Freedom Seder: Connecting Past and Present

The Jewish Education Initiative held its largest event of the year, the Freedom Seder, last Sunday in accordance with Passover. In planning for the enormity of the event—which included 50 freshly-printed Haggadahs, HotCakes catering, four funding applications, multiple shopping trips, and countless sticky-notes— it was easy to gloss over the importance of the secular Seder itself in the weeks preceding. But on Sunday, I was reminded that hosting the Freedom Seder speaks to issues that impact our University and the world at large by giving a voice to historically marginalized groups in the form of an open dialogue—rooted in Jewish tradition, but accessible to many in our community.

We had approximately 35 people attend the Freedom Seder, and JEI co-sponsored the event with the Black Student Alliance, Queer Student Union, Latino Student Alliance, Minority Squared, the Jewish Leadership Council, and various other student groups. The Seder included traditional Passover practices, such as reciting the Four Questions, but each ritual contained a social justice component as well. Pharaoh’s plagues were accompanied by ten modern day plagues, like HIV/AIDS and environmental destruction. The Seder Plate included an orange, to symbolize the acceptance of gays and lesbians at the Passover meal. And for every cup of wine (grape juice), we posed a discussion question so that those at each table could engage in conversation about different topics raised throughout the service. I found that everyone was very receptive to the dialogue. The luncheon that followed also gave people a change to continue discussing some of the Seder subjects, as well as an opportunity to lounge on the couch and watch UVA battle Michigan State in the NCAA tournament.

At the end of the Seder, we asked, “What can we do in our everyday lives to instill the change that we want to see in the world?” Issues, such as sexual assault and racial discrimination, to name a few that our community has faced this past year, demand that we tackle this question. I am proud that JEI was able to provide a platform, inclusive of various religious and racial identities, toward coming up with a cogent solution. As we are reminded during Passover, Jews were once slaves in the land of Egypt, but we are never truly free unless we demand human rights and civil liberties for all that share our space.

-Emma Cohen, Co-Chair of the Jewish Education Initiative
Class of 2015