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Intercultural Field Experience &Research

Communication is a dynamic process of sharing information, ideas thoughts and options. It

forms the central point of all human existence. Since there are different cultures in the world that

have different practices, communication technology helps to create interaction between different

people. Therefore, the existence of intercultural communication is important since it offers the

ability to deal with people from different cultural backgrounds. Understanding how people of

different cultures communicate can help create a space for meaning full interaction and

engagement.

Section A

The Jewish Passover is the commemoration of the slavery and bondage of the Israelites in the

land of Egypt. It is the most important Jewish holiday of the year. It is a celebration of the rebirth

of a journey of freedom and involves the responsibility of individuals and the world. Jews

observe the Passover for eight days that is from the beginning of the Jewish month Nisan on the

15th day. The Jews gather together to celebrate and eat from a typical meal called Seder. It

comprises of six different foods which signify the exceptional element of the Exodus story.

Thecomponents of the Seder plate include; the matzah which is the unleavened bread.

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The other is the maror which is the bitter herbs. Different families use different foods to

represent the bitter herbs. The most commonly used is the romaine lettuce. Thirdly is the z'roa or

shank bone which represents sacrifice offered by the Israelites on the eve of their departure and

the paschal sacrifice is redone on the afternoon before the Passover. Culturally, a roasted lamb

bone is used, but any roasted meat may be used. The shank bone is never eaten but used as a

constant reminder of those monumental events right before the departure. Some vegetarian

families substitute roasted meat for shank bone.

In addition to that is the chazeret which is another bitter food which may be a root vegetable or

lettuce. Few families use it because they prefer to merge use horseradish for both chazeret and

the maror. There is the charoset which means clay in Hebrew is a mixture of nuts, fruits, and

sweet wine or honey. Jews from the eastern European and those from the Sephardic descent

make the charoset using different components. The European ones use apples, walnuts, sweet red

wine, and cinnamon while the latter use honey, almonds, figs, and dates.

During the Seder, a sandwich of matzah, maror, and charoset knew as korech is eaten. There is

the egg which is referred to beitzah. It is a symbol of new beginnings of the events spelled out in

the story of the exodus. The egg is not eaten during the ritual part. In conclusion of the Seder

plate is the karpaswhich is a green leafy vegetable. Parsley leaves are most commonly used, but

some other families use boiled spring potatoes or celery.

During the Passover Seder, one is expected to dress elegantly and modestly. This is conservative

silhouettes and subdued colors. For the women, they are expected to be in a knee-length dress

with a cardigan or a skirt and blouse while men, slacks, buttons up and jacket depending on the

location. And if invited to the festivals, always carry the hostess a kosher gift as a form of

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appreciation and one is expected to refrain from gifts with yeast or wheat. (2Weinrub & Eugene

2018).

In the celebration, there is a leader that leads the visitors or participants in the prayers, rituals,

and blessings of Seder. They have a Jewish booklet that describes the order of Seder and food

descriptions. As a visitor, you are expected to show respect and be polite and take at least one

bite of each food served.

Section B

“Through six interrelated points of entry- inquiry, framing, positions, dialogue, reflection, and

action- intercultural praxis uses our multifaceted identity positions and shifting access to

privilege and power to develop our consciousness, imagine alternatives, and build alliances in

our struggles for social responsibility and social justices" (Kathryn S., 2006, pp19). First, an

inquiry which refers to "desire or willingness to know, to ask, to find out, and to learn” (Kathryn

S. 2006, pp.45), I have learned why the Jews do not accept baked foods especially cakes on

Passover. This is because as per their tradition only unleavened bread; that is one to be taken so

symbolizes their struggle to leave the land of bondage. Therefore, one is invited to the Passover

feast; it's courteous to observe the necessary.

“As par by framing, “awareness of both local and global contexts that shapes intercultural

interaction” (Kathryn S. 2006, pp46), I have learned the conflict of the Jews and Christians who

do not acknowledge the events that took place in the Old Testament as the Jews do. Jews

celebrate the Passover to recognize their history while Christians recognize the New Testament

events such as the resurrection of Christ which is commonly known as Easter and involving

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Christians coming together and celebrating. Wecan point reference of the Passover from the

book of Exodus in the Hebrew's bible. We should, therefore, appreciate the Jewish culture as

well as the Christians since they have relatable references.

In positioning, “ how and where we are positioned in the world” ( Kathryn S. 2006, pp48 ), we

understand that the American Jews have faced a political crisis over the centuries, and most of

them have been eradicated through genocide and wars and is evidenced by the small population

of them in the United States. However, they have emerged to as power in their right, and they are

acknowledged and respected around the world. In return, their religious activities such as

Passover Seder are recognized. Our positioning as a society depends on where we stand in terms

of social positions, race or gender. Among the whites, they have a particular positioning

regarding the Jews as well as the blacks

Reflection includes thinking about why we ask specific questions and it, in turn, helps to

understand our culture. The Jews have their perception of celebrating Passover, and through

reflection, we have understood why they hold in every year from time to time and the activities

that partake in it. The action we take after all this is the most important and as an individual is

my moral responsibility to help people understand the culture of the Jews to prevent

discrimination and unconstructive criticism that aims at tyrannizing the Jewish Passover.

Section C

The understanding of the experience of the migrants, one considers three interrelated levels

"macro-level theories, micro-level theories and meso- level theories" (Kathryn S., 2006 pp203).

As Kathryn pointed out, micro-level theories "enables us to describe and explain individual

migrants experience cultural adjustment and intercultural transformation"(Kathryn S., 2016,

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pp220).The Passover remembers the biblical story of Exodus where God freed the Israelites from

slavery in Egypt, and it is prescribed in the book of Exodus in the Old Testament. The journey is

among the first books of Moses called the Torah. It also called Pesach in Hebrew is a celebration

to commemorate the liberation of the Israelites by God from the hands of Pharaoh in ancient

Egypt under the leadership of Moses. (Volli&Ogo, 2017)

The Jews today celebrate the Passover as stipulated in the Bible. It is the Passover that marked

the departure which is the founding myth of the Israelites, and it means departure. During the

Passover, God has instructed them through Moses to prepare unleavened bread which is

commonly known as the matzah among the Jews and is the type of food that is flat and is not

made using without yeast and is eaten during the entire week of the celebration. This is to signify

that they were in a hurry so they could not bake the bread.

They were to eat bitter herbs with roasted meat. The bitter herbs are known as mayor among the

Jews which signifies the bitterness of slavery and the cooked meat is called z'roa among the

Jews. The roasted meat is from the lamb that Moses had instructed them to kill from a goat and

the blood used to mark the doorposts to allow the angel of death to spare them from the killing of

the firstborns. In the recent past, they offer a paschal sacrifice. They were asked to give to their

neighbors if the animal killed would be too big thus the as shown today by Jews inviting people

to their homes during the feast. (Thomas, 2017)

They were asked to dress for travel and wear sandals on their feet, and Jews exemplify this on

the feast as they dress elegantly and moderately. They were also instructed always to celebrate

the religious festival to remind them of what God had done for them, and the Jews have kept that

in mind since they still celebrate Passover which is commonly known as Seder among the Jews.

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Section D

Passover conveys the concept that becomes an intonation on how to lead productive lives. They

include prestige this is through the invention of the historical descent and activities of the

Israelites, and this is instilling memory, and according to Henry Ford, history is bunk. Memory

links the past to the future and account into destiny. As a result, individuals are encouraged to

appreciate their history and always aim at maintaining their customs and beliefs thus aiming at a

sense of belonging.

The other is optimism. According to biblical history, God knew that Pharaoh would be stubborn

and He still asked Moses to free His people from Egypt. It is through the confidence that the

Israelites believed that Moses would free them from slavery to another foreign land. God sent

plagues over to Egypt that leads to the eradication of the tyranny of the Egyptians and on the

night of the Passover, all firstborns of the Egyptians died including Pharaohs. This meant the end

of tyrant Pharaoh. As a result, humankind should be optimistic in their day to day activities, and

it should have faith in the Supreme Being.

The concept of family is conveyed during the Passover. This is by the Jews gathering around to

celebrate their freedom from bondage and sharing meals with their families. It centers on the

primacy of family and emphasizes that children are the future of the family. Therefore, society

should aim at loving and understanding their families and always be supportive of their various

beliefs and customs.

The concept of responsibility is exemplified during the Passover. The Jews understand that they

were slaves and God freed them and thud show responsibility by taking care of the homeless,

feeding the hungry and inviting other people during the celebration. They cook a lot of food to

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cater to prominent families and join each other. Thus, as individuals, it is our ultimate

responsibility to take care of the disadvantaged in society by providing them with basic needs

such as food and shelter.

The Passover has a similarity with many cultural celebrations since most of them emphasize on

the responsibility of others, optimism in all our endeavors and the concept of family whereby we

all are always ready to accept our families at all circumstances. As an individual, I learned the

essence of appreciating one's own culture and other peoples.

In conclusion, intercultural communication is important in that it offers one with the ability to

function effectively across cultures. There is need to understand that different cultures have

different standards, customs, social norms and other patterns and should be respected. To

conduct effective intercultural communication, willingness to accept the differences and adapt to

them should be considered. But more, it requires an understanding that individuals are shaped by

their culture background and not bounded.

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References

2Weinraub, Eugene J. Chrétien's Jewish Grail: A New Investigation of the Imagery and

Significance of Chrétien de Troyes's Grail Episode Based on Medieval Hebraic Sources.

The University of North Carolina Press, 2018.1-30.

Ioannides, Mara W. Cohen. Jewish Reform Movement in the US: The Evolution of the Non-

liturgical Parts of the Central Conference of American Rabbis Haggadah. Walter de

Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2017.

Talley, Thomas J. "Afterthoughts on The Origins of the Liturgical Year." Western Plainchant in the

First Millennium.Routledge, 2017.

Volli, Ugo. "PEDAGOGY AND ENUNCIATION IN RELIGIOUS INTRINSICALLY CODED

ACTS.THE CASE OF THE PASSOVER SEDER." TICS (2017): 856.

Kathryn S., “ Intercultural Communication: Global and Social Justice”. California State

University, Northridge.Second edition, 2006.

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