Freshman Stephanie Lande has never spent Passover away from her family. However, since she?s from New York, Lande wasn?t able to return home to celebrate with her family this year.
?It?s a little hard because I?m not with family but at the same time it?s a new experience,? the occupational therapy major said.
Lande didn?t allow her distance from home stop her from celebrating Passover, a Jewish holiday composed of two dinners known as Seders during which members of the Jewish faith remember their ancestors? escape from Egypt.
?It?s a holiday in which you spend time with family and it?s hard not eating by their side but at the same time like you?re remembering what your ancestors and everyone else went through to get you the freedom that you currently have,? Lande said.
For first-time college students, observing Passover away from their families may seem intimidating, but Lande said this year she was able to celebrate with friends, friends whom she calls her ?second family.?
During the first Seder Monday, March 25, Lande went home with her friend, freshman Maggy Kay.
?It was good because it was a new experience and I felt very welcome, very comfortable there,? Lande said. ?Even though I wasn?t with my family, I felt personally welcome with her family.?
Kay, an elementary and special education major, said that she considers Passover a home-oriented holiday and welcomed Lande to her home.
?It is really a family holiday,? she said. ?You don?t really go to services.?
Though she went home for the first night of Seder, Kay said it would be too difficult to work around classes to go home on both nights.
?I think it will be different but I think it will be interesting to see how other people experience Seder,? Kay said.
Both Kay and Lande participated in Hillel?s observation of second Seder. They said that they feel Hillel, a college-campus- based Jewish organization, has become a support group for them.
About 10 percent of Towson?s student population is Jewish, according to Towson Hillel?s website, and Lande said new students should not be afraid to find friends with whom they can share events like Passover.
?If you want to join a group such as Shabbat or Hillel, you should because they?ll be your second family and they?ll always be there for you no matter what,? she said.
Source: http://www.thetowerlight.com/2013/03/new-family-same-seder/
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