Seton Hall University's Jewish Student Union enjoyed a mock Passover Seder on Wednesday, April 10, according to JSU President Amalia Williams.
Attendees consisted of students, faculty and community members within Seton Hall and South Orange. Rabbi Yitzchok Bogomilsky instructed the attendees about the rituals step by step although the attendees only performed the main points of the celebration.
According to the Rabbi, Seder is "an orderly meal that has various point and steps that have a lot of significance to celebrate leaving the strains of slavery and becoming free men and free people celebrating our unity and belief in God."
"This Seder followed the Haggadah, which is one of the prayer books, and what we usually do during the actual Seder although it was shortened because most Seders are almost four to five hours long; however, I think this covered the key points of the Seder," Williams said.
Bogomilsky also said that Passover is a "global thing," something that all faiths can relate to.
"Going out of Egypt symbolizes the idea of going out of boundaries, and that is a personal thing for each one of us in our lives," Bogomilsky said. "The personal message is the ability that each one of us has to overcome and go beyond our inner restraints that tend to limit us in our lives."
In the highlight of the significance of the struggle of the Jewish people, Bogomilsky drew a parallel between the daily struggles the modern day individual may have. "Even though things were and are difficult, we are going to make it. We will overcome all obstacles," he said.
Commenting on the event he said, "Events like these give the students a chance to experience Jewish tradition hands-on."
Sophomore Sabah Hashmi said that the event was a good experience.
"It is very interesting seeing a different religion carry out their tradition," Hashmi said. "The event was all student driven, which is always awesome to see because it shows that youth are taking initiative to carry out their culture and religion. I think it is really important to get involved especially with events like this that help with breaking the ignorance one might have."
According to junior Jessica Famely, the event was full of different people with different beliefs.
A main task this event satisfied was education according to sophomore Isadora Plaisimond,.
"I did not know what it was at first, but now I grew more familiar," Plaisimond said. "It is great they remember and preserve the traditions. It was interested to read the Haggadah from right to left, which was something that I was not used to."
Hashmi, a Muslim Students Association member, is used to attending events like this, and said it is critical to have more of them.
"Students should be proud of their background and culture and they should make every effort to use their skills and potential to teach others about the beauty of their backgrounds," Hashmi said. "Having events like this educates other students who may not have any other outlets to learn from."
Belal Bahader can be reached at belal.bahader@student.shu.edu
