You may have heard that the Jewish holiday of Passover is starting this Friday evening. Passover is my favorite holiday of all time and in this article, I will explain a little about what Passover is and why I love it.
Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) is an ancient festival that commemorates the biblical exodus of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. Although Passover has its origins as an agricultural festival, it has been celebrated with the Passover Seder for about 2,000 years.
What is a Passover Seder? The Seder is both a meal, a service and an interactive retelling of the story of the exodus from Egypt. Each food item represents some aspect of the story (such as the sweet Charoset that represents the mortar that the Israelites used during their slavery under the ancient Egyptians, or the bitter Maror that represents the bitterness of slavery).
The word “Seder” literally means order; this is because the service is literally made up of an order of 15 steps, including a step for blessing the wine, a step for washing your hands, a step for eating the meal and a step for singing traditional songs, as well as many others.
When I think of Passover, I think of past Seders with my family and friends, of the very late night of singing songs ranging from the goofy to the profound, of searching for the afikoman (a children’s game where the adults hide a piece of matzah which the children search for and sell back to the adults), and I think the story of Passover, which is a story of determination and liberation.
Passover isn’t just about remembering the Passover story. It is about reliving in some way the journey of the biblical Israelites from bondage to freedom and reminding ourselves of how valuable our freedom is, and of our responsibility to work towards healing and freedom and against oppression.
After two years of Zoom Seders, I am very excited to be able to finally attend a Seder in person again this year. Many of my favorite elements of the Seder just didn’t work over zoom. This year we will be able to eat together, sing together without a zoom lag and feel that sense of togetherness that makes Passover so special.
If your interest was piqued by this article and you would like to attend a Passover Seder, then you are in luck! The Jewish Student Union is running a Seder this Friday evening beginning at 7:00 in Sykes Formal Lounge. It is open to the entire student body, so feel free to come and celebrate with us!
Chag Sameach! (Happy Holidays!)