The GCSU Hillel organization invited students and faculty to come to the MAX on the evening of April 1 to participate in a traditional seder, a ritual meal held on the first and second days of Passover, the eight-day Jewish holiday.
The event, organized by the campus Hillel club and catered by the MAX, was intended to share the history and importance of the holiday tradition with the GCSU community.
“It’s really important to have Jewish moments on campus when we can and educate our non-Jewish friends,” said Odeya Atar, a senior biology major and president of the Hillel club.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, a seder, meaning “order” in Hebrew, consists of 15 steps, during which participants read from the Haggadah, the traditional guidebook for the seder, tell stories and interpretations related to the holiday and sing songs such as the Dayyenu to express gratitude for God’s blessings.
“Passover is a specific holiday in the spring that tells the story of the Jewish people being slaves in Egypt and their path to freedom,” said Netta Benhashal, the director of the Hillel student organization at GCSU.
During this holiday, the consumption of the fermented, or leavened, products of wheat, barley, oats, rye and spelt is forbidden. In replacement, participants eat matzah, unleavened bread made of flour and water.
The steps of the seder are as follows: the Kadesh, the Urchatz, the Karpas, the Yachatz, the Magid, the Rachtzah (second-hand washing), the Motzi, the Matzah, the Maror, the Korech, the Shulchan Orech, the Tzafun, the Barech, the Hallel and the Nirtzah.
Each step is symbolic of the journey of the Jews in Egypt from slavery to freedom, such as the Matzah, the bread of slavery, which symbolizes the haste of the slaves to leave as it is a simple and hardy bread, and the Karpas, eating the green vegetable with salt water, which symbolizes the tears of the slaves.
“It’s a yearly Jewish tradition, but we decided that it would be really fun to be able to host our ceremony and our traditional meal here on campus,” Benhashal said.
The seder at the MAX was a condensed version of the traditional meal, featuring only the Kadesh, Karpas, Magid, Korech, Shulchan Orech and Tzafun steps. During the breaks, Benhashal spoke about the history of Passover and the importance and meaning of each step.
The Shulchan Orech, or the main meal, consisted of salmon, roasted asparagus, garlic mashed potatoes, carrots, raisin and pineapple salad, various fruits and vegetables and gluten free brownies and was served to the students, who afterward participated in a scavenger hunt, the Tzafun, to find a piece of matzah hidden on campus in an envelope to win a $30 gift card.
The members of the Hillel organization wanted to host this traditional meal on campus to encourage other students to participate in the holiday and provide a space on campus for Jewish students to partake in their religion in an area where there are few Jewish spaces.
“The majority of our school is not Jewish, and Hillel is really the only Jewish community we have in Milledgeville,” Atar said. “The closest synagogue is a good 45 minutes to an hour away.”
By hosting at the MAX, students were able to participate in the event with their community without having to go home for the evening.
“I actually love that they had it at the MAX, because then I could stay here and do it with my friends,” said Lia Shelnutt, a sophomore environmental science major. “Hopefully they do it again.”
Although a Rosh Hashanah meal was held last fall, this was the first seder hosted at the Max. Benhashal and other Hillel members hope to make this an annual event.
“We have loved working with the MAX, and it has been so fun, so we are definitely hoping to do other Jewish holidays and events through here,” Benhashal said.
For students who would like to get involved with Hillel, visit their Instagram page, @gc_hillel, to stay informed about upcoming events.