Whipping Man Study Guide

BY MATTHEW LOPEZ DIRECTED BY TIMOTHY BOND

2013/2014 EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH SPONSORS

S

yracuse Stage is committed to providing students with rich theatre experiences that explore and examine what it is to be human. Research shows that children who participate in or are exposed to the arts show higher academic achievement, stronger self-esteem, and improved ability to plan and work toward a future goal.

Many students in our community have their first taste of live theatre through Syracuse Stage’s outreach programs. Last season more than 30,000 students from across New York State attended or participated in the Bank of America Children’s Tour, artsEmerging, the Young Playwrights Festival, and our Student Matinee Program.

We gratefully acknowledge the corporations and foundations who support our commitment to in-depth arts education for our community.

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Lori Pasqualino as “Annabel” in the 2010 Bank of America Children’s Tour: Annabel Drudge... and the Second Day of School.

Photo by Michael Davis

Content collection and layout design by Kate Laissle; Portions written by Len Fonte presents

Timothy Bond

Producing Artistic Director

Syracuse Stage and SU Drama

4.) Production Information

820 E Genesee Street Syracuse, NY 13210

5.) Introduction

Salves After Emancipation

Glassary of Words & Phrases Matthew13) Lopez

www.SyracuseStage.org

6.) Teaching Theatre

Director of Educational Outreach

8.) Letter from the DirectorTimothy 17)Bond The Passover Seder

Lauren Unbekant (315) 443-1150

Manager of Educational Outreach

Kate Laissle (315) 442-7755

Group Sales & Student Matinees

Tracey White (315) 443-9844

Box Office

12) by

s c e9.) n i c About D e s i g the n e rPlaywright c o s t u m e D e s i g n e r 18) LSteps i g h t ito n gObserving Designer a

(315) 443-3275

Syracuse Stage is a global village square where renowned artists and audiences of all ages gather to celebrate our cultural richness, witness the many truths of our common humanity, and explore the transformative power of live theatre.

Celebrating our 41st season as the professional theatre in residence at Syracuse University, we create innovative, adventurous, and entertaining productions of new plays, classics and musicals, and offer interactive education and outreach programs to Central New York.

16) Jews in the Antebellum South

DirecteD by

William Bloodgood

Gretchen Darrow-Crotty

10.) Words from the Playwright D r a m at u r g

11) About the Play

Kyle Bass

composer Seder

Darren McCroom

Michael Keck

19) In the Classroom

proDuction

s ta g e m a n a g e r

casting

Stuart Plymesser*

Harriet Bass

20) Sources and Resources

Timothy Bond

Jeffrey Woodward

Producing Artistic Director

Managing Director

SyracuSe Stage dedicateS the 2013 – 2014 SeaSon to arthur Storch, 1925 – 2013: founding artistic director of Syracuse Stage and chair of Syracuse University Department of Drama 1974 – 1992. presenting sponsor

meDia sponsors season sponsor EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH AT SYRACUSE STAGE

The Bank of America CHILDREN’S TOUR brings high-energy, interactive, and culturally diverse performances to elementary school audiences.

The Whipping Man is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. ArtsEMERGING takes students on an in-depth exploration of one The video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited. mainstage season production a multi-cultural, multi-arts January 29 - using February 16, 2014 lens.

The YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL challenges students to submit original ten-minute plays for a chance to see their work performed at Syracuse Stage.

The STUDENT MATINEE SERIES provides student with the opportunity for a rich theatrical experience as part of our audience.

presents

by

Matthew Lopez DirecteD by

Timothy Bond scenic Designer

costume Designer

Lighting Designer

composer

William Bloodgood

Gretchen Darrow-Crotty

Darren McCroom

Michael Keck

proDuction D r a m at u r g

s ta g e m a n a g e r

casting

Kyle Bass

Stuart Plymesser*

Harriet Bass

Timothy Bond

Jeffrey Woodward

Producing Artistic Director

Managing Director

SyracuSe Stage dedicateS the 2013 – 2014 SeaSon to arthur Storch, 1925 – 2013: founding artistic director of Syracuse Stage and chair of Syracuse University Department of Drama 1974 – 1992. presenting sponsor

meDia sponsors

season sponsor

The Whipping Man is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. 4.)

The video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited.

January 29 - February 16, 2014

introduction

Welcome!

As you take your students on the exciting journey into the world of live theatre we hope that you’ll take a moment to help prepare them to make the most of their experience. Unlike movies or television, live theatre offers the thrill of unpredictability.

With the actors present on stage, the audience response becomes an integral part of the performance and the overall experience: the more involved and attentive the audience, the better the show. Please remind your students that they play an important part in the success of the performance!

A few reminders...

AUDIENCE

BE PROMPT

Give your students plenty of time to arrive, find their seats, and get situated. Have them visit the restrooms before the show begins!

ETIQUETTE

RESPECT OTHERS

Please remind your students that their behavior and responses affect the quality of the performance and the enjoyment of the production for the entire audience. Live theatre means the actors and the audience are in the same room, and just as the audience can see and hear the performers, the performers can see and hear the audience. Please ask your students to avoid disturbing those around them. Please no talking or unnecessary or disruptive movement during the performance. Also, please remind students that cellphones should be switched completely off. No texting or tweeting, please. When students give their full attention to the action on the stage, they will be rewarded with the best performance possible.

GOOD NOISE, BAD NOISE

Instead of instructing students to remain totally silent, please discuss the difference between appropriate responses (laughter, applause, participation when requested) and inappropriate noise (talking, cell phones, etc).

STAY WITH US

Please do not leave or allow students to leave during the performance except in absolute emergencies. Again, reminding them to use the restrooms before the performance will help eliminate unnecessary disruption.

5.)

teaching theatre 6.)

Most (but not all) plays begin with a script — a story to be told and a blueprint of how to tell it. In his famous treatise, The Poetics, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle outlined six

ELEMENTS OF DRAMA that playwrights are mindful of to this day:

Plot What is the story line? What happened before the play started? What does each character want? What do they do to achieve their goals? What do they stand to gain/lose?

Theme What ideas are wrestled with in the play? What questions does the play pose? Does it present an opinion?

Character

Who are the people in the story? What are their relationships? Why do they do what they do? How does age/status/etc. affect them?

Language

What do the characters say? How do they say it? When do they say it?

Music How do music and sound help to tell the story?

Spectacle What visual elements support the play? This could include: puppets, scenery, costumes, dance, movement, and more.

Other Elements: Conflict/Resolution, Action, Improvisation, Non-verbal communication, Staging, Humor, Realism and other styles, Metaphor, Language, Tone, Pattern & Repetition, Emotion, Point of view.

ACTIVITY At its core, drama is about characters

working toward goals and overcoming obstacles. Ask students to use their bodies and voices to create characters who are: very old, very young, very strong, very weak, very tired, very energetic, very cold, very warm. Have their characters interact with others.

Give them an objective to fulfill despite environmental obstacles. Later, recap by asking how these obstacles affected their characters and the pursuit of their objectives.

Any piece of theatre comprises multiple art forms. As you explore this production with your students, examine the use of:

WRITING

VISUAL ART/DESIGN MUSIC/SOUND DANCE/MOVEMENT

INQUIRY

How are each of these art forms used in this production?

Why are they used?

How do they help to tell the story?

teaching theatre

Most plays utilize designers to create the visual world of the play through scenery, costumes, lighting, and more. These artists use

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

to communicate information about the world within the play and its characters.

LINE can have length, width, tex-

ture, direction and curve. There are 5 basic varieties: vertical, horizontal, diagonal, curved, and zig-zag.

SHAPE

is two-dimensional and encloses space.

It can be geometric (e.g. squares and circles), man-made, or free-form.

FORM is three-dimensional. It encloses space and fills space. It can be geometric (e.g. cubes and cylinders), man-made, or free-form.

COLOR

has three basic properties: HUE is the name of the color (e.g. red, blue, green), INTENSITY is the strength of the color (bright or dull), VALUE is the range of lightness to darkness.

SPACE is

defined and determined by shapes and forms. Positive space is enclosed by shapes and forms, while negative space exists around them.

TEXTURE refers to the “feel” of

an object’s surface. It can be smooth, rough, soft, etc. Textures may be ACTUAL (able to be felt) or IMPLIED (suggested visually through the artist’s technique).

APPLIED LEARNING

Have students discuss these elements BEFORE attending the performance and ask them to pay special attention to how these elements are used in the production’s design. Whether your students are observing a piece of visual art (painting, sculpture, photograph) or a piece of performance art (play, dance), allow them first to notice the basic elements, then encourage them to look deeper into why these elements are used the way they are.

7.)

8.)

Matthew Lopez Matthew Lopez was born and raised in Central Florida and went to college

at the University of South Florida. In 2000, he moved to New York to pursue acting, but ended up focusing on playwriting. The impetus for The Whipping Man, his most produced play came from Lopez’s discovery that Passover occurred on the same day that Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomatox. His other plays include Reverberation, Tio Pepe, Zoey’s Perfect Wedding, and The Legend of Georgia McBride. He is a member of the Ars Nova Play Group and was a 2010/2011 Old Globe Playwright-in-Residence in San Diego.

--adapted from material developed by Northlight Theatre

9.)

Words From the Playwright

History is an unending sequence of great and calamitous events. To paraphrase Alan Bennett for a family audience: history is simply one thing after another. But that is the history of kings, nations and armies and it ignores completely the people who are caught up in its unyielding progression. To look at it from a different perspective, history is the story of life interrupted, suspended momentarily, and then put back differently. History is the constant reshuffling of the deck of cards that is the human experience. What fascinate me are the moments that history skips over: when calamity subsides and life is free to return to normal.

Of course, after such events, normal is rarely the state to which life returns. The deck is never shuffled the same way twice. A new normal takes the place of the old. How, for example, do you pass through the gates of a newly liberated Auschwitz and begin to live again? How, when the machetes are finally put away, does a Rwandan return to her quotidian routines? And how, after centuries of bondage, do slaves become free people? What is that first morning like? How long does it take to register the immensity of that change?

What, simply, do you do? For American slaves, in particular, there was no normal to return to. Their deck wasn‘t reshuffled. It was replaced entirely. Those are the questions that prompted me to write The Whipping Man. The Whipping Man could never tell that story in its entirety.

No one piece of fiction ever could. My hope is that this play tells the story of the first tentative steps of the long, painful, hopeful journey that began in April 1865 and continues today. And so, in one southern home in April 1865, two slaves and their former master, all self- identifying Jews, celebrate the observance of Pesach together. As they do, they each come to realize the immensity of the moment they find themselves in and of the tremendous scars, both real and psychological, they bear from their encounter with slavery.

It is the story about when history ends and life begins again, much like the springtime in which the story is set.

10.)

--adapted from material prepared by Old Globe Theatre

About the Play

“And the Lord spake unto Moses, go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, ‘Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me.’”

The Bible, Exodus 8:1

In the hours after the surrender of General Robert E. Lee at the Appomattox Court House, the nation was at its knees, waiting with bated breath for the uncharted territory ahead. Given our reluctance to revisit the institution of slavery in this country, most contemporary Americans do not understand the intricacies of the four hundred year slave system in the US, its vastness and deep entrenchment in our culture and identity, from the birth of the nation to its restructure in the post-bellum period. To this day Americans struggle with the legacy of institutionalized racial slavery and the corrosive influences of racism that continue to plague us in the modern world. The Whipping Man gives audiences the opportunity to consider the complexities of the system in a most intimate way, through the story of one family on the brink of collapse in a new era for what is today the world‘s most influential superpower.

The Whipping Man brings to light several themes too large to fully explore here and each reader will bring a different set of questions to the text, each member of the audience has a different perspective and interpretation of the play. Among the many social themes explored are those of inequality, freedom, violence, racial discrimination, migration, religious identity, and shifts in power and authority. One might find that the play and the themes therein speak to biracial identity in contemporary America, racial tensions in American, an exploration into Ethiopian Jewish identity, or even to situate the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

-courtesy of the Old Globe Theater

Synopsis

At the end of the Civil War, Caleb DeLoan, a gravely wounded Confederate soldier returns to his home to find that his family has fled and the is place guarded by Simon, his now former slave. They are soon joined

by John, a younger former slave. While all three are inspired by the Jewish faith that they share, they confront the realities of slavery and reveal dark secrets as they share a makeshift Passover meal, a Seder.

11.)

Slaves After Emancipation

Freed Slaves learning to read after empancipation

In The Whipping Man, Simon says to John of his new freedom, “You living in this world now, not just servin’ in it!” This radical shift in identity and placement within the American community is what slaves faced in the spring of 1865. Not all slaves greeted freedom the same way. Some were skeptical and still felt intense loyalty to the Confederacy, with some even being allowed to serve in its army during the final days of the war. However, for the most part, the news was greeted with jubilation. When Richmond fell, former slaves marched in the streets singing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and calling it the Day of Jublio. They also lined up to greet President Lincoln on his visit to Richmond.

However, the economic and social promises that came with emancipation were not delivered in the immediate aftermath of the war and through Reconstruction. Many slaves continued to work on the land of their former masters only now for meager pay. The late 1860s also saw the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan as well as the black codes and Jim Crow laws, ushering in the era of segregation. Lincoln’s successor, Andrew Johnson, was also a Southerner and simply did not see the freed blacks as the responsibility of the federal government. He ignored many Congresstional proposals to improve the lives of the freed slaves, and under his administration, the North as well as the South passed property and literacy requirements to keep blacks from voting.

Very few slaves knew how to read and write, so not many accounts of emancipation and its aftermath survive.

However, some slaves did write to their former masters in the late 1860s, explaining the circumstances of their new lives. Some expressed the friendship they still felt for their former masters, while others assumed a more business-like tone, insisting on wages and fair treatment if they were to come back and work for their former masters.

Many slaves became wanderers, walking to different villages looking for jobs or food. Ultimately, their mobility was limited not only because they had been stationary their entire lives, but also because their social networks beyond family were relatively narrow, if not non-existent. The jobs they finally found were often on old plantations where Antebellum social structures still had a strong hold. Ultimately, these former slaves had few resources to begin a new life and many went from being slaves to being wanderers, farm workers, or industrial laborers working for meager pay.

12.)

--adapted by permission from material developed by Northlight Theatre

Glossary of Words and Phrases Used in The Whipping Man Abraham Lincoln: (February 12, 1809–April 15, 1865) Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery.

Appomattox: The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was the final engagement of Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee‘s Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, and one of the last battles of the American Civil War. Siege of Petersburg: The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. After nearly ten months of siege, the loss at Fort Stedman was a devastating blow for Lee‘s army, setting up the Confederate defeat at Five Forks on April 1, the Union breakthrough at Petersburg on April 2, the surrender of the City of Petersburg, at dawn on April 3, and Richmond that same evening.

Chimborazo: A Civil War hospital in Richmond, Virginia which achieved one of the lowest mortality rates (10%) of any war hospital in the country.

Confederacy: The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and the CSA) was the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S. These states were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia In the United States of America prior to the American Civil War, a slave state was a U.S. state in which slavery of African Americans was legal, whereas a free state was one in which slavery was either prohibited or eliminated over time. Slavery was one of the causes of the American Civil War and was abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution in 1865.

Egypt & Pharaohs: Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. In antiquity this title began to be used for the ruler who was the religious and political leader of united ancient Egypt, a country located in North East Africa.

Ether: A chemical derived from alcohol that can be used as an inhalant anesthetic.

13.)

Exiles of Zion: In addition to its literal geographical meaning (Jerusalem), the term Zion has often been used as a metaphor for the Biblical land of Israel, any other Promised Land, or any other distant but much wanted goal. The Jewish longing for Zion, starting with the deportation and enslavement of Jews during the Babylonian captivity, was adopted as a metaphor by Christian black slaves in the United States, and after the Civil War by blacks who were still oppressed. Thus, Zion symbolizes a longing by wandering peoples for a safe homeland.

Exodus: “The exiting from Egypt” is the story of the departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible. Exodus 12:37 refers to 600,000 adult Israelite men leaving Egypt with Moses, plus an unspecified but apparently large “mixed multitude” of non-Israelites. If taken literally, the total number involved, the 600,000 “fighting men” plus wives, children, and the elderly.

Frederick Douglas: (1818–February 20, 1895) One of the most prominent figures in African American and American history. He was a historian, abolitionist, women's suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman, minister and reformer. Escaping from slavery, he made strong contributions to the abolitionist movement, and achieved a prominent public career.

Gangrene: A complication of necrosis (i.e., cell death) characterized by the decay of body tissues, which become black (and/or green) and malodorous.

It is caused by infection or ischemia, such as by the bacteria or by thrombosis (blocked blood vessel). It is usually the result of critically insufficient blood supply (e.g., peripheral vascular disease) and is often associated with diabetes and long-term smoking. The best treatment for gangrene is revascularization (i.e., restoration of blood flow) of the affected organ, which can reverse some of the effects of necrosis and allow healing. Other treatments include removal of infected tissue and surgical amputation.

Frederick Douglas

“Good Shabbos”: Traditional Shabbat (Sabbath) salutation, said upon meeting or departing. It can be said as early as Thursday, meaning “ Hope you have a Good Shabbos!” It is also expressed as Shabbat Shalom, meaning a “Peaceful Sabbath.” (see Shabbat below)

Haggadah: A Jewish religious text that sets out the order of the Passover Seder. Reading the Haggadah is a fulfillment of the scriptural commandment to each Jew to "tell your son" about the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt as described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah.

Hardtack: A simple type of cracker or biscuit, made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Inexpensive and long-lasting, it was and is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages and military campaigns.

Haroseth: Charoset, haroset, or charoses is a sweet, dark-colored, chunky paste made of fruits and nuts served primarily during the Passover Seder. Its color and texture are meant to recall the mortar with which the Israelites bonded bricks when they were enslaved in Ancient Egypt.

Civl War Era Hardtack Hebrew: A Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Culturally, it is considered the Jewish language.

Hebrew in its modern form is spoken by most of the seven million people in Israel while Classical Hebrew has been used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world.

14.)

Kosher: Derived from the term Kashrut, it refers to a set of Jewish dietary laws.

“Legree”: John jokingly refers to Caleb as “Caleb Legree.” Simon Legree is a character in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. He is an abusive plantation owner who acquires Tom and is responsible for him being beaten to death.

Leviticus: The third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah. Leviticus contains laws and priestly rituals. In a wider sense it is about the working out of God’s covenant with Israel set out in Genesis and Exodus—what is seen in the Torah as the consequences of entering into a special relationship with God. These consequences are set out in terms of community relationships and behavior.

Matzoh: A cracker-like, unleavened bread made of white plain flour and water.

The dough is pricked in several places and not allowed to rise before or during baking, thereby producing a hard, flat bread.

Mitzvah: The term mitzvah has also come to express an act of human kindness.

According to the teachings of Judaism, all moral laws are, or are derived from, divine commandments.

Image of Legree from Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Nat Turner: Nathaniel “Nat” Turner (October 2, 1800–November 11, 1831) was an American slave who led a slave rebellion in Virginia on August 21, 1831 that resulted in 56 deaths including the largest number of white fatalities to occur in one uprising in the antebellum southern United States. He gathered supporters in Southampton County, Virginia. For his actions, Turner, as well as 56 blacks accused of being part of the rebellion, were convicted, sentenced to death, and executed.

Passover: An important Jewish holiday commemorating The Exodus from Egypt. On the night before leaving Egypt, the final plague inflicted by God on the Egyptians was the killing of the first-born. However, to save the Israelites, they were instructed to mark their doors with blood, so that the avenging angel would see it and know to “pass over” that house. On that night, the Israelites were instructed only to eat unleavened bread as they would be leaving in haste Pardon: A piece of paper or letter approving a soldier’s leave from the army.

Pesach: Another word for Passover.

Rebs: Johnny Reb or Johnny Rebel was the slang term for any Confederate soldier, or the Confederate Army as a whole, during the American Civil War. His counterpart in the Union was Billy Yank.

A Confederate (Rebs) Uniform 15.)

Richmond, Virginia: Currently the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. During the American Civil War, Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America, and many important American Civil War landmarks remain in the city today, including the Virginia State Capitol and the White House of the Confederacy, among others.

Shabbat: The seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from sundown Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact time, therefore, differs from week to week and from place to place, depending on the time of sunset at each location. Shabbat recalls the Biblical Creation account in the Genesis, describing God creating the Heavens and the Earth in six days, and resting on and sanctifying the seventh (Genesis 1:1-2:3).

Richmond, Virgina after the Civil War

Union States: During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by eleven Southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the Confederacy. Although the Union States included the western states of California, Oregon, and (after 1864) Nevada, as well as states generally considered to be part of the Midwest, the Union has been also often loosely referred to as "the North," both then and now.

--adapted from material prepared by Old Globe Theatre and Northlight Theatre

Jews in the Antebellum South Many Jewish families found a home in the South because Jews accepted Southern customs and more importantly, Southerners accepted Jews. Generations of Jewish families settled in the largest and most thriving cities such as Atlanta, Charlotte and Richmond. By 1800, the largest Jewish community in America lived in Charleston, where America’s oldest synagogue, K.K. Beth Elohim, was founded.

Concerning their stand on slavery, Jews were already ostracized by many in American Society, especially in the antebellum North, and the draws of financial and social success in the South led them to adapt the Southern way of life, which centered around slavery. As inhumane and unreasonable as the practice of slavery was, it was regarded as a required, common practice. There Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagoge were Jewish slave owners, traders, and insurers just as there were non-Jewish slave owners, traders, and insurers. There were certainly Jews who did not agree with the system of slavery, but with and economy and a society built on the backs of slaves, standing up against the practice would lead to financial ruin and figurative or literal exile.

Even during the Civil War, the Union was not accepting of Jewish soldiers. In the Union Army, General Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman issued anti-Jewish orders. The more than 10,000 Jewish men who fought for the Confederacy and General Robert E. Lee were allowed to observe all holy days. By fighting in the Civil War, many Jewish Confederate soldiers hoped they were positioning themselves as equals with other Confederate comrades.

The Hebrew Cemetery in Richmond Virginia has an assigned plot known as the ‘Soldiers’ Section.’ It contains the graves of thirty Jewish Confederate soldiers who died in or near Richmond. It is the only Jewish military cemetery outside of the State of Israel.

16.)

--adapted from material prepared by Northlight Theatre

The Passover Seder The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is held on the evening of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, which corresponds to late March or April in the Gregorian calendar. The Seder is a ritual performed by a community or by multiple generations of a family, involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. This story is in the Book of Exodus (Shemot) in the Hebrew Bible. The Seder itself is based on the Biblical verse commanding Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: "And you shall tell it to your son on that day, saying, 'Because of this God did for us when He took me out of Egypt.'" (Exodus 13:8) Traditionally, families and friends gather in the evening to read the text of the Haggadah, which contains the narrative of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, commentaries from the Talmud, and special Passover songs. Seder customs include drinking four cups of wine, eating matzo and partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder Plate. The Seder is performed in much the same way by Jews all over the world.

Instructions on how to Observe a Seder The Passover Seder Plate (ke'ara) is a special plate containing six symbolic foods used during the Passover Seder. Each of the six items arranged on the plate have special significance to the retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The seventh symbolic item used during the meal—a stack of three matzohs—is placed on its own plate on the Seder table.

The six items on the Seder Plate are: Maror and Chazeret: Two types of bitter herbs, symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery which the Jews endured in Ancient Egypt. For maror, many people use freshly grated horseradish or whole horseradish root. Chazeret is typically romaine lettuce, whose roots are bitter-tasting. Either the horseradish or romaine lettuce may be eaten in fulfillment of the mitzvah of eating bitter herbs during the Seder.

Charoset : A sweet, brown, pebbly paste of fruits and nuts, representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt.

Karpas: A vegetable other than bitter herbs, usually parsley but sometimes something such as celery or cooked potato, which is dipped into salt water (Ashkenazi custom), vinegar (Sephardi custom), or charoset (older custom, still common amongst Yemenite Jews) at the beginning of the Seder.

Zeroa: A roasted lamb bone, symbolizing the korban Pesach (Pesach sacrifice), which was a lamb offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and was then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night.

Beitzah: A roasted egg, symbolizing the korban chagigah (festival sacrifice) that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and was then eaten as part of the meal on Seder night.

17.)

Steps to Observing a Seder Step 1: the traditional Four Questions. At the end of the story Light the festival candles, either at the start of the Seder ("Maggid" in Hebrew) recite a blessing over the second or earlier, just before sunset (either is correct). Recite cup of wine and drink it. two blessings over the candles as you light them.

Step 6: Step 2: Wash your hands, saying a blessing, in preparation for Bless the wine that all will drink during the Seder, and eating the matzoh. Then recite two blessings over the then pour a cup for each guest and one for the prophet matzoh: one, the ha-motzi, is a generic blessing for Elijah. After everyone has drunk the first cup, pour grain products used as a meal; the other is a blessing the second. (Each participant drinks four cups of wine specific to matzoh. Eat a bit of matzoh after saying the at specified points in the service; Elijah's cup remains blessings. untouched throughout the Seder.)

Step 7: Step 3: Recite a blessing over the maror, a bitter vegetable, Wash your hands, with no blessing, in preparation for usually raw horseradish, that symbolizes the bitterness eating the Karpas, which is a vegetable, usually parsley, of slavery. Dip the maror into charoset and eat it. Then dipped in salt water. The green vegetable symbolizes re- make and eat a sandwich of another piece of maror and birth of spring; the salt water represents the tears shed charoset between small pieces of matzoh.

by Jews in slavery.

Step 8: Step 4: Eat a festive meal. Anything goes here, except chametz, Break the middle one of the three matzohs on the table. the leavened foods forbidden during Passover. At the Return half to the pile. The other half becomes the end, reward the children who find the afikomen and afikomen, the part hidden away for children to find then eat the afikomen. later and consume at the end of dinner. The afikomen can also be ransomed back to the adults by the children Step 9: for a prize.

Pour the third cup of wine, recite birkat ha-mazon (grace after meals), then bless and drink the wine. Pour Step 5: a fourth cup of wine for everyone. Then have someone Tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt and the first (a child if possible) open the door for the prophet EliPesach (Passover). Begin by having the youngest child jah, who is supposed to arrive on Pesach to herald the (or youngest adult if there are no children present) ask Messiah.

Step 10: Recite a series of psalms and a blessing over the last cup of wine and drink it.

Step 11: Close with a statement that the Seder has been completed and a wish to celebrate next year's Pesach in Jerusalem (i.e., that the Messiah will come within the coming year).

Barack Obama hosting a Seder, 2009 18.)

--adapted from material prepared by Old Globe Theatre

In the Classroom As a rich vehicle for study, The Whipping Man takes a clear-eyed look at the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, examining the complex relationship between former masters and slaves. The play is a fine companion piece to literature about the Civil War such as The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, and Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. Ken Burns’ multi-part film The Civil War is a great resource for study.

In exploring what happens when one minority has dominion over another, The Whipping Man poses many difficult questions. At the Seder, which marks the escape from slavery of the Israelites and their exodus from Egypt, the wise Simon asks about himself and Caleb’s other former slaves, “Were we Jews or were we slaves?”

The Whipping Man is useful to begin a conversation about the place of religious tradition in American life. Also ripe for discussion are issues of ethics and justice. Finally, the play makes the statement that “There’s more than one way a man can be a slave.” This truth opens up many areas of investigation.

The Whipping Man contains some vulgar language and an offstage bloody surgery, but the plays themes are accessible to and valuable for high school students.

Questions For Discussion

What are ceremonies that are practiced today (religious or otherwise) that bring communities or peoples closer together? How do these ceremonies become traditions?

How do we see faith as a uniting factor in our contemporary society? Think of examples when you have seen people of different faiths uniting together around a central issue or cause. Where do we see it as a divisive aspect of contemporary life? How does faith divide society? How are our differences in faith used to polarize us?

In what ways is America still embodying the conflicts of the Civil War? How are the remnants of the war still affecting racial relations, politics, economics, states’ rights, and patriotism?

In what ways do the Jewish exodus and celebration of Passover draw parallels with the struggles of African Americans?

Simon says that Abraham Lincoln is to African Americans what Moses is to the Jews. Explain that comparison.

Do you agree or disagree with his analogy?

What do you know about the passage of the 13th Amendment? How does it affect the characters in the play?

How was the economy affected by the ending of the Civil War? How did it change the South?

Why does John decide to stay in the house with Caleb now that he has his freedom? What do you discover about their relationship over the course of the play? How does that relationship affect the choices they make?

What choices does Simon make with his freedom? How does his faith inform these decisions? How do his relationships with John and Caleb affect these choices? Is he behaving differently now that he is free? How so?

--adapted from material prepared by Northlight Theatre 19.)

Sources and Resources http://theoldglobe.org/_pdf/studyguides/WhippingManStudyGuide_May2010.pdf http://www.northlight.org/pages/the_whipping_man/276.php http://www.jewish-history.com/civilwar/ http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/appomatx.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation Rosen, Robert. The Jewish Confederates. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2001.

Some Video Resources: An introduction to the place of Jews in the Confederacy: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/300472-1 The Emancipation Proclamation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUVkXthLz4w Amputation in the Civil War: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWtEl0hQn1w An Ethiopian Family Celebrates a Seder in Israel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lOZrtivtTE

Richmond, Virginia during the Civil War 20.)