Monday, April 25, 2005
Photo by Rachel Seymour
Lawrence sophomore, John Benjamin, foreground, celebrates the Jewish Passover Seder with Saranne Bergen, Sioux City, Iowa, junior and others last night at the Lawrence Jewish Community Center. The Jewish Passover is the oldest and most continued religious holiday celebrated. To Benjamin, it is more than that. “It’s part of our heritage,” he said.
With wine glasses raised — or grape juice glasses for those under 21 — about 60 members of KU Hillel and their families started the second night of the Seder celebration of Passover.
Celebrating Passover is the oldest tradition in Judaism. Seder is the time for family and friends to get together and remember the struggles the Jewish people.
This year’s timing of the Seder was fortunate for many out-of-state students who took advantage and went home for the weekend.
Jay Lewis, KU Hillel director, said he usually has out-of-state students come to his house to celebrate the first night of Seder, but this year there was no one here to accept his invitation.
Celebrating Seder can be difficult for out-of-state students who can’t go home.
Michelle Grinstein, Plano, Texas, senior, and Jeff Gordon, Houston, Texas, sophomore weren’t able to visit their families this year for Passover and celebrated with Hillel.
“This gives us a chance to have a Seder and not be at home,” Grinstein said.
Gordon said that Hillel’s Seder was shorter than the celebration he is used to, but the nice casual atmosphere still provides everything he needs from
home.
Many out-of-state students spent the first night of Passover at the homes of friends in the Kansas City area or other cities close to Lawrence.
For the second night, many came to celebrate with the Jewish community in Lawrence.
“It’s nice to have a KU Jewish community to be your surrogate family,” Lewis said.
Some students were lucky and had parents who came in to town to celebrate with them.
Arnold and Amy Terkel came from Broken Arrow, Okla., to visit their son, sophomore Andrew Terkel, for Seder.
Terkel said the holiday was a good way to celebrate the Jewish culture with other people.
“It’s a way for us to keep reliving our history,” Terkel said.
His mother was happy to know that her son had a place to go to for the important holiday.
Regardless if family was present, the group inside the Lawrence Jewish Community Center prayed, sang and ate the specially prepared food made to celebrate Passover.
— Edited by Jennifer Voldness
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