by guest author, Jaylie Smith.

The annual African American Jewish Seder was an interesting event to witness for myself.  Although this was a Seder, it was held at All Saints Catholic Church which made me even more curious to see what it was like.  There was a mixture of Jews and African Americans mingling and having a great time.  While observing this event, I saw that at every table there was at least one Jewish person showing and helping everyone conduct the Seder.  As we proceeded through each step of the Seder, the leader directed everyone to point to each food in which to recognize what it was and why it was on the plate.

At every table there were packets for each person to follow along in.  These packets were filled with the order of the Seder, and what things you were to say, like all of the brachas and the four questions.  Also for some parts of the packet there would be sections where people could read along and sections where individual people would stand up and speak.  There were times when people would talk about the history of Pesach and the reasons why Pesach is celebrated. Read More.