Passover and Easter Festivities
Last week, Passover and Easter brought some spring excitement to campus. For Passover, Rabbi Jennifer Marx-Asch led two Seders—one traditional Seder and one special “chocolate Seder”—and a Shabbat dinner to wrap up the celebration on Friday, April 14. To celebrate Christian Holy Week, Reverend Heidi Heath organized three services for the Easter Triduum.
Many adults on campus worked together to make Christian Holy Week as special as possible. Heath led services for the community on Good Friday and Easter Sunday while Lavina Richter, advisor to Catholic Exonians, led the service on Holy Thursday. Phillips Church Steward Barbara Flocco, Staff Assistant Alexis Simpson and the Gospel Choir helped throughout the services. Catholic students also walked to Saint Michael’s Parish in Exeter for Easter Mass. “I loved the Mass at Saint Michael’s,” said prep Ginny Little. “It was great that so many Exonians showed up to worship.” Upper Alexis Gorfine also liked the community at Saint Michael’s. “I am not a usual at Saint Michael’s, but every time that I have gone, everyone has been so inclusive,” she said. “I celebrated by going to Mass with friends and then going to brunch.”
The Seders were also a big success. The traditional Seder included a reading from the Haggadah—a Jewish book of prayers and blessings—and a kosher Passover meal. According to upper Josephine de La Bruyere, the purpose of the Seder was to “commemorate both the suffering of the Israelites in Egypt and the joy of their freedom.” Upper Theodore Jaffrey also gave a description of the Seder. “The Seders are, in essence, dinners with a story; we had about a dozen round tables of six people each and we alternated reading the story of Passover aloud to the entire congregation,” he said. Jaffrey especially enjoyed the chocolate Seder, which contained all the same rituals as the traditional Seder, except with a chocolate meal. “The chocolate Seder was also a great way to add a fun twist and make it a de-stressing and enjoyable experience,” Jaffrey said.
"One of the things I love about our work in religious services is its interfaith approach. It was a rich and meaningful week for both our Christian and Jewish students"
In many ways, students who celebrated Passover were able to replicate the observances of their ancestors. “What we are trying to do while we eat, sing and read is remember what it was like for our ancestors while they were enslaved by the Egyptians and then also their path to freedom,” she said. To help students keep kosher, Marx-Asch spent time with the dining hall staff to create a menu for the week which included options in the hotline and incorporated more traditional dishes into the meals each day. The dining halls also offered matzah, a traditional Passover flatbread. Epler explained the tradition behind the unleavened bread. “The reason why we eat that is because when the Jews were fleeing Egypt, they could only let their bread rise for seven minutes before they baked it, so matzah is made in this same way to remember and so that we can eat what our ancestors ate.”
The religious leaders strove to make Passover and Holy Week celebrations and services open to all students and faculty alike, regardless of faith. Marx-Asch hoped that as a Jewish community, they promoted inclusivity for the Passover Seders and made it clear that community members of any religion were welcome to attend. Many students voiced their encouragement of non-Jewish students attending these Seders. Heath discussed how Exeter’s atmosphere created an amazing week. “One of the things I love about our work in religious services is its interfaith approach. It was a rich and meaningful week for both our Christian and Jewish students, I think,” said Heath. Jaffrey also agreed with Heath that religious services in the Exeter community are a unique experience due to the diversity of faith. “It was really cool to have a Seder with the PEA community and be among others both of my own faith and other faiths,” he said. Senior Julia Friberg believed that celebrating this along with the Exeter community was one of the primary features of the week. “This is a great way for everyone, regardless of religion, to experience a really interesting Jewish holiday,” said Friberg. “The highlight was definitely getting to see people experiencing their first Passover. Our EJC [Exeter Jewish Community] here is so welcoming, which I think is a wonderful thing.”
When asked if she had anything else to add, Marx-Asch talked about how she encouraged her religion students that two “must-do” Jewish events are a Jewish Seder and a traditional Jewish wedding. “I encourage my non-Jewish students to shamelessly invite themselves to both of these events at some point in their lifetime to experience the richness and joy of Jewish life,” said Marx-Asch. Heath appreciated value of community induced by Passover and Easter and how these two celebrations allowed people to come together while celebrating respective religions. “For me personally, and I know for others, it helped make a more meaningful Holy Week and Easter.”