Pass the (Sedar) plate: Chapman Chabad to host Passover Seder celebration
From left to right: Cecilia Rivkin Brennan, Lindsay Goltz and Leore Slavick, members of Chapman Chabad, promote their organization in the Attallah Piazza April 14 and invite students to the upcoming Passover Seder. EMILY PARIS, Staff Photographer
With Passover taking place on April 15, members of the Chapman Jewish community are gathering to commemorate the holiday through food, community and storytelling.
While the celebration is in remembrance of the Isrealites who escaped slavery from Egypt, senior economics and political science double major Josh Simkovitz describes all Jewish holidays in a much simpler manner.
"The very common phrase on Jewish holidays is: 'They tried to kill us, we escaped and now we eat,'" Simkovitz said.
Simkovitz along with the other members of Chapman Chabad will gather this Friday and Saturday to celebrate Passover with the Jewish community. The Passover Seder will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
A typical Seder is guided by the reciting of the Haggadah and features the Seder plate, which includes ceremonial foods like a hard-boiled egg (beitzah), a shankbone (zeroa) and a vegetable (karpas) such as parsley.
Three pieces of Matzah — an unleavened flatbread — also can be found on the table to symbolize the food brought by the Isrealites on their journey. Half of one of these pieces is set aside to be eaten at the conclusion of the meal as the “afikoman,” which is the Greek word for “dessert” and the final food of the evening.
Even if students are not Jewish, members from Chapman Chabad encourage attendees from all backgrounds and cultures to join the celebration and educate themselves on the traditions of the Jewish community and their resilience.
Annual audits from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reveal that anti-semitic incidents in the U.S. reached an all-time high in 2019 and remained at elevated levels in 2020. And while the ADL has yet to release its numbers for 2021, an Israeli-government report states 2021 saw a 31 percent increase in hateful and discriminatory Tweets about the Jewish religion compared to 2020.
In the wake of lingering anti-seminitism, Simkovitz told the Panther that the celebration of Passover establishes strength in the Jewish community — which is a force to be reckoned with.
"One of the things I think Passover does to alleviate anti-semitism is to be more Jewish and connect with your Judaism," Simkovitz said. "When you can connect with your Judaism and be a proud Jew and be successful, friendly, funny, kind and a good person, and your Judaism is enabling you to do all of those things — that is the biggest tool that a Jew can do to fight anti-semitism."
Chapman Chabad hopes to open a window into Jewish culture throughout the year and welcome all newcomers to their first Passover Seder.
“The biggest takeaway someone can have from celebrating Passover at Chapman is to realize how strong the Jewish community is”
"Thousands of years later after the Jews left Egypt, we are still here and we are strong. If you are Jewish and at Chapman, then you will have the community to back you for whatever you are doing" Simkovitz said.
For more information about Chapman Chabad's Passover Seder, visit their Instagram account here. To RSVP for the event, text ‘SEDER’ to 714-683-0407.