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by MEGAN NORTHCOTE
Intern Lifestyles Reporter
“How is this night different from all the others?”
For years, the Jewish community worldwide has pondered this question taken from the Haggadah, a Jewish text, while celebrating Passover with family and friends.
This year, Hillel, the Jewish Student Association at Appalachian State University, invites students, faculty and community members to participate in the third annual campus-wide Passover Seder to experience for themselves how this night, the night of Passover, truly is different from all the others.
The campus-wide Passover Seder will be held Thursday in the Blue Ridge Ballroom of Plemmons Student Union at 6 p.m.
Student tickets are $7 for one or $12 for two.
Tickets will be sold at the Diversity Conference today in the student union and at the door Thursday.
Danny A.
Batiansila, Hillel president and junior psychology major, feels
Passover is one of the most important holidays for Jews.
“For me
personally, it’s my favorite holiday. It’s a very big story. It talks
about how Moses led Jews out of slavery into the land of Israel,”
Batiansila said.
According
to the Torah, Hebrews were enslaved in Egypt for nearly 400 years
before being delivered from Egypt by Moses into the promised land of
Israel as instructed by God.
Passover
is also a time for reflection upon the suffering the Jews endured, and
how people can put an end to suffering experienced by all ethnic and
religious groups worldwide through community efforts.
Lyudmila Trost, Hillel vice-president and junior psychology major, also believes in putting an end to suffering.
“Educating people is a big way to get rid of any genocide,” she said.
Most
importantly, Batiansila encourages more students to come to the event
to gain “not only the experience, but also a better understanding of
the holiday.”
Through
an interactive reading of the Haggadah, a Jewish text taken from the
Torah that explains the order of events of a Passover Seder,
participants will be able to sing, dance and engage in prayer when
instructed by the Seder leader.
The
Seder will consist of a variety of traditional Passover foods including
kosher chicken and vegetarian foods that conform to Jewish religious
beliefs.
Traditional matzah ball soup will be served made from matzah crackers similar to a piece of flatbread.
Matzah represents the only type of food Jews were allowed to take with them on their escape from Egypt.
For dessert, macaroons, another unleavened food, will be served.
However, the Passover celebration is about far more than the food.
For
Hillel club member and freshman religion and philosophy double major
Leslee C. Lisnek, it’s about recognizing the significance of the
holiday.
“There
are a lot of inaccuracies about Judaism and their practices. We would
like [Passover Seder participants] to get a more realistic picture of
what Judaism is like,” she said.
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