Our Russian-Style Seders

Alan Meskin

By Alan Meskin March 28, 2012

Every April, in the households of Jewish families, we know that Passover is coming. The holiday that defines our freedom as a people is integral to our history and has become a symbol for our incessant struggle to gain liberty and justice as a free people. Of course those who are religious or are aware of Jewish holidays and traditions know the story of Passover and how it relates to every Jew in one way or another, from our struggles in Persia, survival in Czarist Russia and rebuilding after the Holocaust. But the holiday has struck a chord with the Russian Jewish community more recently.

In my family, as in many other Russian Jewish ones, we experience a scramble when it comes to celebrating religious holidays exactly how it is told to be celebrated. Yet, I think we do a great job at maintaining the main customs while also mixing in some Russian, yet kosher, delicacies. Every year we gather at a family friend’s house and congregate thirty or more people around an extended dinner table. We read the Haggadah, everyone drinks the four cups of wine, dips their green karpas in salt water, breaks apart their matzo, and eats their Hillel sandwich.

Certainly it may seem that our interpretation of Passover is right on point, but we also add in a few Russian salads and begin the meal as quickly as we can (though the kids get upset if we don’t hide the afikoman for them to find!). The asking of the Four Questions and the reading of the stories are an integral part of our celebration as they allow the younger guests at the table to experience our tradition of questioning and seeking knowledge.

I always enjoy Passover most because it has been the most spiritual outside of Yom Kippur as we take the time to reflect on the liberty and greatness of our lives and be thankful for our survival. To Russian immigrants especially, the holiday is a moment when they can think about the recent attainment of independence from the former Soviet Union and how they were let go after years of oppression and hatred. In light of the most contemporary metaphor for Passover, Jews worldwide should continue to tell our ancient story as a reminder of our identity but also as a time for discussion and personal growth.

Alan Meskin, 19, is from Sparta, N.J., and is a freshman at Rutgers University.

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.

In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.

At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.

Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO