Mount Holyoke Jewish Student Union to invite the Newman Student Leadership Board to a Passover Seder
March 1, 2015
Emily Loughlin

The Mount Holyoke Jewish Student Union (JSU) will be hosting two Passover Seders this spring, which will be open to the Mount Holyoke Campus, regardless of their religious beliefs. Especially noteworthy is this year’s decision by the JSU to specifically invite the Newman Student Leadership Board, the Catholic student group on campus, to the first Passover Seder on Friday, April 3.

This invitation comes as a continuation of a tradition that has been in place for the past few years, in which the Jewish Student Union has partnered with another religious campus group to share knowledge, tradition, and food with one another to promote understanding and friendships on campus.

The Passover Seder is a traditional service and feast to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt. Depending on personal tradition, either one or two Sedarim usually mark Passover. In the case of two, the first Seder involves a more traditional service, often including prayers in Hebrew, while the second is more accessible for visitors and the less observant follower.

It is common to make a Seder open to the public, especially on college campuses. Many colleges unassociated with a specific religion, including, though not nearly limited to, Amherst College, Merrimack College, and Lewis & Clark College, hold Sedarim for Passover that are either publicized in campus newsletters or online.

The decision of the Mount Holyoke Jewish Student Union to invite the Newman Board was not made lightly. It was a concern of many members of the board of the group to maintain the intent of the Seder, to keep the Jewish traditions intact, and to make sure that the Seder is not Catholic-Jewish, but that it is a chance to share stories and find similarities between the faiths through prayer, readings, and conversation.

During the Festival of Passover, which lasts 8 days, the Mount Holyoke Spiritual center, The Eliot House, becomes what Jewish Chaplain Amelia Ender refers to as a “Passover Space.” This means that Kosher for Passover laws are followed in the building, requiring that no food be brought into the space, as it would nullify the status of the space. Instead, Kosher for Passover meals are made in the kitchens in the Eliot House, and served for the week to provide for the students who wish to observe the festival. Although all Jews do not uphold keeping Kosher year round, many who do not observe kosher law throughout the year do during the time of Passover.

“We’re always trying to look for opportunities,” said Chaplain Amelia Ender, when asked to speak to the Catholic invitation. “Spaces that are nurturing and comfortable, and eating, that really promotes a natural way for people to get to know each other.”

The focus on food during Passover, and especially at Sedarim, makes this an ideal time to include guests. Passover has a specific set of Kosher laws that prohibit certain ingredients, including wheat, oats, rye, barley, and spelt, and sometimes, depending on tradition, expanding to many beans and seeds. These rules, not followed at the Mount Holyoke Kosher Dining Hall, Wilder Hall, are followed through the festival at Passover at the Eliot House. These limitations on ingredients also create an interesting challenge for meal planning, resulting in a variety of specialty foods.

The Jewish festival is historically tied to the Christian holidays of Holy Week and Easter. For example, the Christian Bible maintains that Jesus and his disciples were gathered for Passover at the time of the crucifixion and resurrection. This connection between the faiths translates well to the sharing of stories and experiences, as both religions are experiencing major days of their religious calendar at the same point in time.

Leanne Finamore, a current senior at Mount Holyoke, and the member of the board of the Jewish Student Union responsible for interfaith interaction, says of the invitation that it is “a cool opportunity that is totally student run and student led.” This sort of interaction encourages students of different faith groups to “partner with another faith group… [and to] learn about that faith during a holiday, holidays are fun,” explains Finamore.

The first partnership between the Jewish Student Union and another faith group was two years ago, with the Muslim Student Association. The groups agreed to partner for a semester, inviting one another to services at a local synagogue and a Boston mosque.  However, although the members of both groups met the synagogue visit with excitement and appreciation, the visit to the mosque was prevented by the tragic events of the Boston Marathon.

Ms. Finamore explained that it is her Catholic faith that motivated her to to invite the Catholic group.  While she is a prominent member of the Jewish community group, it is not her own faith, “[she] grew up Catholic.” She is uniquely placed in a position to have experienced the relationship between the two faiths, the relationship she hopes to share and expand with the upcoming festival.

There are also a number of international groups working for interfaith communication and relationships, including The Abrahamic Family Reunion. They create events, conventions, and regional communities aimed at creating a close relationship between Muslims, Jews, and Christians worldwide.

The hope of many interfaith groups, and faith specific groups is to foster learning and positive interaction between members with the hope that a more effective and respectful discourse can be initiated. This echoes the mission of the Mount Holyoke College Eliot House, as well as the intent of the Jewish Student Union in their upcoming Seder with the Newman Student Leadership Board.

Mount Holyoke will be hosting two Seders on the evenings of Friday, April 3rd and Saturday, April 4th, 2015.