Seder honors fight for freedom
Published 9:00 pm Friday, April 15, 2005
When Moses led the Jews out of Egypt in a mass exodus, he freed them from slavery and the clutches of the Pharaoh.
Thousands of years later, groups and individuals who have longed for freedom from oppression and who suffer together or alone can relate to the story during the Jewish festival of Passover.
Representatives from local black, Hispanic and gay and lesbian communities are expected to participate Sunday in the first Multicultural Freedom Seder in Snohomish County at Temple Beth Or in Everett.
| The event, 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Temple Beth Or, 3215 Lombard Ave., Everett., will feature various cultural groups sharing stories of paths from oppressive forces that enslave them, individually and culturally.
The event is free and open to the public. Join the congregation or reserve a place at 425-259-7125, ext. 10. |
“It’s for everyone,” said Heidi Piel, volunteer coordinator for the event. It’s for people who have struggled or are struggling with oppression, addictions, domestic violence and poverty.
Seders are traditionally held the first and second night of Passover, or Pessach in Hebrew, which this year begins April 23.
Typically Easter and Passover fall at the same time of the year. However, the Jewish calendar has a leap month every few years, including 2005.
Freedom seders began in the 1960s and were a spin-off of the civil rights movement. Both Jews and blacks were celebrating the common story of moving toward freedom, said Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman of Temple Beth Or.
Rather than focus on oppression, the freedom seder will focus on what groups have done to obtain freedom.
“The focus is supposed to be upbeat,” he said.
The freedom seder is an opportunity for groups from different cultures to come together and recognize the desire for freedom in themselves and each other. The event also serves as a time to commit to striving for freedom for all.
During freedom seders, congregations not only hear from groups and individuals but also pray for the liberation of people in communities and around the world who are oppressed. Participants in Everett’s event will speak about their own experiences of working toward freedom.
Karz-Wagman has a decade of experience in hosting freedom seders. The first one in Snohomish County comes at a time when he believes diversity issues are on the front-burner. With recent cross burnings and other incidents in the county getting media attention, the idea of a freedom seder could serve to bring together to talk people who had previously felt alone in their oppression.
“The ability for freedom in a group is better than the ability for freedom alone,” Piel said.
The word seder means order and relates to the organization of how food is served, blessings are given and songs are sung during the occasion.
Freedom seders celebrate multiculturalism and include music and songs such as “Let My People Go” and “Dayenu,” perhaps the most popular seder song.
Karz-Wagman explains that in the story of the exodus, the people first cry out to God. The sacrifice is an offering of one’s self, a commitment to do whatever God is about to teach us, he said.
“Sacrifice, if nothing else, is a commitment,” Karz-Wagman said. “That I’m going to take over my life instead of the pharaohs.”
