Our evolving seder

Editorial

The format of the Passover seder is not uniquely Jewish. It is modeled on the Greek symposium, where the wealthy, powerful and influential would gather to discuss a theme - truth, beauty, virtue - as they reclined, ate hors d'oeuvres and drank wine until late in the evening.

The Rabbis adopted the symposium model and forever linked it to the theme of freedom. For centuries, we have discussed and debated our freedom - breaking matzo, eating symbolic hors d'oeuvres, drinking four cups of wine, and retelling the story of our people.

We have adapted the Passover seder to reflect where we live. There are differences between Ashkenazic and Sephardic seders. The foods we eat and the interpretations we share reflect the time and place in which we live - third-century Alexandria, eighth-century Baghdad, 13th-century Spain, 16th-century France, 18th-century America.

Seder in the Valley of the Sun, 2004, is not our grandparents' seder.

Dozens of neighborhood businesses - among them Sweet Basil, Karsh's, Scottsdale Kosher Market, New York Bagels 'n' Bialys, Honey Moon Sweets - guide us with recipes and an array of foods.

We can attend seder at Havana Caf‚ (for a taste of Sephardic Judaism), Chompie's, Calico Cow, Chaparral Suites or Eddie Matney's.

Most of us, however, will be at home with family and friends, updating the Haggadah of our youth. We will personalize our seders by mixing and matching from a number of Haggadot and adding our own music and stories. We may even re-enact the Israelites' redemption from slavery, making the experience more engaging for children and adults alike.

No single template for the Passover seder exists. Many are traditional. Among other formats are the environmental seder, the vegetarian seder and the women's seder (as offered by Grand Court, for example). How we celebrate our seders reveals the organic, evolving nature of Judaism.

In the new century, the Web also plays a crucial role as a source of instant information and communication from Jewish communities around the world. We can use the Web not only to innovate our home seder, but also to sell our chametz, a service offered by rabbis in the former Soviet Union.

As we take advantage of the freedoms at our fingertips, let's remember that in other places, people lack the freedoms we take for granted - from Jews in Iran to Mexican migrants locked in homes not far from our own neighborhoods.

When at our seder's conclusion, we recite the words "next year in Jerusalem," we can pledge to ensure that next year, those who are still enslaved will taste the sweetness of freedom.

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