Saturday night marked the first night of Passover, an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the ancient Hebrews’ escape from slavery in Egypt. Students and community members observed the holiday together with a Seder, the ceremonial meal specific to the holiday, in the Gerlinger Lounge.
Oregon Hillel, a Jewish organization on campus, sponsored the
festivities.
The story of Passover states that the Hebrews didn’t have time to let their bread rise as they rushed to escape the Egyptian army. Today, Jews eat the flat, dry, cracker-like matzah in place of all other grains for eight days to pay respect to their ancestors.
Though Passover commemorates a painful aspect of Jewish history, it is a celebration of togetherness. A joyful feeling pervaded through the banquet hall as participants chanted prayers in Hebrew and English, sang songs, drank wine and ate holiday foods.
Adam Masser, a 22-year-old University graduate who led a majority of the service, said the social and religious aspects of Hillel’s celebration were both important.
Symbols of the Seder plate A) “Maror” (bitter herbs): Bitter Herbs usually horseradish, symbolize the bitterness of Egyptian slavery. B) “Karpas” (vegetable): The vegetable, usually parsley, is dipped into salt water during the Seder. The salty water represents the tears shed during Egyptian slavery. C) “Charoset” (apple, nut, spice and wine mixture): A variable recipe of apple, nuts and spices ground together and mixed with wine is symbolic of the mortar used by Hebrew slaves to build Egyptian structures. D) “Zeroa” (shankbone): The charred Shankbone is symbolic of the lamb offered in biblical times as a Passover sacrifice. E) “Beitzah” (egg): The roasted egg has many symbolic meanings. Primarily, it replaces the biblical-era temple sacrifice. The egg is also a traditional symbol of spring and rebirth — the season in which Passover is celebrated. F) Orange: This more modern tradition stems from an unknown man’s response to a question regarding the emerging equality of women in Jewish life. His supposed response was, “A woman belongs on the bimah (pulpit) as much as an orange belongs on the Seder plate.” Today, many choose to include the orange as a sign of the importance of women as leaders in Judaism. G) Matzah (unleavened bread): The flat unleavened bread eaten during Passover symbolizes the unrisen loaves of bread the Hebrews, freed from slavery, hastily packed as they fled Egypt. |
“(Passover) is all about remembering the Exodus from Egypt,” he said. “Here at Hillel, it’s also about building a Jewish community, hanging out with other Jews and celebrating our rich cultural heritage.”
Observers gathered at large square tables set with ceremonial foods: Manischewitz Kosher wine; a box of matzah, the special unleavened bread; hardboiled eggs and dishes of parsley; horseradish; and charoset, a paste-like mixture of apples, wine, nuts and spices. The foods all played a role in the service, representing different aspects of the Hebrews’ struggle.
The horseradish represents the bitterness and pain of slavery. The charoset resembles the mortar Jewish slaves used to make bricks. The parsley, which represents the Jewish people’s humble origins, is dipped in saltwater — reminiscent of tears. The hardboiled eggs aren’t mentioned in the service itself, but they represent rebirth. The Kosher wine is used for blessing the holiday.
The Seder is built around the Haggadah, a religious text that tells the Passover story and dictates when different foods are eaten. Many different Haggadahs exist, offering different interpretations and levels of strictness of observance. The Haggadah the Hillel used was more informal, with illustrations and explanations of the ceremony for people who had never celebrated Passover before.
Midway through the service Saturday, participants took a break from chanting prayers to eat a catered, buffet-style meal of chicken, stuffed cabbage, potatoes, stewed carrots and broccoli.
The no-grains-except-matzah policy means that no flour is allowed for desserts such as cakes or pastries. Jewish dietary law prohibits the consumption of meat and milk during the same meal, so the Hillel served a cake made out of ground matzah and pieces of matzah coated in dark chocolate.
“Noshing” away, one group of students recalled memories of celebrating Passover with their families; many focused on the four ceremonial glasses of wine.
“I love to see my family getting drunk together,” University freshman Leah Schlossman said.
After the meal, the service continued with more songs and prayers.