Kelly Schreer instinctively knew she loved God as she pondered converting to the Jewish faith more than 10 years ago. But she didn’t have a clue as to how she should act during a seder.
She couldn’t participate during the Passover readings from the Haggadah or in singing the holiday songs because she didn’t know the words. And tasting bitter herbs, charoset and parsley was a totally new experience.
Today, the Arlington Heights woman devoutly practices Judaism and avidly participates in the rituals of the seder, a ceremonial dinner that Jews observe on the first two nights of Passover. Passover, which begins at sundown on April 5 and lasts for eight days, is a holiday in which Jews remember their ancestors’ exodus from Egypt.
Not every practicing Jew in the northwest suburbs, however, is as knowledgeable about their faith as Schreer, whether they be newly converted or born a Jew, according to two northwest suburban Jewish leaders. There’s a growing need, they say, for re-education in the Jewish traditions, which one local group, in particular, is trying to meet.
For instance, while there’s a generation of Jews here who are, indeed, taking over the seder rituals previously performed by their parents as tradition would have it, many of them are discovering a need to refine their seder skills, said Faith Avner, program director for the Northwest Suburban Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Buffalo Grove.
Quite a number of individuals are also marrying into the Jewish faith and are unfamiliar with such traditions, Avner said. In fact, 52 percent of the Jewish marriages since 1985 include a gentile spouse, according to the National Jewish Population Survey conducted in 1990 by the Council of Jewish Federations in New York. And such intermarriages clearly account, in part, for the 185,000 Americans identified by that survey as having converted to Judaism.
One school of thought is that many European Jews have become so Americanized that they have drifted away from their religious upbringing, said Rabbi Yehiel Poupko, director of Judaica of the Jewish Community Centers, which serves seven communities, including Buffalo Grove.
“Now they’re returning en masse to rediscover what it means to be Jewish and to celebrate the Jewish holidays, including Passover,” Poupko said.
In doing so, many renewed as well as converted Jews are seeking a refresher course to learn the seder rituals, Avner said. In fact, the primary significance of a seder is that it is a way to pass Jewish traditions on to the children, Avner said. “Seder means `order’ and you want to feel comfortable leading the ceremonial dinner,” she said.
Hence, the JCC is offering a series of seder workshops this holiday season collectively called “Your Place for Passover.”
One JCC workshop, titled “So It’s Your Turn To Lead the Seder: What You Can Do to Make it Memorable and Fun,” is offered at 7:30 p.m. Monday and 9:45 a.m. Tuesday.
Another workshop, titled “Sing Your Way Through the Seder,” teaches families songs they can sing on that day. This workshop is offered at 10 a.m. March 28.
At the JCC workshops, participants will learn or rediscover all the details on how to conduct a seder, from the simple to an elaborate affair, Avner said. They’ll be taught how the ceremonial dinner book, Haggadah, which tells the story of the Egyptian exodus, is to be used. They will also learn about all the questions their children are expected to ask.
Although each seder is unique, they all have certain elements in common, Avner said. For instance, a seder plate is always present at a seder. It holds various ceremonial objects, including a roasted lamb bone, an egg, bitter herbs, charoset (a mixture of apples, nuts, wine and cinnamon), greens and salt water.
Each item represents something memorable about the exodus, Avner said. For example, the charoset reminds Jews of the mortar, bricks and mud used by enslaved Jews during their captivity in Egypt.
Fay Kushner, of Buffalo Grove, is an JCC member who believes she would benefit from the seder workshops. “We’ve had seders, but they’re only about 20 minutes long. We know there’s a lot more that you can do, but we don’t know what is involved,” Kushner said.
Kushner said she wants to expand her seder to include longer stories, more prayers and other rituals.
Because there’s a perceived lack of kosher food and religious merchandise in the northwest suburbs, Avner said the JCC will provide the opportunity to purchase ceremonial kosher foods.
In conjunction with the community center, Hamakor, The Source For Everything Jewish, will provide a holiday store where ceremonial items will be available for purchase, Avner said. Such items include candlestick holders, matzo covers, seder plates and other Judaic products, she said.
For more information about the JCC offerings, call the office at 392-7411.
