Jews across the world traditionally open up their doors during Passover to welcome the prophet Elijah. At the University, Jewish and non-Jewish students welcomed the wandering prophet and observed the holiday.
Passover, spanning a week, begins on the 15th night of the month of Nisan, according to the Jewish lunar calendar. Today marks the last day of the holiday in which Jews commemorate the key event in the religion that liberated them from slavery and brought them their holy book, the Torah.
Last Monday night, the N.C. State chapter of the Jewish student organization Hillel celebrated the Passover in Witherspoon Student Center and invited students from all walks of life to take part in the Passover Seder, a religious meal consisting of multiple prayers and four glasses of wine.
“We wanted to make it a comfortable setting for both Jewish students to celebrate the holiday and other students to get taste of Judaic culture,” Sarah Mazur, senior in accounting and president elect of Hillel, said. “Passover is for my family a very important holiday. We’re not very religious, but this is one of the two times throughout the year that my whole family gets together—the other one being Hanukkah.”
Due to its long duration, it’s not unusual for Jews to celebrate with multiple Seders. The Seder is a traditional dinner that starts at sundown. With the guidance of the Passover prayer book, the Haggadah, Jews eat and drink throughout the ceremony that layers prayers, songs and food together.
“We’re working on making an N.C. State Haggadah, which is a huge step for the organization,” Daniel Marcus, a senior in computer science and Hillel social chair, said. “It’s good to keep in mind that when we tell the story of Passover because it tells us an absolute, exact truth. It reminds us of a lot of values that are very important for us to remember as a people, so that is why we should keep on telling the story.”
The Seder consists of special meal, with the ke’ara Seder plate as the centerpiece. The dish holds various foods that evoke sentiments of the ancient slavery and exodus, including maror, horseradish to symbolize the bitter times; haroset, a sweet paste of apples, nuts and wine to symbolize the mortar the Jews used to build Egyptian buildings; parsley dipped in salt water to commemorate the tears of bondage; and a lamb shank bone to symbolize the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb.
Throughout the Seder, Jews recline and drink without hesitation to celebrate the symbolic freedom. However, the week-long holiday brings in stricter kosher eating rules, so many Jewish students refrain from eating leavened bread, wheat, oats, rice, beans, corn and all products that contain corn syrup.
Despite these stringent guidelines and serious matters of the holiday, a Passover is a time of celebration and singing.
“Honestly, the thing I look forward to is a lot of good food and a lot of wine,” Ori Tuvia, a senior in biological engineering, said. “Singing the song Echad Mi Yodea after a little bit of wine, it’s very, very fun.”
Tuvia, who is from Israel, said Passover reminds him of the history of the Jewish people.
“Passover is celebrating the heritage of our people and I think it’s important to keep the Jewish tradition going, especially considering our history,” Tuvia said.
Tuvia speaks fluent Hebrew and helped lead the prayers of the Haggadah. Although he doesn’t consider himself very religious, he said Hillel helps him stay in touch with the Jewish community.
Jodie Joseph, a junior in animal sciences and Hillel secretary, said Hillel works to keep both secular and religious Jews in touch with their roots.
“I chose to live a Jewish lifestyle, so I try to let that shine in community service as well as keeping kosher or abiding by the 613 commandments,” Joseph said. “Hillel has helped to maintain that. I’m from New Jersey, where there is a large Jewish community, and coming to N.C. State, Hillel has been there to help me be Jewish and be proud to be Jewish too.”
