Why was this year’s Passover different from all other years?
According to the Pew Research Center, Passover is the most observed Jewish holiday in the United States, with some 70% of its Jewish population of 5.7 million usually participating in a Seder. This year, many restrictions remained in place, even as vaccination rates increased. The threat of infection remained real, and not everyone felt safe enough to venture out just yet.
For the past 15 years, Chabad has been on the forefront of hosting Seders and making Passover accessible to Jewish students at KU. With the challenges of the pandemic in mind, Chabad hosted two outdoor Seders plus a number of special passover events at the Jewish Greek houses on campus.
For the first time in the history of the KU Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, a full blown Seder was hosted for all the brothers on the second night of Passover. The spirit of brotherhood was felt as everyone present participated in the songs, rituals and, of course, the eating of the matzah and delicious brisket dinner.
“With the pandemic still going, it was unfortunate that many of us couldn’t celebrate Passover as we usually do, therefore when the idea was proposed to host a real Seder at the house we were ecstatic,” said Zac Cole, the master of the AEPi house. “It was so incredible to have close to 50 brothers singing, celebrating and enjoying the holiday together. We are so thankful to Chabad for providing us this amazing opportunity.”
During the week of Passover, a holiday dinner was also hosted at another Jewish fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau. Brothers joined together for a dinner, complete with engaging activities and fascinating discussions on the relevance of the story of the Exodus in our lives today.
“Working with Chabad keeps us focused on our Jewish values and roots. We were excited to host the ‘Zeta Beta Seda’ as it provided the brothers the opportunity to connect with each other over our shared Jewish heritage. Chabad is always there for us to provide spiritual and college guidance, not to mention the amazing food,” said ZBT heritage Chair Ethan Geller.
The relationship between Chabad and the Jewish fraternities on campus doesn’t stop at Passover. Both fraternities have Chabad programming on their calendars, among them Bagels, Lox, Tefilin (BLT), Shabbat Dinners and “FraTorah’’ gatherings of Jewish fraternity students to discuss various topics while finding relevance from Jewish wisdom for their own lives.
In addition to partnering with the two formal Jewish fraternities at KU, Chabad also has an outreach chair who focuses on engaging the Jewish Greeks who are part of other houses.
“It is so important for every student to feel part of the community, which is why we are hosting events this semester at various fraternities and sororities across campus,” said Braden Siegel, the outreach intern at Chabad. “We want every Jew to know they have a home here at KU where they are part of the family.”
Many of the ideals that the Chabad House and Greek houses work towards are complementary, said Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel, co-director of KU Chabad. “Today, college students can be extremely focused on themselves. Both Chabad and Greek organizations serve a similar important purpose: They show that there is value to being a part of something greater than oneself. Our message is to be a part of the tribe, be a part of the Jewish people.”
To learn more about Chabad’s Greek programming, visit www.JewishKU.com or contact KU Chabad at 785.832.8672.
