Auros ([info]auros) wrote,
2010-03-28 13:06:00
  • Mood: curious

The Obama seder...

I'm really curious how my observant Jewish friends feel about the White House Seder. It's hard to figure out exactly what the motivation is behind holding it, since it's clearly not part of Obama's own religion. Is it just a way to celebrate with the members of his staff who are Jewish? (There are a lot of those, including top advisors like Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod.) Does he think it's a good ritual to share with Malia and Sasha? Is it partly aimed at Jewish voters? (Seems very likely -- but doesn't it also stand a chance of offending some of them?)

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  • 18 comments

[info]perspicuity

March 28 2010, 21:12:33 UTC 2 years ago

or maybe he's trying to appease Israel? good luck...

#

[info]cyan_blue

March 28 2010, 21:25:23 UTC 2 years ago

Anyone's welcome at a seder... I think it's a nice statement of his presidency being inclusive of all kinds. And a further step away from the centuries-old government=Christian habit...

[info]auros

March 28 2010, 21:27:33 UTC 2 years ago

I could totally see it making sense for Obama to be welcome at a seder. But does everyone consider it welcome for a non-Jew to host a seder? It seems sort of unusual...

[info]jrtom

March 28 2010, 21:34:24 UTC 2 years ago

As a practical matter, if you've got the President involved, and the attendees are largely White House staff, it's probably a lot easier for everyone to just have it at the White House. (Otherwise you've got security issues and it's harder to make it an even semi-private gathering.) At that point it's probably at least awkward for anyone else to be the host.

Doesn't mean that people can't be offended, of course, but were I a Jew I think I'd see the practicality of this solution.

[info]cyan_blue

March 29 2010, 01:09:34 UTC 2 years ago

That being said, I'm not sure I'd have seated him at the head of the table ;-)

[info]mactavish

March 29 2010, 01:32:32 UTC 2 years ago

We had sort of fake ones when I was little, in catechism. It's a shared aspect of religious history, even though its lost its importance in Christianity, and it was part of my Christian education. I've told that to many Jewish friends and never heard that it's a big deal.

[info]bostorus

March 28 2010, 21:30:37 UTC 2 years ago

Not that I am a terribly observant Jew, but I don't care much one way or the other. I'm not sure how celebrating and honoring a tradition associated with another culture would be considered offensive.

There are a lot of noises about him offending the Jewish community / Israel; my suspicion is that this has a lot to do with it.

A less mercenary argument: as the President of all of the United States, not just the Christian parts, he has a responsibility to reach out to and understand other communities. He also held a St Patrick's Day celebration, even though he is neither Irish nor Catholic. His predecessor had Chanukah celebrations. That didn't seem to bother anyone. So it goes.


[info]angerona

March 29 2010, 00:34:22 UTC 2 years ago

he held the seder last year also. The pictures were very nice and it seemed that everybody enjoyed it.

I'd say it's a good tradition -- why not?

[info]kimuchi

March 28 2010, 21:31:10 UTC 2 years ago

I'm not an observant Jew, obviously, but it seems to me that this is less about the voters and more about the staff.

[info]dragondawn420

March 28 2010, 21:32:59 UTC 2 years ago

This. At least that's my impression after reading the article in the NYT about the White House seder and how it came about. My understanding is it was started by some Jewish members of Obama's staff during the election.

[info]cyan_blue

March 29 2010, 01:10:05 UTC 2 years ago

Yup, that's what the article said.

[info]metalana

March 28 2010, 23:02:48 UTC 2 years ago

Here's the link to the NYT article:

http://www.theage.com.au/world/why-is-this-seder-different-from-other-seders-20100328-r53j.html

If this seder were just for show, for Israel politics, etc., they would invite more important people and fewer unimportant people.

[info]urox

March 28 2010, 23:28:17 UTC 2 years ago

I'm not Jewish, but I'm glad to have participated in a Seder in my lifetime.

[info]compilerbitch

March 29 2010, 06:39:44 UTC 2 years ago

Am I the only person wondering what he has planned for Bealtaine? ;-)

[info]auros

March 29 2010, 19:29:30 UTC 2 years ago

Heh. We'll know we've become a truly diverse and tolerant society when somebody celebrates Saturnalia on the White House lawn. 8-)

[info]ala_too

April 3 2010, 03:18:08 UTC 2 years ago

The coverage of the seder went around my community extensively last year and (to a lesser extent) this year. It also was covered (at least in the US) by the Jewish press. Every comment I heard was very positive.

It's pretty well explained in the articles that the idea came out of some of his staff who were celebrating while on the campaign trail. Obama teased “Next year in the White House!” (a take-off on the traditional last phrase "Next year in Jerusalem." Making that happen the next year seems well in keeping with Obama's tolerance values.

Have you ever been to a seder Auros? It's a holiday that celebrates freedom. It's not unusual for the holiday to be celebrated with one's friends, Jewish and non-Jewish.

I wouldn't want to speak for President Obama. One can certainly infer that he thinks it is a good ritual to share with Malia and Sasha since they've been invited twice now. Why would it not be? It's core is something which is very, err, American: the desire for freedom. Even if it were not, I believe learning about how others celebrate their customs is a beautiful thing to teach children. It tends to bring an appreciation of the diversity and joy of the world.

Many Christians now celebrate seders as well since the Last Supper was a Passover seder. So there are connections into his own religion as well.

[info]philipgelb.blogspot.com

April 25 2010, 19:16:38 UTC 2 years ago

exceptional photo opportunity

[info]philipgelb.blogspot.com

April 25 2010, 19:17:05 UTC 2 years ago

and a love of a good bowl of matzah ball soup, which is highly understandable. :)
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