My friend Jacqueline sent me this. Her husband attended this model seder.
From www.sdjewishworld.com
JEWISH CITIZEN
The thought at the Red Sea : Si, se puede!
By Donald H. Harrison
harrisonLA JOLLA, California—Tad Seth Parzen, president of the San Diego chapter of the American Jewish Committee, concluded a model seder for the Latino-Jewish Coalition on Tuesday evening, April 1, by recalling the story from Exodus about the time the Israelites were at the shore of the Red Sea with the thundering chariots of the Egyptians fast approaching them. According to a midrash, when Moses dipped his staff into the waters, they did not immediately part. Not until one of the Israelites waded into the sea, believing God surely would act, did the miracle of the parting of the waters occur.
Like Cesar Chavez, who organized California farmworkers and became a symbol of Latinos’ quest for justice, that Israelite believed si, se puede (yes, it is possible), Parzen told coalition members and guests. The Latino Jewish Coalition, a group under AJC sponsorship, stresses links and common cause between the two peoples.
Indeed, during the abbreviated seder conducted by Rabbi Mel Libman of Congregation Shir Ami of Encinitas at the Lawrence Family JCC here, numerous analogies were made between Moses as a leader of the enslaved Hebrews and Chavez as the leader of exploited Mexican workers.
David Vallodolid, co-chair of the Latino-Jewish Coalition, noted that the preceding day was Cesar Chavez Day, which paid tribute “to the man who took us out of the slavery of the farms and the fields.” He said that the annual Passover seder has meaning for all peoples because it teaches such values as respect and dignity.
Parzen said that the seder teaches Jews that they must show compassion for immigrants because “we were once strangers in a strange land.” In a pluralistic society, he added, “it is important that we have compassion for each other.”
libmancandlelighting
MODEL SEDER—Rabbi Mel Libman of Congregation Shir Ami leads the Latino-Jewish Coalition
at a model seder at the Lawrence Family JCC. At left foreground is Tad Seth Parzen, president
of the San Diego chapter of the American Jewish Committee which helped to organize the
Coalition and in background, with guitar, is Tibi Zohar, co-chairman of the San Diego Jewish
Community’s Israel-at-60 celebration. At right, Joy Wasserman lights the holiday candles as Robert Borboa and Judith Chazin observe.
Bernardo Ferdman, an Argentine Jew who serves as a coalition cochairman, suggested that there is “no more fitting match than between Cesar Chavez’s struggle and the holiday of Passover… a holiday about freedom and justice.” He added that “Passover happens every single year…we are still freeing ourselves.”
While there were a sprinkling of other Jewish Latinos in the assemblage of approximately 70 people, most of the Latinos were Catholics. Rabbi Libman suggested that “both our religions are an envelope, but the contents are the same.”
Libman said the eggs and the greens on the table both symbolized spring and the renewal of life Prior to the karpas ceremony, in which the greens are dipped in salt water to recall the tears of slavery, the Conservative rabbi asked participants if they could think of any place where people are enslaved today. ” Darfur !” called out one. ” Tibet !” said another. ” Guantanamo Bay ,” said yet another. Others called out such victims “substance abusers,” and “women in many societies.”
karpas
KARPAS CEREMONY—From left, Ron Baza, former state Assemblyman Howard Wayne and
Alan Nevin reach for parsley during the Karpas ceremony at Latino-Jewish model seder.
The seder service was constructed to include readings in five languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, English, Spanish and Ladino. There were also amendations to various service parts—for example, the Haggadah created for the occasion included Four New Questions for participants to ponder.
Written by Rabbi Glenn Ettman, assistant rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel, these were:
1) “What if Moses were alive today? To where would Moses lead the Jewish people? Why would the Jewish people follow him? Why would Moses do it? Why did he lead the people in the first place?”
2) “.. (A)fter attaining fredom thing were not always perfect. What are some of the dangers of freedom? In what ways can “being free” go too far? Is there ever any time when people are truly and completely free?”
3. “…What are some things that this year we are being liberated from or wish to be liberated from? How would you finish (the) sentence ‘Tonight, I celebrate my freedom from…’ What better times do you hope to attain this year?”
4. “…Why is remembering Jewish history important? Why is passing holiday family tradition so important? What is the significance to thinking about the uture and what the next journey will bring? In what ways are all three connected to the whole theme of the holiday?”
Harrison is editor and publisher of San Diego Jewish World
