Holidays

On one level, admittedly, my call to “Zionize the Seder” is redundant. The seder is deeply Zionist already, in marking our freedom as a people.

The Seder is a ritual of induced dissonance. It trains us to sit inside the discomfort of anticipation and contradiction. This is the bread of affliction; this is the bread of redemption.

The Haggadah makes clear that the Exodus was not an end in itself, but rather the first step in the return to the Land of Israel, where the Israelites would live as a free people.

As recounted in the biography of Chaplain Bohnen written by his son Michael, 750 American soldiers attended the meal celebrating the Festival of Freedom that evening.

Passover is moored in thousands of years of tradition and customs. New insights and rituals are constantly emerging. None of which could have occurred without one essential element: a dining table.