Let all who are hungry come and eat.
That’s one of the shortest, and most memorable, lines in the Haggadah used in many seders. It was one of the themes of last year’s Community Second Night of Passover Seder sponsored by the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City and held at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.
The second night seder will once again be held this year at B’nai Jehudah on Tuesday, April 19. (See below for more information.) Last year participants literally helped feed the hungry by preparing food for the needy prior to their own feast. This year the theme is “Experience an interactive journey from slavery through the 15 steps to freedom.”
The seder will be led by B’nai Jehudah’s Senior Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff as well as Rabbi Robert Tobin, Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner, Rabbi Scott White, Cantor Sharon Kohn and Hazzan Rob Menes. As the host congregation’s rabbi, Rabbi Nemitoff explained that the community seder is special because it brings people together.
“Seders traditionally are meant to be held in one’s home. We recognize that there are plenty in our community who lack the capacity to either prepare a seder or don’t have other family or, quite honestly, don’t have the energy to do a second or a first seder. This is an opportunity for the community to open up the community’s home,” he said.
It’s rare, Rabbi Nemitoff said, for a person to attend a seder that is conducted by multiple members of the clergy.
“It’s a unique opportunity to learn from all these clergy,” he said.
In the past the community has sponsored two community seders in an effort to encompass various levels of religious observance. This year the only seder will be the one offered at B’nai Jehudah, but Rabbi Nemitoff believes any Jew would be comfortable at the seder.
“It will try to create a balance between an experience that people will recognize as a seder and also be something contemporary, modern and engaging for people,” he explained. “Most members of the Jewish community will find their level of practice and observance accommodated within our seder experience.”
For instance, when last year’s group broke into smaller groups to prepare food for the homeless, Rabbi Nemitoff explained that those who didn’t feel comfortable participating for religious or other reasons were simply able to choose not to participate.
“Our community is remarkable because as a community we recognize everybody’s needs and we do our very best within a communal setting to provide for those needs and at the same time provide a unique and original interpretation of the seder experience.”
One reason the seder has so many interpretations, Rabbi Nemitoff explained, is that while the commandment to observe Pesach, written in the book of Exodus, is very clear, the rest is not.
“The story of remembrance is the same, but the way in which we do it with the meal, with the Haggadah and the elaborate traditions connected to that meal are not in the Torah,” he said.
Those traditions, according to Rabbi Nemitoff, come from the Greco-Roman period. “The Greco-Roman banquet is what the model was for our seder meal. So throughout history we have accommodated and changed, based on both our current experiences and the current necessities,” he said.
Last year many participants commented on the engaging way Rabbi Tobin chose to present the maggid, the telling of the Passover story. He is expected to play that role again this year. The two cantors will pass along the message of Passover through music.
While the details for this year are still being worked out, Rabbi Nemitoff said the goal is for the evening, including the actual meal, to last between two and two and a half hours.
Over the years many have enjoyed the community seder and attend on a regular basis. Comment cards are always distributed to see what participants like and how the event can be enhanced. Last year’s comments were complimentary.
“My kids loved it and had a great time and thought it was the best seder ever so that makes me happy,” wrote one participant. “One theme my family found most interesting is that we take care of feeding all who are hungry. I loved that and thought it was the best message for my kids and for me.”
Many others also enjoyed the mitzvah project and complimented the food, one calling it “superb.”
About the second seder
When: Tuesday, April 19
Where: The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah
Time: 6:30 p.m.
The food will be kosher-for-Passover and prepared under the supervision of the Vaad Hakashruth of Greater Kansas City. The cost for an adult meal (chicken or vegetarian) is $33; $13.50 for children between the ages of 4 and 9 and free for children under 4. Reservations are mandatory and are due by April 11. Financial assistance is available. For more information, contact Annette Fish, administrator/program director, at or (913) 327-4622, or visit the Rabbinical Association’s website at www.kcrabbis.org.
