Pesach Seder

Finally had a chance to do something I’ve wanted to do for a long time while I was here in New York. I went and joined the main Jewish student group here on campus (Chabad) for Pesach Seder, or Passover Dinner. (Pesach means Passover, and Seder technically means “order”, so the literal translation would be something a bit more like “Passover Service”, like Easter Service in a Christian church).
Being a Christian, most of what I knew about the Jewish people before coming to New York was from the Bible, which is to say, I didn’t know much at all about how Jews live or what being Jewish is really about these days. For a long time, there were more Jews living here in NYC than anywhere else in the world, including Israel, though that has changed recently. But that still means there are a lot of Jewish people here, and trying to connect a bit and learn something from & about them was one of my real hopes & priorities in coming to NYC.
Sadly, up till now, I’ve found my time so dominated by studies and other concerns that I just haven’t had time for it the way I’ve wanted to. I have made some Jewish friends here at the school, in particular my friend Akiva, who is an amazing guy and someone I respect a great deal. Akiva is Israeli, meaning he was born & grew up for much of his life in Israel; it also means that he served the mandatory two? years in the IDF. However he is an atheist, so he couldn’t tell me too much about Jewish life. He also explained there is a significant difference between Israelis and other Jews, which made the whole affair even more confusing.
The Seder was an open invite that was sent out to the Columbia community by Rabbi Blum, who leads Chabad. The dinner itself was held in the rotunda in Low Library, which is where most formal events on campus are held. There were probably 40-50 people there, of which (as far as I could tell) I was the only non-Jewish person there.
The dinner itself was fascinating. There was a booklet laid out at each seat (printed in both Hebrew and English) that laid out the basic order of the service. The entire thing was almost 3 hours, but the condensed version went something like this: reading of blessings, ritual hand washing, drinking wine (or Martinelli’s in our case, since there were underage students there), eating the “ritual” Pesach meal which includes Matzah (an unleavened bread/cracker type thing), hardboiled eggs, potatoes, and bitter herbs (lettuce w/ horseradish), more hand washing, more wine, a real meal with chicken, vegetables, and potato cakes, more readings, more blessings, more wine, and finally a few more readings/blessings. The entire dinner was served by a wait staff, so the pieces of the ritual meal are already on the table and then everything else is brought out to you. The Matzah (and this is of course just my opinion) tastes pretty terrible, and I’m not big on horseradish so I wasn’t about the bitter herbs either. The traditional Pesach plate also includes a chicken shank, which interestingly the Rabbi said sits in the place of what would have been a nice fat piece of roasted lamb before the destruction of the temple. For whatever reason, since that time Jewish communities have used the chicken shank instead, which I feel is definitely a step down given that I love mutton and don’t like looking at bones of any type when I’m eating. The wine cups are set on little saucers because apparently it is tradition to fill the cup to overflowing, and then pour some parts of the cup out at different times throughout the ceremony.
The reading of the blessings was also very beautiful. I’ve always found Jewish songs and spoken oration to be extremely moving, they’re a strange combination of sorrowful and profound. Wish I understood Hebrew.
I was disappointed not to have gotten a chance to speak with Rabbi Blum, either during or after the meal, but it looked as though he was occupied and it was nearly 11 PM by the time it was finished. I’m extremely glad I had the chance to participate in it, I feel that I learned a great deal, not all of which I could put into words. I’d like to extend my thanks to Rabbi Blum, Chabad, the wait staff, and to two other friends from GS, Gabby & Danielle who kept me company while we were eating and helped explain some of the customs & nuances to me. It would have been quite a lot for a Goy to try and take in all on the first time …