Georgetown University’s Office of Jewish Life hosted an annual Passover Seder, a ritual feast held the first night of Passover, which celebrates the Israelite exodus from Egypt, in the Leavey Center Ballroom April 22.

Rabbi Daniel Schaefer, the interim director for Jewish Life, led attendees in the service, which follows the 15 steps of the Haggadah, the text that tells the story of Passover. Jewish and non-Jewish students, faculty and community members, including Fr. Mark Bosco, S.J., Vice President for Mission and Ministry, and other members of Campus Ministry, attended the service.

Schaefer said that Passover is an important time to celebrate Judaism’s community ties and religious traditions.

“Most people celebrate at home with their friends and family, so people grew up with often warm memories of time together with people they love,” Schaefer told The Hoya. “But religiously, it’s a very significant holiday. It’s both a spring festival and it’s a festival that commemorates the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to freedom and represents the hope for a better future for the Jewish community and for all people.”

Rafael Bruder (MSB ’27), a Jewish student who attended the Seder, said that it is an important opportunity to connect with Georgetown’s Jewish community.

“Passover is a really good time for the Jewish community to come together, even people who don’t normally come to other Jewish cultural events, and so it’s nice to see the room full and have good food and share in tradition,” Bruder told The Hoya. “It’s been nice to discover other Jewish students. The community becomes a lot smaller when you start talking to people and meeting them.”

Jewish Life and the Georgetown Jewish Association offer various forms of programming throughout the year to connect and support Jewish members of the Georgetown community, including weekly Shabbat services, off-campus Shabbaton retreats and holiday observances such as the Passover Seder.

This year marks Schaefer’s final Passover Seder at Georgetown, as he is departing Georgetown after the end of the 2023-24 academic year. He will return to his childhood synagogue and become the rabbi there.

Schaefer added that, for many students, the Seder marked their first at Georgetown, and Jewish Life strove to make the service as welcoming as possible and allow students to feel a sense of home even while at school.

“What we wanted was for them to have a sense of community, a feeling of being connected to their tradition,” Schaefer said. “It’s very hard to be away from home during these holidays. And so, for me, it was important to just try and give people a place where they could connect to each other to connect to the tradition.”

For Emily Vincent (MSB ’27), a first-year Jewish student, this year marked the first Passover Seder she celebrated away from home. Vincent said that the celebration made her feel welcome at Georgetown and allowed her to connect with other Jewish students and members of the Georgetown community.

“At home, my high school had probably three Jews in its totality, so being here and seeing all of the people who come and gather for this occasion, even people who aren’t Jewish, just coming with their friends or just to experience it, has been really interesting to see, especially because this is a Catholic school,” Vincent told The Hoya. “It’s nice that they make space for this and they’ve done everything to make us all feel welcome.”

Schaefer said that the availability of religious services on campus that may be different from one’s own presents Georgetown students with a unique opportunity to experience many religions, one he hopes students take advantage of.

“I think one of the best things about Georgetown is that you have an opportunity to go to Shabbat service, go to Jummah, go to Mass, go to a meditation all in one week with your friends,” Schaefer said. “It’s an incredible time to get to explore and be exposed to different traditions and to do it in a safe and welcoming place.”

“I hope that everybody during their time here goes and visits a service or experiences a ritual that they didn’t grow up with, and it helps them better understand their friends and communities around campus,” Schaefer added.