It is Passover. At seder tables last night, Jews recounted the story of the Exodus with all sorts of symbols, songs, and sacred rituals. While the seder is designed to be interactive and to have the leader respond with the story to questions prompted by its unusual features, there is a key text that serves as the basis for the telling (and often gets read perfunctorily). Two verses from that passage ring very differently for me because of an amazing experience I had last week at a Black - Jewish Unity Dinner.
The United Negro College Fund, the Foundation Combatting Anti-Semitism, and Hillel International have come together to host a series of unity dinners for students a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) and Jewish students at Predominantly White Institutions (PWI’s). The first Philadelphia Unity Dinner brought together students from Cheyney University, Lincoln University, Villanova University, and West Chester University. Since the dinner was on a Friday night, Jewish students got to share sabbath rituals. Since Cheyney and Lincoln share the distinction of being the first HBCU’s in the country, they shared their pride in their institutions. That sharing was just a part of the relationship building that took place as students interacted with each other at their tables.
While the organizers had selected “stand up to all hate” as the theme for the dinner, the real takeaway was newfound commonalities across divides no one had chosen. Hate shows up in that key Passover seder text, though. The full passage is Deuteronomy 26:5-10, where verse six reads, “They made us out to be evil, the Egyptians did, they afflicted us, and they imposed upon us hard labor.” The Egyptians used hate to “other” the Jews. Interestingly, this shift in the story comes in verse seven when God hears our voices and sees our affliction, strain, and oppression. Being seen and heard shifted the narrative in Deuteronomy, at the seder, and also at the unity dinner.
The Exodus story is famous for its ability to transcend the specifics of Pharaoh and the Israelites. The Passover seder sets out not only to remind Jews of their collective liberation but also of the need to redeem others from oppression. The unity dinner did something similar in reminding everyone present that hearing and seeing each other as humans steeped in stories gives us the chance to stand up to hate, to fight oppression, and reclaim our agency in making the world a better place for all of us. Students at the unity dinner left inspired, connected, and committed to staying in the relationship. I pray that reading the seder text this year, we take it to heart to achieve the same.
About Rabbi Jeremy Winaker
Rabbi Jeremy Winaker is the executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Hillel Network, responsible for West Chester University, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and other area colleges. He is the former head of school at the Albert Einstein Academy in Wilmington and was the senior Jewish educator at the Kristol Hillel Center at the University of Delaware for four years. Rabbi Winaker lives in Delaware with his wife and three children.
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