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A Passover Inquiry
We speak of the important role Hillel plays during Shabbat, during times of crisis and times of peace, but more important is the role Hillel can play in the life of a student during the Chaggim (Holidays). Think back to your freshman year in college and the feeling you had if you were still on campus during the first two nights of Passover - Your first seder away from your family. This can be a scary event in the life of Jewish students. It can also be an exciting beginning to their new found freedom as an individual. Whatever the case, the 8 days of Passover can serve as a time to build community, engage new students, reignite a new spark in your leaders, or just create an exciting atmosphere in your Hillel with lots of students and lots of matzah. The Torah tells us in VaYikra (Leviticus) 23:5-8, "In the first month on the fourteenth of the month in the afternoon is the time of the Pesach offering to HaShem. And on the fifteenth day of this month is the Festival of Matzos to HaShem; you shall eat matzos for a seven day period. The first day shall be a sacred holiday to you when you may not do any work. You shall then bring sacrifices to HaShem for seven days, the seventh day is a sacred holiday when you may not do any work." Whether it's the ritual cleansing of all chametz (leavened products) from your Hillel, teaching students how to lead a seder, or preparing your Passover fundraising appeal, now's the time to start thinking about Passover, if you haven't already. With that in mind, this Program Enrichment Guide for Passover focuses on all aspects of Passover programming - ways to engage students, create exciting, innovative seders, and bring a bit of Tzedek into Pesach as well. Special thanks to Shawn Laing, Rabbi Lisa Goldstein, Rabbi Hyim Shafner, Patti Mittleman, and Rachel Rubenstein Kerchner for their assistance.
And Here the Child Asks: A Passover Inquiry
Would you invite the hungry to a meal featuring the bread of affliction as the main course? What is the difference between being hungry and being needy? Why are we duty bound to tell about the Exodus from Egypt? Taking a fresh look at the Passover Haggadah, this text study examines the Four Questions and the purpose of storytelling on Passover.
 And here the child asks: A Passover Inquiry (PDF file 98k)
[Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4.0 or higher.]
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Strategies for a Successful Seder
1. Know your community. Does your community work well in a large group or does smaller, personalized programs work better?
In the past, Washington University Hillel held one large seder for all students. As their Jewish community grew, so did the size of their seder. In a counter-intuitive move, in order to reach more students, they opted for smaller seders, but more of them. Led by staff, with students taking the lead role in many of the seders this year, instead of one large seder for 200 students, Washington University now runs 7-8 seders, each hosting around 50 students. Many of these smaller groups incorporated themes into their seders: One seder was a Black/Jewish seder, women's seder, a song oriented seder, and of course, the traditional seder. 2. Make your seders engaging, fun, and creative, while encompassing all the religious aspects of the Seder.
3. Create a feeling of community and belonging.
At Hillel of San Diego, student leaders attend a one-day training session learning to lead a seder. The students are then encouraged to choose a theme, and then lead their particular seder. In a room of 25 tables, there are 25 different seders talking place simultaneously, each with its own flavor and twist. One table is a women's seder, one a freedom seder, arts & crafts seder, and a few traditional seders. Each seder begins one hour before the food is ready, and although each table is doing something a bit different, they all incorporate the main pieces of the Hagaddah into their seder. It's really great hearing all the different seders going on especially when you hear one table get to the 4 questions and then the next and then the next. Learn more about the Passover 101: The Seder program >> 4. Think creatively, try something new and different for your campus.
Have your Jewish Women's Collective host a Women's seder, placing an orange in the middle of the seder plate and having a separate Miriam's cup on the table.
Why an orange? In the early 1980s, while speaking at Oberlin College Hillel, Susannah Heschel was introduced to an early feminist Haggadah that suggested adding a crust of bread on the seder plate, as a sign of solidarity with Jewish lesbians (there's as much room for a lesbian in Judaism as there is for a crust of bread on the seder plate). Heschel felt that to put bread on the seder plate would be to accept that Jewish lesbians and gay men violate Judaism like chametz violates Passover. So, at her next seder, she chose an orange as a symbol of inclusion of gays and lesbians and others who are marginalized within the Jewish community. She offered the orange as a symbol of the fruitfulness for all Jews when lesbians and gay men are contributing and active members of Jewish life.
What's the meaning of having a cup for Miriam filled with water on the seder table? A Midrash teaches us that a miraculous well accompanied the Hebrews throughout their journey in the desert, providing them with water. This well was given by G-d to Miriam, the prophetess, to honor her bravery and devotion to the Jewish people. Both Miriam and her well were spiritual oases in the desert, sources of sustenance and healing. Her words of comfort gave the Hebrews the faith and confidence to overcome the hardships of the Exodus. We fill Miriam's cup with water to honor her role in ensuring the survival of the Jewish people. Like Miriam, Jewish women in all generations have been essential for the continuity of our people. As keepers of traditions in the home, women passed down songs and stories, rituals and recipes, from mother to daughter, from generation to generation. Let us each fill the cup of Miriam with water from our own glasses, so that our daughters may continue to draw from the strength and wisdom of our heritage. [Back to the top]
Campus to Campus - Programming Resources
- Campus Afikoman Hunt - Muhlenburg College hosts an annual campus-wide Afikomen Hunt, bringing a little bit of fun and engagement around Passover to campus. Students sign up in advance, either as individuals or teams up to three students, to participate and during Chol Ha'moed, the intermediary days of Passover, anyone registered receives an email with four questions. Once they call Hillel with the answer to these questions, they receive the first clue. The answer to each clue provides the next clue until they find the Afikoman, somewhere on campus. According to Patti, students need to seek out answers to the first four questions, usually calling on local Rabbis, community members, or faculty. The event is not just a great engagement tool, as the first 3 teams to complete the hunt win a cash prize, but the students and local Jewish community interact to solve questions.
- Images of Freedom: A Collaborative Passover Arts Project - This program was done at Princeton University during the week of Passover, 2000. Over the course of a week, students led ten 90 minute seminars composed of educational and artistic portions. The sessions were held at different times during the week, each taking place at a different location around campus, maximizing the engagement opportunities. During the educational portions, students discussed various themes of Passover (four sons, freedom, ten plagues), using text studies written by members of the program's planning committee. At the end of each session, participants decorated their own quilt squares, by translating what they had learned into artistic renderings. For example, a discussion of freedom led one student to design (with a variety of materials) an image of the parting Red Sea. At the end of the week, the quilt patches were shipped to an artist in Boston who assembled them into a holistic pattern that was spread over three large tapestries. The artist had worked with the student committee to design the quilts in the weeks preceding the project. The three tapestries now hang in their caf. Learn more about Images of Freedom: A Collaborative Passover Arts Project program >>
- Making Freedom Meaningful: A Passover Workshop - Oakton Community College, outside of Chicago, took as their goal educating their Russian Jewish students on all aspects of the Passover Seder. Chicago has a large Russian community, many of whom did not have the ability to celebrate Judaism while in Russia. With this in mind, Hillel brought in Rabbi Eliezer Dimarsky, a Russian Rabbi, to facilitate an engaging, interactive discussion on some of the deeper meanings of Passover. Providing the necessary background enabled the students to have a better understanding of Passover in order to lead seders for their family and friends.
- Mimouna: A Moroccan Festival Dinner and Celebration - San Diego State Hillel was looking for a creative way to break Passover. After a lot of research, A Moroccan Festive Dinner was planned. Mimouna is a Moroccan festival celebrated at the end of Pesach, but is not related to Pesach itself. The festival is a celebration of liberty, community values, friendship and togetherness. The festival often involves a festive meal on the evening at the end of Pesach followed by a visit to the sea on the following day to 're-enact' the crossing of the Red Sea. The Hillel house was decorated in traditional Moroccan fashion, Moroccan recipes were found, and the students enjoyed a new experience to close Passover.
- Project Passover - University of California, Santa Barbara planned a four-part initiative to get students involved from the Residential Halls, off-campus and community. The four parts consisted of SEDERS IN THE DESERT (community and students traveled to Joshua Tree desert for a two night encampment), SEDERS-TO-GO (for those unable to make it home or to the DESERT, we offered special make-your-own Seder kits), "TRAVELLING DINNERS" (for a good Kosher for Passover meal, other students may partake in dining at student initiated dinners in their homes each night of Passover), and KOSHER-FOR PASSOVER LUNCHES (conveniently located on campus). Making four different programs available to students enabled Hillel to engage a greater student population during the week of Passover. This is also a natural way to build partnerships with many other campus organizations.
- Matzah Meal - George Mason University created this program to assist students with Kosher for Passover food in their rooms and engage new Jewish students. The kits included matzah, a can of matzah ball soup, candy and chocolate, grape juice, a Haggadah, a list of Passover recipes, and a schedule of Passover events taking place at Hillel that week. This is an easy program to put together and one that can also be used as a fundraising tool. Ask parents and community members to assist with the financial side of this program, covering the cost of marketing and the materials.
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Funding for Pesach
At Swarthmore College, the student board organized the Passover Co-op, which made sure Kosher for Passover food was available all week for students. In exchange for students' meal ID numbers, the dining center provided money with which the students were able to stock their kosher kitchen for the week. Students took turns cooking and cleaning, and everyone ate together for dinner. It was a very festive, fun program, and a great way to find alternative sources of funding for your Passover programming.
Additional Resources
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