NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – Lander-Grinspoon Academy in Northampton held a Passover Seder for its students Monday afternoon.

The kids learned the story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt. They practiced prayers and songs they have been learning, they ate ritual foods and drank the tastiest Manischewitz grape juice. For the younger students, it was a day to take part in a seder while learning everything there is to know about this major Jewish holiday. However, for the older students, this seder was a little different.

Hillary Gollis, a teacher at Lander-Grinspoon Academy, told 22News, “We do a social justice seder here at Lander-Grinspoon Academy who are familiar with the traditions of the seder and are becoming old enough to make the larger connections between the joy and the sorrow of this holiday.”

For Lander-Grinspoon Academy, they’re celebrating Passover as a way to carry on tradition but also as a way to remember that the Jews were liberated out of slavery in Egypt and that this is a way to acknowledge and note that anyone experiencing any form of oppression today needs liberation as well.

“We are to recognize the amazing liberation in these thousands of years and the continued need for liberation throughout the world and our local communities, and national communities and international communities,” said Gollis.

This year’s Passover begins on Wednesday evening.