By Beth Lipoff / Contributing Writer
The new women’s seder hosted by The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah will have a touch of Hollywood, but its bigger theme is all about community.
The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah’s sisterhood has held a women’s seder about every two years, but this is the first time it’s open to the entire community.
“This was kind of my dream to make this happen, to have a community-wide women’s seder, and unbeknownst to me, B’nai Jehudah had been doing that,” said Barb Kovacs, chairperson of women’s philanthropy for the Federation.
Kovacs said the planning for the seder has been in the works since 2017.
The idea to frame it with some themes from “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” came from the Federation.
“It’s just such a fun show, and we thought that would be a way to bring it all together and make it relevant for today,” Kovacs said.
They’re encouraging—but not requiring-- attendees to dress in late 1950s-style clothing. That might mean pencil skirts, evening gloves, pastels, short scarves, high-waisted pants with collared shirts or pillbox or cloche hats.
“I think the show attracts a variety of age groups. That’s my goal-- to have mothers and sisters and daughters sitting together as a huge community,” Kovacs said. “I don’t think we cross enough community lines between congregations to really come together as women. We have so many powerful women and women who have talent to be developed.”
Robin Prosini, president of sisterhood at B’nai Jehudah, agreed.
“I think (the seder is) a celebration of women. I think always as a goal, we want to be inclusive. This is another way we can be more inclusive,” Prosini said.
Kovacs and Prosini hope to attract a crowd of about 200 women from across the community.
Although some of the atmosphere of the seder will center around Mrs. Maisel, most of its content will not. What the event’s content does have in common with the popular show is a series of strong female protagonists.
“It’s about a strong woman who’s trying to become a stand-up comic in a world full of men stand-up comics, and we’re going to try to bring in some of the fun of the show into it as well,” said Rabbi Sarah Smiley. “I feel like that allows us to add another layer, bringing something that’s fun and in pop culture right now to something that’s been a tradition in Jewish history for a really long time.”
As anyone familiar with the story of Exodus knows, the traditional tale told around a seder plate focuses on the story of Moses and how later rabbis interpreted it. The women’s seder will still tell that story but shift the focus onto the strongest woman in the story—Moses’ sister Miriam.
“Torah is interpreted a lot through the lens of the male perspective, and this gives us an opportunity to look at Miriam’s story as well and kind of learn the other side of things,” said Rabbi Sarah Smiley.
Expect to see guest appearances in the story from those who might not get a mention in older haggadot, like Shifra and Puah, a pair of midwives who defied the pharoah’s orders. Another way to reframe the traditional narrative is looking at the questions asked by four daughters instead of four sons.
Smiley said she and other female clergy in the community have been working together to create a program for the event that uses both the traditional elements of Passover and incorporates the work of female musicians and storytellers.
Those works will include Debbie Friedman’s well-known “Miriam’s Song” but also compositions by novelist Marge Piercy.
“It talks about the same concepts—courage and being able to move forward and all the hard work you needed to go through,” Smiley said.
They’re using a haggadah put together by Rabbi Beryl Pador as a foundation. This seder won’t have a printed haggadah; organizers are using the technological capabilities of the newly-remodeled B’nai Jehudah building to have a more multi-media type of presentation.
The food will be standard seder fare, although because it won’t take place on Passover, it’ll just be Vaad-supervised kosher, not kosher for Passover. There are gluten-free and vegan options.
By not holding it during the holiday, “We can do things a little bit outside the parameters of what actually needs to happen during a seder, and so we’re being a little creative with it, a little fun with it. So it’s a seder at the same time as being a learning moment for all of us,” Smiley said.
As part of the women’s seder, B’nai Jehudah’s sisterhood is asking attendees to bring feminine hygiene products to donate to Jewish Family services.
The women’s seder will be a 12 p.m., Sunday, March 29 at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. Tickets are $36. Half-price tickets are available for attendees ages 12 to 24. To attend, register by March 1 by visiting www.jewishkansascity.org/2020Seder or calling (913) 327-8107.