 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Rabbi offers a taste of Judaism
By MOLLY MOORHEAD ST. LEO -- As war clouds gathered this week over the Middle East, about 40 people -- few, if any, of them Jewish -- sat down together in east Pasco County and shared a Seder, a traditional Passover meal. They ate unleavened bread, recited ancient Jewish prayers and learned about one of the oldest religious traditions in the world. "This is the holiday that your family comes home for," Rabbi James Rudin told the group of students and clergy at Saint Leo University. Rudin is the school's distinguished visiting professor of religion and Judaica. In hosting the traditional meal and explaining its symbols, Rudin hoped to encourage understanding about and respect for Judaism. He said that's the most important work he can do in the current climate of strife. "In the world we live in right now, that's in very short supply," he said. Passover begins at sundown April 16 and lasts eight days. Jews will celebrate with a Seder the first two nights, sometimes having one at home and the other at their temple. In English, Seder means "order." There is a specific set of information about what the holiday means that must be discussed in a specific order during the meal. What Rudin hosted this week was a model Seder. He condensed the service -- which can last for four or five hours -- into less than an hour. Most Jews celebrate the Seder in their homes, with lots of food, wine and extended family members. Children sing and grownups talk about family matters. "The Seder has remained a uniquely Jewish tradition," Rudin said. Rudin, who worked for the American Jewish Committee and is a member of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission, is adamant that different religions keep their own traditions. At the same time, he likes to point out links to other faiths. Religious scholars have an ongoing debate over whether the Last Supper celebrated by Jesus was a Seder. Rudin said he's undecided but pointed out that two elements of the Seder -- unleavened bread and wine -- are also part of the Eucharist. Passover commemorates the freedom and exodus of the Jewish slaves from Egypt during the reign of the Pharaoh Ramses II. Mitzrayim, the Hebrew word for Egypt, means "narrow place." "Passover offers the message of leaving Egypt, leaving the narrow place, and being free," Rudin said. "The theme of freedom and liberation is still with us today. It's an eternal story." Rudin said Passover is the Jewish holiday that Christians can most identify with because it's in the New Testament of the Bible. "Passover is the feast that meant so much to Jesus," he said. One group in particular grabbed hold of Passover's theme, he said. "Is it any wonder that the slaves in this country took to this story more than any other in the Hebrew Bible? Imagine Alabama about 1840," he said. Rudin will celebrate Passover with his family in New York City, where his daughter and son-in-law are rabbis. He said he looks forward to reuniting with his family but also hopes that such celebrations, in homes or synagogues, make a small dent in improving the world. "(History) is not just an endless cycle that leads nowhere. History hopefully is onward and upward," he said. "That's what Passover teaches."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From today's Pasco Times | ||||||||||||||||
