For many Jewish students at Northwestern, Passover evokes memories of home.
From sundown on April 1 to April 9 this year, the holiday commemorates the Jews’ exodus from Egyptian slavery more than 3,000 years ago.
“It was always a really nice time for my family because so much is centered around the meal and being in a home together,” Weinberg sophomore Hattie Saal said.
The Seder, a ritual dinner with songs and readings usually held on the first two nights of Passover, traditionally initiates the celebration. NU Hillel hosted Seders on Wednesday and Thursday.
Beyond the two evenings, Hillel’s Passover programming runs every day of the holiday, including daily kosher for Passover lunches and dinners, a kosher for Passover Shabbat dinner and a screening of the film “The Prince of Egypt.”
“It’s actually the time when the most amount of Jews are in this building at a given time in the academic calendar,” Bienen senior and Hillel Vice President Jeremy Berkun said.
Saal attended Hillel Seders on the first two nights of Passover. She said she went not only to keep kosher and receive free meals but also to meet other Jewish community members.
Both nights featured traditional songs and readings similar to the ones Saal said she recites when she celebrates with her family.
“It felt similar to being back home,” she said.
Saal said her favorite Seder rituals include singing the traditional song “Dayenu” and reciting “Ma Nishtana,” where the youngest person at the table asks four questions to prompt the telling of aspects of the Passover story.
As the youngest child in his family, Weinberg junior Benjamin Barrish said “Ma Nishtana” is also one of his favorite Passover traditions.
Barrish added that he doesn’t mind when Passover evenings run long.
“You get tired, but part of it is just getting the goofiness of it all,” he said.
Because he lives just 30 minutes away from campus, Barrish said he went home for a Seder with his family. His family’s Seder menu included brisket, gefilte fish, quinoa and vegetables, he said.
Like Barrish and Saal, Berkun also said he most enjoys celebrating Passover at home. But since coming to college, he’s celebrated Passover with different groups on campus. He’s even hosted several Seders.
Berkun still remembers a Seder he helped host for Jewish a cappella group ShireiNU a few years ago. He and his groupmates gathered at a member’s house, where they cooked rotisserie chicken and played piano.
This year, he helped host a Hillel Seder open to seniors. With about 25 attendees, Berkun said it was an “intimate” meal with “singing, good wine and good company.”
For Berkun, the dinner represented a culmination of his time at Hillel and NU.
“Passover is a beautiful holiday about journey, about traveling,” he said. “And to be in college is to constantly be thinking about what the next step in life is and where we’re going to go next.”
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