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Your Turn to Host the Seder?

Perhaps you've turned to this guide because you have married into a Jewish family and this year, it's your family's turn to host the Passover seder. Passover is a perfect holiday to honor your own background while teaching your children about Judaism and connecting with your Jewish relatives. The themes of liberation and family origins in the traditional haggadah text can expand to include your experience. We've included a bibliography of resources for families leading a Passover seder to help you make something meaningful for everyone.

Here's the short list of what you'll be doing:

  • Preparing the house for Passover
  • Inviting guests (this doesn't require formal invitations! A phone call or email will do it.)
  • Planning the seder service, including providing copies of the haggadah you choose for each participant
  • Planning and coordinating the cooking of a festival meal, including wine or grape juice and ritual foods. To satisfy most Jewish guests, you'll need to do your best to prepare foods that are kosher for Passover. To be safe, pick up a Passover cookbook or a Jewish cookbook from the bookstore or library--they will have lots of kosher-for-Passover recipes.
  • Enjoying your family and friends the night of the seder!

It can be a lot of work to host a seder, and we hope that your enjoyment on seder night will be considerable.

The Guide to Passover for Interfaith Families is also available in PDF and Word formats.

The spring holiday commemorating the Exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. The Hebrew name is "Pesach." Hebrew for "telling," the text that outlines the order of the Passover seder. There are many, many versions of this book, which dates back almost 2,000 years. Because we are commanded to expand upon the story, the Haggadah contains ancient interpretations, as well as stage directions and explanations, for the Passover meal. Hebrew for "fit" (as in, "fit for consumption"), the Jewish dietary laws. Hebrew for "order," refers to the traditional course of events, or service, surrounding the Passover and Tu Bishvat meals.
InterfaithFamily

InterfaithFamily is the premier resource supporting interfaith couples exploring Jewish life and inclusive Jewish communities. We offer educational content; connections to welcoming organizations, professionals and programs; resources and trainings for organizations, clergy and other program providers; and our new InterfaithFamily/Your Community initiative providing coordinated comprehensive offerings in local communities.

If you have suggestions, please contact network@interfaithfamily.com.

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