On Sunday, March 10th, the Parenting Through a Jewish Lens Alumni Advisory Group put on a fabulous event to help families prepare for Passover. “Matzah Matters” drew 60 parents and children who enjoyed learning, schmoozing, eating and making arts and crafts. Parents participated in two short (and inspiring!) classes– one on making the seder meaningful for kids, led by Rabbi Julie Zupan, the other on making the seder meaningful for adults, led by Rabbi Natan Margalit. For the resources they shared and the recipes everyone enjoyed read on and visit our Parenting Lens Blog.
The planning group got creative with the menu: everything served corresponded to foods typically<s></s>foundat a Seder; mini quiches were a nod to the eggs we eat and have on the Seder plate, sliced apples alongside trail mix were meant to mimic charoset, and fresh vegetables with dips were a nod to parsley and salt water. We’re sharing 
recipes to help bring these dishes to your Passover table.
Jessica Boatright, the Alumni Advisory Group Chair has offered some reflectionson the learning session with Natan, which began with a question to the group: had they ever been to a seder that was truly meaningful to them, as adults? Less than half the room raised their hands. His assertion, which received a lot of knowing looks, was that as parents we spend a lot of time thinking about how to make holidays and traditions meaningful and fun for our kids, and not very much time thinking about how to make them meaningful for ourselves. Moreover, as we learned as PTJL participants, helping our kids find meaning and connection is dependent not just on how we teach but on how we are – on how our kids perceive our own connection to Judaism. Natan’s Passover class was about nurturing this connection. Here are his resources as well as an account of Jessica’s family tradition that keeps adults engaged in the Seder.
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