Korech and Tzafoon - Preparing for a Crypto-Jewish Seder

During our first day back from spring break yesterday, we reviewed what we had learned about the Sephardim (Spanish Jews) and, in particular, the conversos or Crypto-Jews (as they're known in English). Just before our spring break, I had introduced the 15 parts of the Pesach (Passover) seder ceremony with the students - the names and the rituals for each part. At that time, I had shared with the students that without the benefit of rabbis, Haggadot (the books we read during the seder ceremony) or siddurim (prayer books), the conversos forgot many of the blessings, prayers and rituals associated with each step. In particular, they forgot the rituals of Korech (preparing a sandwich composed of matza and bitter herbs) and Tzafoon (finding the hidden half of the piece of matza - the Afikomen -  which was broken in half near the start of the ceremony, during the Yachatz step).

They knew that the term "korech" referred to binding or wrapping of things together, but had no recollection that the term referred to a "sandwich" Rabbi Hillel suggested be made by putting the bitter herb (maror) between two pieces of matza. Instead, as they secretly conducted their seders, usually at night and in basements or by running water to mask any sounds they might make, they would share with each other how it felt to be "sandwiched" between Christianity and Judaism - always afraid they might give themselves away during the Catholic mass by unconsciously uttering a Hebrew word or phrase, and frustrated that they were forgetting the rituals of the faith of their ancestors and many of its teachings.

The term "tzafoon" means hidden in Hebrew, and they believed this step of the seder was a time to reveal not a hidden piece of matza, but their hidden selves, their Jewish selves. They shared with each other the anxieties and sheer terror of having to live their lives always looking over their shoulders, wondering if they were being followed by Inquisition spies if someone accused them of secretly practicing Judaism, or if they might give themselves away by a thoughtless act or word.

This coming Sunday, our Edot class will be re-enacting a Crypto-Jewish seder in class. We know how they conducted their seders thanks, ironically, to detailed Inquisition records of the trials of conversos "caught in the act." We know what they ate during the seders and how they acted out the Exodus story (thankfully, the Catholic Bible includes all 39 books of the Hebrew Bible, so they could read the actual account as they acted it out). In preparation for our re-enactment, I asked the students to each write a Korech paragraph and a Tzafoon paragraph, imagining that they were living in Spain in 1591. During our seder, student volunteers will be asked to share what they wrote when we get to the Korech and then to the Tzafoon steps.

 We concluded each session yesterday by reviewing the two songs we'll be singing during the seder re-enactment with our music teacher, Maya - one at the very beginning of the seder, and the second at the very end. The lyrics to the first song, "Kadesh U'r'chatz" are the names of the 15 steps of the seder ceremony. The second song is the Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) translation of the very last song in the Haggadah - "Un Cavritico" - which we know as "Chad Gadya" - "One Kid."

Stay tuned next week for photos of our seder.