Spirituality
Third New Hope Minister Elmo
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"The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s
message [of maintaining unity] should
be in every Haggadah," says Temple
Israel Rabbi Paul Yedwab. "It absolutely
fit perfectly into the theme."
Rabbi Marla Hornsten, the youngest
of the Temple Israel clergy, asked the
Four Questions. Modern-day plagues of
intolerance, injustice and war were listed,
followed by their effects, including
destruction, death and loss of freedom.
Common Ground
The group sang songs with universal
words of thanks to God and about steps
to freedom, such as Passover's "Dayenu"
and "We Shall Overcome," the song that
emerged during the 1960s civil rights
movement.
The seder began with the blowing of
the shofar and ended with the song
"Oseh Shalom," which a church mem-
ber led, in Hebrew. The song contains
the phase: "May God who makes peace
in the heavens above allow that peace to
descend upon all people."
The seder's final word was a resound-
ing, inclusive, "Amen."
Rabbi Yedwab says it was exhilarating
to expand a traditional seder to include
youth choirs from both congregations as
well as the sounds of gospel songs of
freedom.
"My parents marched with Martin
Luther King in Selma," Rabbi Yedwab
says. "I grew up surrounded by Jews and
African Americans intertwined.
"Even though black and Israelite slav-
ery is a millennia apart, there is a certain
resonance between them. So what could
be more natural than sharing the seder
with an African American church?" he
asks.
"The best way to understand and
appreciate each other is to break
bread in each other's homes. I
think we should be doing a lot
more to connect with Detroit,
churches, blacks and was very
excited that Rabbi Bennett had
put this seder together," she says.
"I truly hope that we get invited
to their church or just participate
in other events together."
That appears to be the plan.
"We want to start a pulpit exchange,"
Rabbi Yedwab says. "We want them to
come back in the summer when we hold
our outdoor Shabbat service."
Finsilver says, "I actually feel like I
After the seder, visitors toured the
synagogue.
"The group reacted to seeing our ark
crafted after the Tabernacle as described
in the Torah," Rabbi Yedwab says. "For
Baptists to see our mikvah was a real
experience."
made new friends that evening — not
Church member Sandra West says,
"We were
invited to
ask ques-
tions and
they
showed us
all around,
even into
the sanctu-
ary where
they con-
duct ser-
vices. We
saw where
they keep
the scroll
and the
Rabbi Bennett hands the shofar to Third New Hope's Isaih Faut, 11,
lights that
to begin the seder.
light up on
the
like we were just inviting some strangers
anniversary of when somebody died."
into our home that we would never see
She volunteered to participate in the
again. We really, truly connected on a
seder after an invitation was offered to
very
meaningful and loving relation-
congregants during a recent service at
ship."
her church.
Sandra West agrees. "We all bonded
"As soon as the pastor got the words
and
it was touching for us to all be seat-
out of his mouth that this was going to
ed
together,
side-by-side, feeling a gen-
happen, I couldn't wait to run up and
uine love for them and they for us. It
give my name," she says. "I've always
made me think about Martin Luther
been curious how other groups celebrate
King."
and worship. I went hoping to learn and
She says, "God's presence was there. I
be educated on this type of service, and I
went
away feeling really enriched and
was."
blessed
and glad I went. I know the Lord
Shari Finsilver, a Temple Israel mem-
was
pleased,
too."
ber who attended the seder, says, "I was
❑