A Passover Seder

There will be two Passover Ceremonial Seder meals. The first one will take place on Monday, April 10, 2017, in dining hall 3 from 1930-2145 hrs. and the second will be on Tuesday, April 18, 2017, in dining hall 3 from 1930-2145 hrs. These will be ceremonial meals and services only. The Chaplaincy staff will supervise both seder meals.

Yom Kippur is a Hebrew name meaning the Day of Atonement. It is the holiest days in the Jewish Calendars that marks a day of fasting, prayer, and collective confession. It begins in the sunset of Tuesday, October 11, 2016, and ends at the nightfall of Wednesday, October 12, 2016. They totally do not eat food as it is a day of fast. Children younger than 13 years old and the ill are the only people allowed to eat. In addition to all the activities involving fasting, other activities entail no drinking, washing, no having sexual relationships, no wearing leather materials. It is a day when the Jewish go to the Synagogues to pray and read the book of life. Other go to memorial services called the Yizkor to honor the dead relatives. It is symbolized by white clothing and sneakers groomed with a dress. The official greeting is Shanah Tovah or hatima tovah meaning Happy New Year in Hebrew (Olitzky et al. 143).

Hannah Stern is a young Jewish girl who lives in New Rochelle, New York. Most of her family that she attends Passover Seder with at her grandparents’ house was alive during the Holocaust they were even put in concentration camps. Hannah dreaded going over there because she is tired of hearing about the past and is uncomfortable listening to her grandpa Will rant about his experiences in the concentration camp. Through out the book you really understand how hard it was back the and how Hannah was so brave for taking Rivkas’ place in being sent to euphemism for extermination. By the end of the book you can tell how Hannah has changed her perspective on the past and how it is boring to listen to her grandpa going on in on what happened back then.

In the beginning, Jews thought they were being sent away for only a little time. Soon to realize this new world, one where death could happen anytime right next to your side and you wouldn’t have a second thought about, for it happened all day, life was nonexistent in so many ways, death: by starvation, a little cut that led to infection, being sent to the gas chamber to suffocate, by a bullet, or an oven where you were burned to death. Families separated, loved ones gone forever, brother against brother, father against son.

On Passover, the infliction of the Jews begins. Jews are first banned from leaving their homes for three days, mandated to wear the yellow star, and then crammed into two ghettos. Even among the ghettos, people carry on as normal until one day when Eliezer's father is unexpectedly called to a meeting of the Jewish Council. He returns with bad news: all Jews would be deported (11). In Auschwitz, Eliezer's father asks the gypsy in charge where the lavatory is and is knocked brutally to the ground. Eliezer doesn’t do anything and will never forgive the Nazis for making him passively watch his father being beaten (36). On another day, Elie walks in on Idek having sexual relations with a girl. Later he gets twenty-five strokes of a whip from Idek in front of everybody, and is threatened by Idek to never tell anyone what he saw

Last but not least, Judaism comes from the Hebrew word Yehudah meaning Judah. It is the religion and way of life for the Jewish people. Judaism is considered to be the oldest religion. The Hebrew Bible is called the Torah. A synagogue is their place of worship and their services are led by a rabbi. You can be born Jewish or you can convert. There are 14 million Jews worldwide. About 42% are in Israel and about 42% are in the U.S. The remaining Jews are spread worldwide. The spoken language of the Jews is Hebrew. Men wear a small beanie on their head called a kippa while praying, eating or saying blessings. Jews have kosher diets. They can eat chicken and turkey but not pig. The Jewish religion celebrates their own holidays and special days such as Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah. Imagine receiving

In the Jewish religion dietary laws are one of the most important parts of keeping the faith. These laws are thought to be sent from God to keep the Jewish people pure. Over the year it has became easier for Jews to eat kosher but many people have chosen to assimilate with passing time. A tradition that started around 3500 years ago that has kept its importance.

The Exodus story is a key event in regards to Israel’s history and the Old Testament. Exodus is often seen as the beginning for the Israelites in regards to their journey of faith. In Exodus it covers many events which includes Moses being called by God to lead the slaves, the escape of Egypt, wandering in the Sinai desert for forty years, establishing a covenant with God, receiving the Torah, and getting settled in the new land that they were called to. The Torah is known as the instruction from God that was given to Moses and then passed on to the Israel’s people. Passover is an event that has important significance still to this day. Jews still celebrate this event every year as a way to show the importance of passing through the life of

Later, in the 16th century, the Kabbalists of Tsfat were the first to create the format for a Tu Bishvat Seder. This involved the sharing

Hasidic Judaism is a branch of Orthodox Judaism established in Eastern Europe during the 1800’s that put spirituality and a connection with God through mysticism at the forefront of its beliefs. In order to understand Hasidic Judaism, one must understand that Judaism is not only a religion; it is also a philosophy and a way of life for the Jewish people. One of the oldest monotheistic religions, Judaism has evolved over the years since the time of the founding fathers. Like any culture or religion, however, Jews have never been without conflict or disagreement amongst its people. Schisms amongst Jews over long periods of time have led to a branching out of sects and Jewish institutions. What led to the separation of denominations within

Passover begins on the sunset marking the start of the 15th day of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish calendar. It commemorates the covenant between God and the Jewish people. Over 3,000 years ago,

Sukkot festival is celebrated in autumn, and it lasts for seven days. This festival can also be called Tabernacles, but Sukkot is the usual title. Sukkot means "little shelters" or "booths," and Jews build little shelters, called sukkahs, during this holiday to honor the fact that the Lord provided the Israelites with shelter while they were in the wilderness. During the festival, Jews pray in their sukkahs, which has a roof of tree branches. Sukkahs have to be directly under the sky. All meals are eaten in the sukkah doing Sukkot. and the sukkah is generally treated as their temporary home. During Sukkot, the book of Ecclesiastes is read; Ecclesiastes is one of 24 books of the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible.

Eid-al-adha: The Festival of Sacrifice which occurs 70 days after Eid-al-Fitr. It commemorates Abraham 's willingness to sacrifice his son for God.

Jewish people celebrate Passover with a ritual dinner called Seder, which represents the meal that the Israelites ate before fleeing Egypt (Oxtoby 123). In a Passover Seder, the head of the family begins the ceremony by sanctifying the holiday with a Qiddush, or benediction, over a cup of wine (Tobias 88). While reciting a prayer, raw vegetables dipped in vinegar, a shank bone and a hard-boiled egg are presented to the family members. Then, a second cup of wine is poured and at this time, the Passover liturgy, or Haggadah, begins (Oxtoby 124). The

Starting from the day I was born, I have been raised in a pro Israel and zionist house. I have only lived in jewish communities that support Israel in the same way that I do. I have only strictly attended jewish zionist institutions and have been a camper and counselor and many different zionist day and overnight camps. Over the years as I have become more of an independent and creating my own unique thoughts I have thought about my connection to Israel and I have concluded that it is simply my home and a spiritual gathering point for the jewish people.