Korech: The Emotionally Intelligent Sandwich

Essential Questions:

• Why is the Korech sandwich the quintessential Pesach food?
• How do we manage difficult emotions and experiences in our lives?

Learning Outcomes:

• Students will know the biblical source of Korech and the technical aspects of fulfilling the commandment.
• Students will articulate the deeper meaning and symbolism of Korech.
• Students will reflect on how they manage difficult emotions and experiences in their own lives.

Part 1: What is the biblical obligation of Korech? Is it a reminder of freedom or of slavery?

• Split the students into pairs and ask the students to read the first three sources and answer the questions below. One student should read and the other student should listen and take notes. After each text they should alternate roles.
• Check for the student's understanding and review the questions with them.
• Make sure to reinforce the final question and gather responses for "Why do we lean for Korech if it contains Marror?" as this will be the framing question for the next text.

Part 2: What is the deeper meaning of the sandwich?

• Back in their learning pairs have the students read and analyze the next text. Ask the students to record their answers to the reflection questions.
• Ask the students to share back their analysis of the text.
• Ask the students what they think of the commentator's strategy for managing difficult emotions. What other strategies would they propose? Make a list of their strategies.
• Depending on your comfort level with the class you can ask them to share personal examples.

Part 3: How do we manage difficult emotions in our own lives?

• For background read this article about "Growing Around Grief": https://www.funeralguide.co.uk/help-resources/bereavement-support/the-grieving-process/tonkins-model-of-grief
• Introduce the concept that grief, or difficult emotions, don't get smaller but we actually expand around them so that the emotion takes up less space in our lives that it did originally.
• Review the illustration with the students and ask them guiding questions underneath.
• Activity:
  • Ask the students to draw a circle in the middle of the page.
  • Have them write inside the circle an emotion or experience that they struggle with.
  • Ask the students to draw another larger circle around the inner circle.
  • Have them fill in that circle with supportive people in their lives and positive emotions that helped them manage/process the experience or emotion in the middle circle.
  • If appropriate, ask for volunteers to share their sheet back with the group or you can go around and ask everyone to share examples of what was in the outer circle

Part 4: "Wrap Up" - Pun very much intended

• Review with the students the components of Korech and make an explicit connection between how Matzah represents freedom and is used to surround the bitterness of slavery which is why we lean while eating the Korech. Remind them that this is a strategy that they possess to apply in their own lives as well.
• Conclude that Pesach is a story of slavery to freedom on a national level and that they know have the same tools on a personal level as well.

Marbeh Lisaper on Pesach Haggadah, Maror 1:1

(1) Maror Korekh: Even if some disagreement or bitterness burns in his heart, let him ‘wrap up’ (hikhrikh) any hurts with love and let him judge all people favorably, as we learn in Masekhet Shabbat: “Our Rabbis taught: He who judges his neighbor in the scale of merit is himself judged favorably,” and elsewhere in the Talmud. The sages of blessed memory also quote the following verse: “Better to be forbearing than mighty; to have self control than to conquer a city.” There are those who remain calm even when their body is aching, a fire is burning in them and bitterness is dripping within them – such people are subject to terrible diseases. Others, however, remain completely calm and do not allow their hearts to become angry. This is a great quality – greater than conquering a city.