To mark the beginning of the Jewish holiday Passover, students and community members gathered at MSU Hillel, 360 Charles St., to eat a special Seder meal.
In Jewish culture, the Seder meal traditionally kicks off Passover celebrations, which began Friday and will continue until April 14, said Audrey Bloomberg, director of Jewish student life at MSU Hillel.
To accommodate students who could not make it back home for the holidays and community members interested in sharing the Seder meal with a larger group, MSU Hillel hosted two Seder celebrations Friday and Saturday.
Bloomberg said Seder, the Hebrew word for “order,” retells the story of the Hebrew peoples’ freedom from their slavery in Egypt as participants say special prayers, sing songs and eat traditional foods.
“It’s meant to celebrate our freedom and retell the story,” Bloomberg said. “It’s one of our happier holidays.”
Throughout the evening, participants ate foods including herbs dipped in salt water to represent the bitterness of slavery and the tears of Hebrew people as they went through hardship, to celebrate the story of Passover.
Matzah bread, another food central to Passover celebrations, also was eaten at the Sedar meal.
Matzah bread is a form of unleavened bread signifying the sacrifices the Hebrews made to rise out of slavery, Bloomberg said.
Along with the meal, a service detailing the story of Passover was led by genomics senior Daniel Charlat, who was assisted by various attendees throughout the service for different readings.
Going home to celebrate the Seder holiday was not a feasible plan for Charlat this year. Originally from California, the trip home would have been hard to make with school obligations, he said. Even so, Charlat said the ceremonies at MSU Hillel have been a good substitute for him throughout the years.
“Even though I can’t be with my family, I am here at my second home with my second family,” Charlat said.
For graduate students and sisters Beth and Marly Schoen, the MSU Hillel Seder meal could not quite replace home celebrations, but the community the meal provided was encouraging.
“Home is always home. It’s different than what I’m used to, but I like trying different things,” Beth Schoen said.
If the women find themselves at MSU next year around Passover time, both said they likely would enjoy the meal at MSU Hillel again so they could spend time with friends and each other.
“Everyone’s so nice here, and if I’m in Michigan again I will come next year too,” Marly
Schoen said.
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