University life often shakes students’ religious beliefs, and preserving faith during holidays away from home can be especially difficult. If you notice your roommate avoiding bread and cleaning the crumbs out of your cabinet this week, it might not be because he or she is on the Atkins diet or is disgusted with your cleaning habits; it’s Passover.
The University community is providing opportunities for Jewish students to attend Seder and maintain their beliefs throughout the week-long Passover holiday that began last night.
“It’s our way of providing a kosher Passover meal for students in the dorms,” said Tal Clerman, program director for the Oregon Hillel, which held a Seder at Gerlinger Lounge last night and will be providing lunch today through Thursday from noon to 1 p.m.
During a Seder meal, a traditional mix of foods and wine is enjoyed and incorporated into the telling of the story of Exodus, which commemorates the time when the Israelites fled from Egypt.
The name Passover comes from the time of the Tenth Plague. When the Pharaoh refused to free the Israelites, they put the blood of a slaughtered lamb on their door, a symbol for the Angel of Death to “passover” their houses and save their firstborn children.
Because the Israelites fled soon after, they had no time to allow their dough to rise. Today, it’s tradition to refrain from eating bread or other leavened foods during the week of Passover, and the firstborn must refrain from all food during the morning before the Seder meal.
“The reason why we don’t eat bread is that we’re trying to empathize with our ancestors,” Clerman said.
Students can find matzo, matzah ball soup and charoset at food services on campus such as Carson and Barnhart dining centers and the Grab ‘n Go Marketplace on campus, said food services director, Tom Driscoll.
“I think it’s important to try to respect our customers’ requests for menu items,” he said. “There will probably be deviled eggs or something like that” for Easter, he added.
Driscoll said the decision to change menu items isn’t as much based on religious catering but making students feel comfortable, such as they would with vegetarians or vegans, he said.
Part of the tradition of Passover is cleaning of the house of all bread or leavened products, known as the removal of the chametz.
This removal isn’t something University food services can offer, and Driscoll said he hasn’t received requests for a separate bread-free eating area. He added that other services on campus, such as the Oregon Hillel, offer this type of eating environment.
“It depends on your level of observance. For some it’s acceptable and for others it’s not acceptable. I’d say it’s a good stride for the University,” Clerman said. “Realistically, I don’t feel the University has a concrete understanding” of Passover that would enable it to prepare a type of Seder.
The traditional meal consists of: maror, two bitter herbs; karpas, a non-bitter vegetable; z’roa, a shank bone; beitzah, a roasted egg; charoset, a brown, pebbly mixture, and four glasses of wine or grape juice.
The meal, which begins at sunset on the 15th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar, often lasts for several hours. Children are encouraged to ask questions and learn about the history of their ancestors. They are often rewarded with candy for participation in the Seder meal.
For more information on the Oregon Hillel’s Passover lunches held through Thursday or the Shabbat dinner and services on Friday go to www.oregonhillel.org.
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Passover traditions: While everyone restrains from leavened bread, known as chametz, for the week-long holiday, the first-born child fasts the morning before the Seder meal.
The entire house is cleaned of all bread and leavened products, down to every bread crumb. Before the holiday begins, a formal search for bread is performed, with ten pieces wrapped and hidden around the house, to make sure something is found. This search is performed by candlelight with a feather to dust crumbs and a wooden spoon to carry the discovered pieces of chametz.
The Seder meal: This traditional meal consists of two bitter herbs, a non-bitter vegetable, a shank bone, a roasted egg and Charoset, a brown, pebbly mixture, in addition to four glasses of wine or grape juice.
What is matzo: Unleavened bread , such as matzo, is acceptable to eat during Passover. Matzo is a flatbread made from five types of grain: wheat, barley, spelt, oats and rye.