Toby Belfer's Seder A Passover Story Retold

Welcome to the Belfer house, theonly Jewish home in a small South Louisiana town. The celebration of Passoveris coming and Toby Belfer's best friend, Donna, is coming over to share in thefestivities of the Seder supper. Donna does not know much about the celebrationof the Seder because at her church they celebrate Easter. During one magicalnight she will experience the traditions and learn the history of the Jewishfeast of deliverance.This Passover tale recounts not only how Toby and her friend help the familyprepare for the festival, but also it tells the story of how the Israelitescame to freedom more than three thousand years ago. Donna comes to understandthe symbols of the Seder supper, the legend of the prophet Elijah, and whyJewish people only serve certain food like unleavened bread during thecelebration.Told within the frame of a friendship between a Jew and a Gentile,Toby Belfer's Seder is appropriate for all faiths. As the storyunfolds it helps children understand the relationship between Passover andEaster. The special activities in this book include rhymes children can use fortheir own celebrations, an example of how to join in the search for theafikoman, and a lesson in the striking parallels between Passover and Easter.Whether teaching the faith or bridging cultural differences, this book is anentertaining way to show young readers how Passover is a festival of peace.Gloria Teles Pushker is also the author of A Belfer BarMitzvah and Toby Belfer Never Had a Christmas Tree -aHanukkah story for children of all religions. She holds a master's degree ineducation with a concentration in children's literature and teaches children'sliterature at Loyola University in New Orleans. She is a member of the NationalAssociation for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling and theCoalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education.Pushker, Gloria T. is the author of 'Toby Belfer's Seder A Passover Story Retold', published 1994 under ISBN 9780882899879 and ISBN 0882899872.