Israel. It was part of the wall surrounding Herod's Temple. Since its destruction about two thousand years ago by pagans, what little remains of the Western Wall is now a sacred site to Jews. To commemorate the day that the temple was destroyed, on the ninth day of every month, Jews gather at the wall to pray and mourn the temple destruction. This tradition has continued for many centuries. The mourners gathering at this wall provide the origins of the term "Wailing Wall". Even now, many Jews gather to touch the wall and pray. Here's the road to Mount Zion, where Jesus is said to have had his Last Supper. And here is the temple on Mount Zion. King David's Tomb is said to be here. In Jewish tradition, when you enter a temple or step upon sacred ground, you must always wear a cap and cover your hair. Yoel puts on a cap (kippah) as he enters. Here is King David's Tomb. Because King David's Tomb is on Mount Zion, it is a sacred Jewish site. And, because it is the place where Jesus had his Last Supper, it is also sacred to Christians. A giant lampstand a Menorah, stands in front of the Israeli Parliament. It was a gift from England to commemorate the creation of the State of Israel. Scenes from a variety of stories throughout Jewish history are engraved into the Menorah. Yoel traces the long and painful history of the Jewish people as inscribed in these reliefs. He has learned the story of his people and their struggle for a country of their own, the country of Israel. Yoel takes pride in his Jewish heritage, and there is no doubt that he will go on to live life of great accomplishment.