Tuesday night marks the end of my last Passover at Penn State. I had the honor of leading the women's Seder for e third year in a row. I compiled this Seder during spring break of my sophomore year and we have been using it at Hillel ever since. The wonderful Elise led with me and it was a very enjoyable experience. This year was a little different at Hillel since we had six Seders occurring simultaneously. Their were two conservative style Seders, a Freedom Seder, an LGBTA Seder, the women's Seder and a Seder on one foot (all the important parts very quickly). This set up was nice for two reasons. The first is that attendees had their choice of which seder they wanted to attend. The different themes allowed Hillel to cosponsor and advertise this event to a larger audience. Finally, cleanup was a breeze this year thanks to two reasons. One, the Seders were all finished at different points; the cleanup crew did not have to break down three hundred table settings in one shot. Additionally, the HRIM catering club helped us out setting up, serving, and cleaning up from Passover. This event would not have gone nearly as smoothly without their generous help.
The women's Seder was lovely. We had about 15 people attend, the majority of whom had been to the Seder before. We went around the table and everyone participated in reading from the Haggadah (the book with the prayers and story of the exodus from Egypt). I loved this Seder when my mom started leading it at our synagogue at home. For some reason it just felt more comfortable than the large impersonal Seder that the synagogue typically had. I wanted to bring that same experience to Hillel, and I hope I accomplished that through this Seder.
I hosted 15 people at my house for the second night Seder. I spent most of the day Sunday after Hebrew school cooking and preparing for Tuesday's festive meal. Passover is my favorite of all the Jewish holidays, mostly because I love the Seder meal. I spend a lot of time last week on the phone with my mom getting recipes and trading menus. We did a lot of the cooking for Passover together at home, and now I got to take what she taught me into my own Jewish life. I used a few recipes from our Seders at home, but added a few of my own additions. I wanted to have a vegetarian Seder for two reasons. One, a few of my friends are vegetarian and second, I didn't want to cook a chicken. So we had my aunt Norma's matzah ball soup in vegetable broth for the first course. Spinach salad, sweet potato casserole, roasted asparagus, broccoli and potato gratin, and applesauce were the sides. for the main course, we made shakshuka, an Israeli tomato and egg dish (essentially poached eggs in spicy tomato sauce). It was really delicious (I can say that because my friend made the dish :)) For dessert, I made macaroons (two different versions because the first recipe didn't work well), meringue cupcakes (because the batter would not whip enough to form cookies, and my personal favorite flourless chocolate cake. It was a really yummy meal. But the best part, besides the food, was that the Seder felt like family. Everyone wanted to be there. We were all talking and singing and joking throughout the entire evening. It was a just a really nice night. I'm sorry I waiting until my senior year to host a Seder, but this was the first year that it was feasible for me to do so.
To round out my Passover festivities, I went to my friends dorm Wednesday night to make chocolate covered matzah. Every year, we have gotten together during Passover to make this delicious treat. He doesn't observe Passover except for this tradition. Making and eating chocolate covered matzah using the box our synagogues sends us is his way of marking this holiday. Not everyone celebrates Passover in the same way. Many argue about which foods you can and cannot eat, how specific and religious you have to be about food labeled kosher for Passover etc, but I think it's mainly important to consider how you will observe the holiday. As long as you are thinking about how it will be significant or meaningful for you, you are considering how to make the holiday your own, how to start living your own Jewish life, which is so vitally important in college.
It was a really good week for me, and I hope for you as well. חג פסח שמח!
The women's Seder was lovely. We had about 15 people attend, the majority of whom had been to the Seder before. We went around the table and everyone participated in reading from the Haggadah (the book with the prayers and story of the exodus from Egypt). I loved this Seder when my mom started leading it at our synagogue at home. For some reason it just felt more comfortable than the large impersonal Seder that the synagogue typically had. I wanted to bring that same experience to Hillel, and I hope I accomplished that through this Seder.
I hosted 15 people at my house for the second night Seder. I spent most of the day Sunday after Hebrew school cooking and preparing for Tuesday's festive meal. Passover is my favorite of all the Jewish holidays, mostly because I love the Seder meal. I spend a lot of time last week on the phone with my mom getting recipes and trading menus. We did a lot of the cooking for Passover together at home, and now I got to take what she taught me into my own Jewish life. I used a few recipes from our Seders at home, but added a few of my own additions. I wanted to have a vegetarian Seder for two reasons. One, a few of my friends are vegetarian and second, I didn't want to cook a chicken. So we had my aunt Norma's matzah ball soup in vegetable broth for the first course. Spinach salad, sweet potato casserole, roasted asparagus, broccoli and potato gratin, and applesauce were the sides. for the main course, we made shakshuka, an Israeli tomato and egg dish (essentially poached eggs in spicy tomato sauce). It was really delicious (I can say that because my friend made the dish :)) For dessert, I made macaroons (two different versions because the first recipe didn't work well), meringue cupcakes (because the batter would not whip enough to form cookies, and my personal favorite flourless chocolate cake. It was a really yummy meal. But the best part, besides the food, was that the Seder felt like family. Everyone wanted to be there. We were all talking and singing and joking throughout the entire evening. It was a just a really nice night. I'm sorry I waiting until my senior year to host a Seder, but this was the first year that it was feasible for me to do so.
To round out my Passover festivities, I went to my friends dorm Wednesday night to make chocolate covered matzah. Every year, we have gotten together during Passover to make this delicious treat. He doesn't observe Passover except for this tradition. Making and eating chocolate covered matzah using the box our synagogues sends us is his way of marking this holiday. Not everyone celebrates Passover in the same way. Many argue about which foods you can and cannot eat, how specific and religious you have to be about food labeled kosher for Passover etc, but I think it's mainly important to consider how you will observe the holiday. As long as you are thinking about how it will be significant or meaningful for you, you are considering how to make the holiday your own, how to start living your own Jewish life, which is so vitally important in college.
It was a really good week for me, and I hope for you as well. חג פסח שמח!
RSS Feed