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Seder helps bridge gap between two faiths
By JEAN JOHNSON BROOKSVILLE -- Mildred Crafa and Jean Czyznik, members of the Women's Guild at St. Anthony Catholic Church, decided that this year they wanted to conduct an outreach program which would evangelize with people of another faith. They wondered how a different religion might tie in with their own Christian message. They believed that one of the ways to do this was to have a Jewish Passover seder. After receiving permission from their pastor, the Rev. Robert Donlan, Crafa and Czyznik called Temple Beth David Jewish Center and asked for help. That call led to a meeting with Sally Charloff, the temple's head of community affairs, and Gloria Goldman, one of the temple's cantorial soloists. It also led to a friendship which all four hope will last for a long time. Jewish people throughout the world began the eight day celebration of Passover last Thursday. Observed for more than 3,500 years without interruption, Passover is the celebration which commemorates the end of the Hebrews' enslavement in Egypt. The first night is of particular importance because of the tradition of the special family meal called the seder, during which foods of symbolic significance are eaten and prayers and traditional recitations are performed. Passover is sometimes called the Festival of Unleavened Bread because of the dietary rules, including the prohibition of eating leavened foods or beverages such as pasta, bread, beer, whiskey, breakfast cereal, grain vinegar and cookies. It commemorates the fact that the Jews, being in a hurry to leave Egypt, had no time to let their bread rise. It is also a symbolic way of removing the puffiness (arrogance, pride) from their souls. The seder is a way to relive the Exodus as a personal spiritual event and includes carefully prescribed rituals. Sharing this ritual with their Christian sisters and brothers, last Wednesday Goldman and Charloff led and assisted the Guild women in conducting this traditional Passover meal. "I told Sally I would like to have a true seder and she told me about the (required) ingredients," said Crafa. The 73-year-old New York transplant gave credit to the group of Guild women who shopped for the necessary seder ingredients: parsley and other raw vegetables dipped in vinegar or salt water; lamb; hard-boiled eggs; unleavened bread; and bitter herbs dipped into a mixture of fruits and wine. Charloff gave the women the recipes for the meal and they did all the cooking, including Crafa, who prepared the lamb. Although of the Jewish faith, Charloff was not a stranger when it came to being involved with the Christian faith. For five years she taught Sunday school in a Christian church and conducted a mock seder when she lived in Washington, N.J. "I invited them to the temple where they celebrated with the children who attended the synagogues religion school," Charloff said. During the seder ceremony, Goldman recited the Hebrew prayers while Charloff read the English sections. "We gave them some history and (explained) what the holiday stood for," Goldman said. Said Czyznik: "We got out our best china and found out when it was over that we could have used paper plates. And after washing all those dishes -- we'll remember next year." Crafa particularly enjoyed the camaraderie between women who were of different faiths. "We (the Guild women) were very involved in the procedures and everyone liked that. We didn't just sit there and let the ladies from the temple do everything." However, she said it was a lot of work for older women. "Everyone is getting old and can't do this stuff any more. We need young blood," said Crafa, pointing out that the young people usually work outside the home and don't have time to get involved in church activities until the children are grown and left home. Even so, the end result is what matters. The 50 plus guests all mentioned how enjoyable the meal was and expressed interest in future endeavors. "It was a lot of work, but wonderful," said Czyznik. "Everyone wrote down what they did and how much we used so next year a different group could do it. We'll critique the morning so next year we'll have it down pat," said the Brookridge resident, who is originally from Chicago. "We'll collapse later with our feet on a chair." Would she do it again? "Yes." Charloff agreed. "It went off wonderfully. The people were interested and we allowed them to read some of the translations. It was very, very nice." And what about Crafa? "Without Charloff and Goldman we could never have done it," she said. "Those two people were marvelous; everyone enjoyed the seder and learned a lot from it. "That was the main thing: to learn how closely related our religions are," Crafa said. Goldman marveled at how warm everyone was and how "they made us feel unbelievably comfortable." The cantorial soloist referred to someone who asked if she would return next year when they would invite 100 guests. "I got a kick out of the event," Goldman said. "It was a pleasant experience for them and for me. Basically, it means the time has come where people are realizing we have more things in common than we have differences keeping us apart." Because it was considered a particularly worthwhile occasion, Goldman looked at it as something to do on a continuing basis. She invited people from the church to visit the temple and explained the service "because people don't know there is nothing offensive to any other religion in a Jewish service. It's just a glorification and thankfulness to God. ... We basically want the same thing in our lives and find a peacefulness and interact with other good people."
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