I recommend Cherry!
Having spent the weekend in Boston at a friend’s casual (non-orthodox and early) Passover feast, I started wondering about this “Feminist Seder” I’ve heard about.
The first feminist seder was organized by Esther Broner, Marcia Freedman, and Nomi Nimrod in Haifa in 1975. Inspired by the event, they wrote The Women’s Haggadah, first used in New York and Haifa in 1976.
The idea, according to the site Miriam’s Cup, is this:
Like most religions, Judaism developed within a patriarchal society. Men recorded and interpreted religious law and wrote the traditional prayers. Contemporary Jewish women face a dilemma-how can they forge a Jewish religious identity consistent with feminist values?
The Passover Exodus story of oppression and liberation echoes feminist struggles. Like the Israelites, women need to step outside familiar subservient roles in society and attempt a riskier life of independence and responsibility. Thus, Passover is the ideal holiday to highlight past and present concerns about the inclusion and equality of women in Jewish traditions and community.
Some of the new rituals include adding “Miriam’s cup,” to honor Miriam, prophetess who nurtured the Israelites throughtout their journey in the desert, adding an orange on the seder plate as a gesture of solidarity with Jewish lesbians and gay men (right on!), replacing male-biased language and content in the traditional haggadah, and dedicating each cup of wine to Jewish women who can serve as role models for women’s equality.
There are tons of creative ways that women have re-written this tradition! For more, Amy Goodman attended a feminist seder a while back, PBS hosts a conversation between Rabbi Joy Levitt and Kim Lawton of the Jewish Community Center in NYC about Women’s Seders, and the Velveteen Rabbi shares her own experience with the Feminist Seder saying, “The Williams College Feminist Seder project taught me that the words I pray belong simultaneously to the generations of tradition and to me. It gave me a sense of ownership of my tradition, and empowered me to add my voice to the chorus.”
1 Comment
April 2, 2007 at 8:47 am
I went to the women’s seder in New York City a few years ago. It was fantastic! A thousand women or more at each seating and beautiful music.