Jewish community celebrates Passover with Seder at SCV Senior Center
A jovial atmosphere surrounded the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center at Bella Vida on Tuesday for the annual Passover Seder hosted by Rabbi Mark Blazer of Temple Beth Ami.
Jews from across the Santa Clarita Valley welcomed each other as they walked in the room to celebrate the holiday. Alan Kivnik, a six-year resident of Santa Clarita, had his family’s Seder on Monday, the first night of the holiday, before he decided to attend the communal dinner on Tuesday. Passover ends at sundown on April 30.
“We had a table full of people yesterday. It was fabulous,” Kivnik said. “I love Passover. Last year we came, we came to this communal one, and it was great seeing so many people. A lot of familiar faces, people we didn’t know. Rabbi Mark does a terrific job in directing this.”
There were approximately 200 people in attendance on Tuesday, according to Blazer, who said this year’s Passover is a little bit different. The biblical story from the Book of Exodus of the Jewish people escaping slavery in Egypt, Blazer said that while it is typically a holiday of celebration, this year, he’s thinking about the Israelis who are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza and are not able to celebrate being free.
“It’s tough not to think about them,” Blazer said. “We have a seat at our Seder this year that’s been set aside for the hostages and to remind us that their tables, their families, are missing them this year.”
Blazer led attendees in the Seder, which literally translates to “order” in Hebrew, going over each of the steps and their importance along the way. A traditional Seder plate includes:
Matzah to represent the unleavened bread that the Jews quickly made before escaping from Egypt.
A shank bone to represent the lamb sacrificed on the eve of the exodus.
A roasted egg to symbolize the festival sacrifice, as well as a symbol of spring.
Charoset, or a mixture of apples, nuts and spices, to represent the mortar used by Jewish slaves to build Egyptian structures.
Parsley to be dipped in saltwater to symbolize the tears shed by the Jewish people during their enslavement.
Bitter herbs, typically horseradish, to represent the bitterness of slavery.
Rita and Suzie, who declined to provide their last names, are originally from Egypt and moved to the United States following the Six-day War in 1967. Afraid of displaying their Jewish heritage in public while living in Egypt, both said it is liberating to be able to freely celebrate the holidays and the culture.
“We had a lot of hard times in Egypt, because we were discriminated against,” Rita said. “They took all our money, they took everything. And they had a lot of Jews in jail.”
As the Seder moved along, Blazer was helped by guitarist Wendy Hersh and his wife, Tracy, in leading attendees in songs and prayers.
A group of children were brought up to help sing a song before the asking of The Four Questions. These questions, typically asked by children to help them learn about the meaning of Passover, ask: why this dinner is different; why matzah, and not leavened bread, is eaten; why only bitter herbs are used instead of all vegetables; why food is dipped twice in water; and why people recline rather than sit upright.
“The whole idea is to have kids ask questions and to encourage them to be a part of the discussion and to always, not just at Passover but throughout the year, to be inquisitive,” Blazer said.
Kivnik said that idea was also present at his family’s Seder on Monday, which included guests who have recently embraced their Jewish ancestry and were celebrating Passover for the first time.
“Everything was new,” Kivnik said. “All the food was new. The ritual, the Seder plate, the stories. There was a lot of discussion about why our family does things this way as opposed to that way. So, that was really nice. Really, really nice.”
Asked what his favorite part of the holiday is, Kivnik said there were too many to choose from.
“I love the Seder. I love the food,” Kivnik said. “My wife breaks her back putting all of that food and everything organized on the table. I wish I could tell you why people love any religion or holidays. It just means something special for them.”