Passover is a favorite holiday of many Jewish families, with the time-honored tradition of having a Seder connecting generations. Those connections are forged between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, uncles and aunts and nieces and nephews, and other familial connections. The Seder also connects Jews to the generations that came before us that are no longer around — Jews have been celebrating Passover this way for a long, long time.
But what about connections between Jews and non-Jews? Typically, Passover — as is the case with all religious holidays — is celebrated by members of the Jewish faith. But at The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, those in charge are looking to bring together leaders of different faiths, using Passover as a connection point.
On March 24, The Associated held its second annual CommUnity Passover Seder, inviting people of all backgrounds, faiths and religions to gather and celebrate the holiday.
Yanky Schorr co-chaired the event, noting it was created by The Associated’s President and CEO Andrew Cushnir, and last year’s inaugural CommUnity Seder was a great success.
“It’s something that he had done successfully in Los Angeles when he was there, and he brought it here, and we started it last year,” Schorr said. “I was fortunate enough to be involved last year and very, very happy to be involved this year as well.”
For Schorr, inviting Christians, Muslims and people of other faiths to be a part of the Seder table is a great way to break down barriers between communities that coexist within the greater Baltimore ecosystem.
“It’s a great opportunity for folks to see different aspects of the community and really see each other, and old friends and new friends. The name is the ‘CommUnity Seder,’ and it really does [unite]. It’s a platform for creating unity across multiple factions within Baltimore,” Schorr said.
Schorr declined to discuss how The Associated decides who to invite, but The Associated aims to bring together a large swath of representatives to reflect the diverse nature of Baltimore.
The Seder is intended to promote conversation and connection, so it is more focused on spurring interaction than following a completely traditional agenda, Schorr said.
“I think that it is both educational for folks who have either [been to] Seders in the past, as well as folks for whom this is the first time they have attended one. I wouldn’t say that it’s a formal Seder. We don’t go through the entire Haggadah or the entire Seder process. We select different components to kind of focus on and work with ideas,” Schorr said.
Schorr said that the non-Jewish attendees he spoke to really enjoyed the event and the chance to partake in such an important Jewish ritual. This year, the group performed an exercise that mentions appreciation for what they have today, as well as ways that things can improve.
“I think that the folks that I spoke to really enjoyed the ability to learn and to share and discuss kind of shared challenges. One of the things that we talked about is, what are the modern day plagues? What plagues us today?”
Schorr said that one of the plagues that was discussed is the “plague of excess.”
“I think that people can appreciate that piece — the concept of things that make us feel free and things that make us feel like we are enslaved — that’s a common theme,” he said.
The event is, of course, fun, too. Attendees donned masks that correspond to certain plagues, and did things like throwing marshmallows to simulate hail. Schorr thinks that the event itself is actually a sign of where things should go from here.
“I think that not having enough rooms like this is probably another plague that didn’t come up but should have,” he said. “It’s really a special night.”
Not only is the CommUnity Seder something that The Associated plans to bring back next year, it’s something it hopes can become a model for other communities, too. If it can work in Baltimore, it can work elsewhere, too.
“Getting to see tradition and getting to share tradition is really, really special,” Schorr said.
