Reports from Temple Sinai’s Young Professionals Seder
Under the direction of Rabbi Mathew Reimer, Temple Sinai hosted a Young Professionals Seder last Friday evening, March 30, at the family home of local congregants, Tracey and Mike Dodd.
Rabbi Matthew Reimer, right, conducts the Young Professionals seder at the home of Tracey and Mike Dodd. (Photo by Ann Kientz)
Aside from the opportunity to share the breaking of matzahs and to take part in the Haggadah prayers, many of those in attendance felt a strong desire to put into words their experiences.
“The Dodd family, our gracious hosts, opened their beautiful house and backyard to the guests and joined us in an evening of questions and discourse including an examination of what belongs on the seder plate and why,” recalled first-time attendee Robbie diBenedetto. “It was a successful and thought-provoking evening and we anticipate that this will be a tradition that continues!”
Friday was a less-than-spectacular day, according to Eric Drieblatt. “Last Friday I had a very tough and stressful day. I had car troubles, I was fired from my job, and I called an ambulance to come help my next door neighbor, who was writhing in pain. It was enough trials and tribulations to fill a whole week and more,” he remembered.
But then the Passover seder started up with the rabbi as its leader.
“I spent the evening at one of the best seders I ever went to,” Dreiblatt continued. “I didn’t expect this, I was nervous, because I didn’t know anyone, or what it would be like, but it soon became clear that I shouldn’t have been. I met excellent fellow Jews in their twenties, ate wonderful food that reminded me of home, and listened to thoughtful, passionate engagement with the text.”
Young Professionals Seder. (Photo by Ann Kientz)
Julie Fink and Nicole Moody had their own perspective on the Passover celebration. “As people who do not have (a) local Jewish family, figuring out what to do for the holidays can be difficult,” they wrote. “This year, we were looking for a meaningful start to Passover and found a beautiful night under the stars full of engaging conversation and delicious food. Passover is a time to reflect on where we have been and where we are going, both as a Jewish people and in our individual lives. Thoughtful prompts led to lively conversation and created a space for natural reflection with peers. Though we all face our personal mitzrayim (Egypt), community support makes the passage to liberation easier to navigate.”
Julia Friedman and Tyler Guidroz had their own feelings about the seder too. Part of the discussion led by Rabbi Reimer was about the balance needed between tradition and innovation in the seder plate. “Was innovation ever welcome at the seder?” they and others wondered. “We cast an inward focus, challenging ourselves about the premise of dayenu in our lives. If we had less than we do now, would that truly be dayenu?”
Elements of the seder. (Photo by Ann Kientz)
Using the experience of the seder could thus be applied to their everyday lives, they added. “What can asking this question tell us about ourselves? What about the people around us? Throughout, we performed traditions and reflected on them from our perspective. By being this engaged, we innovated the seder whether we believed such a thing to be appropriate or not. The tradition was changed because the group enacting it were also reacting to it.”
A night where strangers became friends and others connected was well in keeping with the traditions and innovations inherent in the seder.
