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Berkeley Hillel Community,
Every year at this time I’m anxious, excited, and overwhelmed all at the same time. I’m anticipating the building filing with students as they start arriving for one of the five different Hillel Seders. It is one of my favorite times during the year. Students from all different backgrounds come for Passover Seder and meals at Berkeley Hillel.
For some students, it is the first time they’ve been away from home for Passover, and for others, it is the first time they’ve been to a Seder, but everyone comes with such joy, gratitude, and openness to experience the Berkeley Hillel Seder together.
Before the night begins, I walk through the building to enjoy the calm before the storm and admire the distinctive beauty of tables set to take students on a journey from slavery to freedom. We truly have been able, at Berkeley Hillel, to follow the words of the Haggadah, כָּל דִכְפִין יֵיתֵי וְיֵיכֹל – Let all who are hungry come and eat.
Grace Vogel, a graduating senior, commented on her experience of attending her first Berkeley Hillel Seder:
My favorite memory at Hillel would have to be going to the Womxn's Seder my freshman year. I had nowhere to go and was feeling really homesick. I forgot to register for a Seder and last minute asked Lauren if it would be okay for me to come to the Seder. Not only did she insist that I come, but she made sure I felt welcomed and introduced me to people once I showed up. Passover is my favorite holiday to celebrate, so it made being away from home for the first time so much easier. I finally felt like I had a Jewish community in Berkeley.
I became a Hillel Rabbi for these experiences —to welcome students into our ‘home’ and introduce students to the beauty of our tradition. And this year I find myself preparing for a very different Seder. A Seder at home without three hundred students, without the chaos of people waiting in line for matzah ball soup, without our matzah eating challenge, without our search for the afikomen under the chairs. I’ve been thinking about the Ha Lach Ma, inviting everyone into our home to come and eat, and yet this year we can’t open our homes to anyone.
Last year we celebrated in crowded space, elbow to elbow, always able to add one more chair to the table. Social distancing wasn’t in our vocabulary. This year we will have plenty of space around the table.
I’ll miss counting if we have enough chairs, stressing over if we will have enough matzah balls, squeezing between the aisles of the chairs during Seder to talk to everyone. I’ll miss the students, because for me, for the past fourteen years, Passover was about the students. This year we celebrate in different homes, cities, and scattered all over the world in small family Seders.
Recently I've marveled at the connection of our community and what we’ve done at Berkeley Hillel. During days of sheltering in place we've increased our social media presence (you should check out our Instagram!), we’ve continued our robust learning with weekly Talmud classes, Coffee with Rashi, and Senior learning. Our weekly Café Ivrit has been as active as ever, and on Wednesday night we had an intense game of Jew-pardy (Mazal tov to our winners, Ronit and Gaby!). We have been asked to not just continue the learning but to increase it. The community is vibrant beyond the campus walls and I’ve come to understand this during these past few weeks.
For Passover this year, staff and students created a Passover Haggadah companion to provide a piece of Berkeley Hillel at your Seder table. We will also be hosting a short, virtual Seder on Zoom this evening. To receive the Zoom link, sign up on our website.
This year, while many of us are feeling too close to the shackles of slavery, we must not forget how the Haggadah ends.—with redemption. In the Passover story, we are commanded to see ourselves as if we were slaves and now we are freed. This year we will be redeemed too. Not by an angel, not by an act of God and not by Moses; this year, through our social distancing and the bravery of our healthcare professionals, we all have a role in redeeming our world.
I pray that next year our tables be crowded, that we are able to return to the worry we won't have enough chairs or enough matzah balls and may Berkeley Hillel be filled with excitement and joy of students celebrating with the Cal Family.
L’Shana Habah…BeYichad – Next Year…Together
Chag Samach,
Rabbi Adam
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