According to the Pew Research Center’s report, “Jewish Americans in 2020,” while only 20% of Jews go to synagogue monthly, more than three times that amount, 62% of Jews reportedly celebrate Passover by participating in a Seder. This statistic it has always resonated with me.
It first struck me because Passover is my favorite holiday. The fact that it is the most widely celebrated of the major Jewish holidays made me think that I must not be the only one who favors Pesach. It makes me think about what it is about the story of our Exodus of Egypt that is still so tangible today.
Upon my own reflection, here’s three main reasons why it still resonates so deeply for me, and I assume many others.
- Home hospitality: While you can have a Seder pretty much anywhere, during my upbringing, the Seders I would attend were always home hosted. This inherently makes the celebration feel familial. You are around the table with friends, family, and part of Jewish tradition is encouraging us to invite new friends who have nowhere else to go, or folks who have not experienced a Seder before.
- Resilience and strength: The Passover story is one of bravery, leadership, and belief. These are tenets of the Jewish faith and peoplehood that have kept us together for so many years, and ones that we are proud to share with others. If you wanted to show someone what being Jewish was all about, the Seder is a great one stop shop to doing so.
- FUN: I don’t know about you, but the Seders I go to are always fun. And while the four glasses of wine do help, I’d argue that it’s just as fun with glasses filled with Kedem grape juice rather than wine. Passover comes with storytelling, songs, and food! Some families go further with 10 plague charades or other fun games during the course of the Seder.
You may be wondering to yourself, OK Jesse, you’re the Executive Director of the Gordon JCC, we get you like Passover but how does this connect back to the J? Well, I’m so glad you asked! As Passover has resonated with our community over the past 3,000 years, our Gordon JCC has resonated similarly over the past 123 years – and the reasons are indistinguishable.
We strive to have create a home atmosphere for members here at the J. We’ve been referred to as “the living room for the Jewish community,” as well as folks referring it to their “home away from home.” And just like at a Passover Seder, we aim for a familial setting where you can bring a friend and share your culture with them.
As the Passover Seder displays our strength and resilience, so too does the J in instilling our Jewish values and culture daily in each of our programs. And of course, the fun. There is no limit to the fun being had here on the 52 acres on 801 Percy Warner Blvd. From laughing children at a Friday morning shabbat, to a hilarious comedic movie in our Nashville Jewish Film Festival, or even our bevy of TGIT programs, there is no doubt we do fun well here at the J.
If you’re like me, and you feel the resonate power of Passover, you may find just as much joy in getting involved here at the Gordon JCC. I’m always here to help people get engaged with our programming, so please feel free to reach out to me at jesse@nashvillejcc.org when you’re ready to jump in!
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