Series investigates Passover
By KIFLIN TURNER
Associate News Editor
It only takes an idea, and the rest is history—literally.
This is the first year that a series focusing on the Passover and Judaism will take place at Notre Dame, and on Monday night an informal talk bringing faculty and students together to address issues relating to Judaism from cultural, religious and scientific perspectives came to campus.
After noting a surprising discrepancy of interpretations of the Old Testament by his fellow classmates in one of his Program of Liberal Studies classes, sophomore C. Spencer Beggs initiated the first steps in organizing a forum to openly question, debate and perhaps dispel common misconceptions about the Passover and Judaism.
"My real goal in the whole series is to make Christians better Christians, Jews better Jews, and Atheists better Atheists," said Beggs, who is Jewish.
Broadening the scope of understanding, the sophomore said, would be beneficial for his classmates in learning through different and unique perspectives.
Passover, as told from the book of Haggadah, is a response to four questions asked by children about the plight of the Jews from Egypt in the Exodus. In re-telling this historical event, one is able to transcend historical boundaries in symbolically becoming a slave and experiencing the freedom from oppression, according to government professor Peri Arnold, who is Jewish.
"It's evocative of one's own past," said Arnold. "It involves a set of stories that intertwine: the story of freedom and liberation."
Becoming a storyteller and remembering Passover allows the participants to reflect on the struggles of the past and the present, said Arnold.
"It's about inscribing yourself into the tradition," said Hindi Najman, assistant professor and Kapson Chair in Jewish studies. "Everyone shares the bloodshed."
She identified the Torah as an influential text used to bring the Hebrew historical experience to the forefront in initiating unity among present-day Jews.
"We all share that text, we share the same origins," said Najman.
Arnold also related to the unifying and inspiring ceremonial tradition of the Passover.
"Passover reminds me, too, of that personal struggle that all of us have," said Arnold.
Located at the center of the story of Passover is the Seder feast, a symbolic meal that represents the time of Jewish slavery in Egypt.
"We are invited in the Seder to join that storyline," said Arnold. He added that the dinner relates a sense of peoplehood in history when Israel became a united nation.
For Najman, Passover embodies above all the importance and immediacy of family. She described it as an "ordinary" event in terms of the little things that are capable of bringing the community together and in educating future generations.
"The idea of teaching is very essential to every part of the Seder," said Najman. "The goal of telling the story us to recount it and re-tell it."
Najman noted that telling the story of Passover through God alone without Moses through the Haggadah as especially fascinating. In this way, there is immediate revelation, Najman said.
Responding to a question about whether Judaism could be defined on an ethnic, religious or hereditary basis, Arnold pointed out that Judaism is non-denominational and is first and foremost a commitment to living an ethical and moral life.
"What binds us together is far more deep," said Arnold referring to texts and the historical experience.
Instead of accepting a prescribed set of beliefs, Najman argued that Judaism does not require a dogmatic confirmation.
"It's important to say there is no doctrine of beliefs in Judaism," said Najman.
Maintaining this connection to the past and continuing to hold these beliefs in the present, however beneficial to those of Jewish origin, has unfortunately created a rift of separation between Christians and Jews.
"The historical separation of Judaism makes it hard to read the Christian tradition with a kind of sympathy," said Arnold. "It is a tragedy, but it is one in a line of tragedies," said Arnold.
"I think that Jews have objected to the Christian interpretation of the Old Testament in that it tended to be subsumed," said Henry Weinfield, associate professor of the Program of Liberal Studies.
Sponsored by the College of Arts and Letters, the second night of the three-day series will cover "The Symbolism and Meaning of Passover" tonight at 8 p.m. in the Morrissey Manor Chapel.
As a closing activity, the traditional Seder dinner will take place Wednesday at 7:04 p.m. (sundown) in Greenfield's Café. The dinner is free and seats are still available through the PLS office in 215 O'Shaughnessy Hall.
All News Stories for Tuesday, March 26, 2002
