News & Events 2003-2004

Seder Celebrates Passover

On April 6, 16 Blair faculty and students gathered together to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover. This event was affiliated with the newly-formed Jewish Union, although participants were both Jewish and followers of other faiths.

According to Sara Kaufman, language teacher and hostess of the Seder, “Passover celebrates the emergence from slavery to freedom from the land of Egypt. The Passover Seder describes this story in a particular order, and specific rituals are completed in order as well. Certain foods represent certain parts of the Passover story.

“The elements of the Seder plate include egg, charoset, maror, parsley and a shank bone. The egg represents spring and rebirth. The charoset (a mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine) represents the mortar used to hold together the bricks used for constructing pyramids. The maror, or bitter herbs, represents the bitterness of slavery. The parsley also represents spring and renewal. The shank bone is the symbol of the Pesach (Passover) sacrifice of the first-born son – one of the 10 plagues.

“An additional representative food during this holiday is matzah or unleavened bread. When the Jewish people fled Egypt, they did not have enough time to let the bread rise, and so we eat matzah to remember what it must have been like for our ancestors.”

Sara noted that she was “very pleased with the outcome of the event. The food was great, and everyone got involved in the service.” She looks forward to planning a similar Seder next year.

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