Over the summer, Rabbi Lizz Goldstein of Congregation Ner Shalom in Woodbridge attended a conference on Jewish life. Her favorite workshop turned out to be about seders.
“We learned that a recent survey had found that Passover seders are the greatest single indicator of someone’s commitment to Judaism,” said Goldstein. “And that there is a correlation between yearly attendance at a seder for a child and their continuing to self-identify as a Jew and engage in some way with Jewish institutions.”
Armed with that information, Goldstein is planning to bring elements of the Passover seder to the Reform congregation’s holiday celebrations in the coming year, starting with a seder for Rosh Hashanah. (Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on Sept. 15.)
Why do seders have such an impact? Goldstein said they are sensory, interactive and family-based. There’s also little pressure to already know the elements of the seder.
“I think that getting people in the door with elements of a seder will help us take a deeper dive into other holidays than some other traditional styles of celebration,” says Goldstein. “That will give us other layers of understanding when we do more traditional celebrations.”
The rabbi says she hopes that the seder backdrop for some of the year’s holidays will better explain the history, rituals and meanings of each festival, resulting in greater participation.
Sephardim and, more recently, some Ashkenazim start the first night of Rosh Hashanah with a seder that includes symbolic foods like apples and honey for a sweet year; pomegranates, whose seeds are plentiful, for a wish of abundance; and carrots, whose Hebrew word is similar to the word for “decree.” Rosh Hashana seder participants make a wish before eating carrots that their upcoming decrees from God be positive ones.
Thinking ahead to Chanukah, Goldstein says she’d like to emphasize some fun in that holiday’s seder.
Her ideas for a Chanukah seder plate include oil, potatoes, winter vegetables and food made with oil. And she envisions a discussion around the table about the lack of greens and the importance of healthy eating.
Goldstein doesn’t see giving every holiday a seder. But she does imagine a Yom HaShoah seder that includes recipes belonging to Jews who perished to stimulate memories of their lives and legacies.
She says Ner Shalom has used recipes to remember the Holocaust, calling it “a bittersweet observance.”
So far, the response to her seder initiative has been “mixed but supportive,” Goldstein says.Gen Z young leaders have been very excited, and older leaders “have been supportive and respectful about my new ideas. Kind of like, ‘I don’t get what this is but if the rabbi says this will engage people and bring in fresh faces, then that’s what we’ll do.’
“I’m excited about the seder idea,” Goldstein says. “I know it’s going to bring fun and positive energy to the congregation.” ■
Fran Kritz is a freelance writer.
