Passover on Everest by Rachelle Burk with illustrations by Craig Orback; Seattle, Washington: Intergalactic Afikoman; © 2025; ISBN 9781951-365288; 35 pages including appendices; $19.99
SAN DIEGO – This is the true story of a Jewish mother-daughter team who have been summiting the world’s mountains ever since Nikki, at the age of 5, climbed Mount Masada in Israel following her mother, Cheryl Bart. Mountain climbing became a passion for the pair who decided to scale the highest mounts in each of seven continents.
In 2000 they climbed Kosciuszko in Australia; 2003 Kilimanjaro in Tanzania; 2004 Elbrus in Russia and Vincent in Antarctica; 2005 Aconcagua in Argentina; 2006 Denali in the USA; and all this culminated in 2008 with their ascent up the highest mountain in the world, the 29,032-foot Everest in Nepal.
Springtime was ideal for the climb, but there was one major problem: Spring is also the season of Passover, which the Bard family customarily observed with a seder attended by many relatives in their extended family. Because of the memories of her family around the table, as well as its religious significance, Passover was Nikki’s favorite holiday. So, when they set off for Nepal, excitement was tinged with wistfulness. Mother and daughter brought along a box of matzah in anticipation of the holiday.
It took days to prepare their bodies for the altitude of the final ascent. When they were resting, Nikki and Cheryl talked about how their family members might be preparing for the holiday. A Sherpa guide overheard them and asked the mother and daughter to explain the meaning of Passover.
Happy to talk about it, they told the guide about the religious significance of the holiday and about the symbolic foods they ate at their family seder. A week later, the first night of Passover arrived and the Sherpa guide asked them to join the other climbers in the meal tent. Surprise! The Sherpa had arranged for the ingredients—or a reasonable facsimile—to be brought up the mountain. For matzah, they baked a “local unleavened bread called chapati.”
At the urging of their fellow climbers, Nikki and Cheryl tell the story of the Israelites’ escape to freedom from their slavery in Egypt. And they tell of another mountaineer, Moses, who received God’s commandments on Mount Sinai.
Author Rochelle Burk and illustrator Craig Orback marry the joy of Passover with the triumph of reaching the highest mountain top on Earth, giving children two major celebrations to appreciate.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.