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Health & Fitness

Synagogue to add meaning to Passover seder

A local synagogue is planning a unique Passover seder designed to make the holiday more accessible and meaningful.

 

For many Jews, memories of the traditional Passover meal are steeped in lengthy explanations of the holiday traditions and prayers they didn't understand that delayed dinner for what seemed like an eternity.

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow and Shir Hadash Synagogue are out to change all that with the synagogue's Second Night community seder March 26 in Northbrook.

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“I want to make the Passover experience more accessible,” said Rabbi Eitan. “We will create a creative, energetic and engaging celebration of the Jewish Festival of Freedom. At a Shir Hadash seder, we make Jewish tradition come alive and touch our hearts in ways that are meaningful, enjoyable and even fun.”

This year's event is especially meaningful because it marks the first since the growing synagogue's announcement that it is buying its first building, an existing structure at 200 W. Dundee Road, in Wheeling. The 18-year-old synagogue has been worshipping, holding religious school and running its administration in a series of rented buildings in the north suburbs.

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Its move to Wheeling, which becomes official in April, is a milestone for the synagogue, which attracts members from Northbrook, Glenview, Deerfield, Highland Park, Wheeling, Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights and Palatine and as far away as Chicago, Skokie, Park Ridge, Barrington and Gurnee.

Rabbi Eitan said for some families, the Passover seder can be disappointing because traditions, knowledge and skills needed to put on a seder have been lost through the generations.

“So it’s a passion of mine is to help families find meaning and a foundational experience,” he said.

The second night seder will be held at Our Lady of the Brook, 3700 Dundee Road in Northbrook. A nominal fee of $5 per person over the age of 3 will be charged and participants are asked to bring a Passover dish to share. The dish, veggie or dairy, should feed eight to 10 people and participants are asked to bring one dish for every two people attending.

The Passover recipes are from both Ashkenazi (Jews of Eastern Europe) and Sepharadi (Jews of Spain, North Africa and the Middle East) traditions.

Rabbi Eitan said that during the seder, the Haggadah—the prayer book used during the seder—will be projected on a wall, inviting participants to follow, with the help of a bouncing Shir Hadash logo.

The rabbi will play his guitar during the seder and lead participants in songs. Line Hora circle dancing is and dancing of the hora are planned, space permitting, and verses from songs will be chanted in Hebrew.

The story of Passover, which marks the Jewish people's exodus from slavery in Egypt, will be told via the traditional four questions, he said, but with a twist.

“They will be recited in French, Spanish, German, Farsi, even Shakespeare, Valley Girl and Klingon,” he said.

A Passover skit and the traditional search by children for a hidden piece of matzah—known as the Afikoman—also are planned. Those wishing to attend the special seder event are encouraged to call the Shir Hadash office at (847) 498-8218.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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