April 22, 2005/Nisan 13 5765, Volume 57, No. 34
Exodus experience
BENJAMIN LEATHERMAN
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 Benny Friedman from the Yeshiva of Tucson recreates the role of Moses at Mount Sinai during Chabad of Arizona's Exodus Experience. Photo by Yossi Wolfe |
Exodus Experience, an "educational holiday program," visited Chabad of Arizona in Phoenix April 10-13, offering a multipart exposition aimed at local students from preschool to junior high, as well as their families.
Approximately 1,300 visitors passed through a maze-like series of interactive vignettes on a journey through history, where they followed in the footsteps of the Israelites.
The experience also included a chance to bake matzo in "The Model Matzah Bakery," and participate in a live game show with questions on Jewish history.
"Kids can sit in class and hear this stuff," says 21-year-old organizer Levi Grossbaum, "but when they see it in front of their eyes, it makes an impression."
Temporal displacement was overwhelming for some toddlers from Young Israel of Phoenix Preschool, who attended one morning and were upset by the flashing lights and loud music of the "time machine" transporting them to ancient Egypt.
Things calmed during the next scenes, set amid a 9-foot-high pyramid and gilded throne room, and actors even worked the disturbance into their shtick.
"Moses" then arrived and pled for the release of his Jewish brethren, followed by the unleashing of the 10 plagues, complete with special effects and the booming voice of God.
The prophet, portrayed by 20-year-old Benny Friedman, led the audience through a water tunnel, recreating the parting of the Red Sea, and then scaled an 11-foot-high rendition of Mount Sinai to offer them the Ten Commandments.
"It gives you this superhero feeling since you rescue the Jewish people," Friedman says of his role.
The event was presented by a group of 12 students and shlechim from Yeshivah High School of Tucson, who created it for a community service project.
Grossbaum said they based it on the original Exodus Experience, which was created in Sydney, Australia, in 1995.
The event was also presented at Tucson Jewish Community Center earlier this month.