Please enter your username and password below. The years 2011
through 2015 mark the sesquicentennial of the American Civil
War. During this turbulent and divisive time, what was it like
being a member of the Jewish community at Passover? Certainly
Jews celebrated the calendar's yearly religious festivals and
holy days, but the celebration of Passover, when Jewish families
and friends gather to read the story of the Israelite exodus
from Egypt dramatized with additional stories in the Haggadah,
is somewhat like Shabbat. The joyous celebration occurs outside
the synagogue, usually without the benefit of clergy. This
holiday is unique. The centerpiece recapitulates a Biblical
story via a ritual meal that proceeds in a prescribed order
(Seder) with certain dishes given symbolic meanings to recall
the events of that story. Every family constructs its own minor
variations on the theme, but the retelling of the story is
basically the same with certain Passover traditions differing in
detail from community to communi