[HANASHIR:8519] Women's seder

[LSalvay <LSalvay...>]

Hevrei,
Please indulge me, but I have to take a moment to gush. Last evening, the 
Kansas City Jewish community (well, the female half of it, anyway) 
experienced a Women's Seder that was, as at least one person put it, 
"awesome, in every sense of the word." 

We've had community-wide women's seders here before, but this was the best 
attended (270, plus a waiting list!), and by far the most spirited. The event 
was sponsored by the Women's Division of Jewish Federation, and attendees 
represented every facet of the Jewish community, from Orthodox to Reform (and 
perhaps even a few unaffiliated), as well as a number of non-Jews who came 
for the educational experience.

We utilized the Ma'ayan Passover Haggadah, a beautifully designed book that 
includes a lot of Debbie Friedman's songs -- but we also felt free to deviate 
from it, skipping portions that would have made the program too long (the 
whole thing lasted just under 2 and a half hours) and bringing in "outside 
resources" : With the 4 cups of wine, we had 4 women at different stages of 
life (teenager; young single woman; mother of young children; older woman 
with no one at home) who each gave a short presentation about her memories 
and reflections on Pesach. 

We had an additional songsheet with the rousing "Halleluyah Land" (Noah 
Budin) and a campy "Web of Women" (Rabbi Jack Gabriel), which we incorporated 
at appropriate points in the seder. 

Of course, music was crucial to the event's success (as every Hava 
Nashira-nik can attest!) It was performed/led by a local musical group 
affectionately known as "Yachad: The Traveling Tefillah Band," which was 
organized by HN-nik Devra Lerner and includes myself and 6 other musicians 
(instrumentation includes guitars, banjo, percussion, piano and cello). (Our 
group typically leads music at Renewal services at a couple of local 
congregations throughout the year.)

Everyone sensed from the beginning that the evening would be exhiliarating, 
and it was confirmed when Rabbi Amy Wallk Katz, the program facilitator, 
announced that we would sing a medley of songs: "Miriam's Song," "B'tzeit 
Yisrael," and "Dayeinu," and that "this might be a nice time to get up and 
dance if the spirit moves you." Well, the spirit moved at least 200 people, 
who leapt from their seats to fill the room with the most joyous dancing and 
ruach imaginable! Tambourines clattered, voices rose, lines of dancing women 
snaked around the tables. What an amazing sight to behold! (Thankfully, we 
captured it all on videotape.)

By the time we got to "L'Shana Haba-ah B'Yerushalayim" (the M. Nathanson tune 
that starts slowly and builds to a Hasidic-like fervor), everyone had been 
spiritually transported to some other "place."  We all had bonded with each 
other, and with the spirit of Pesach.

All this is a long way of saying that, if you have never held a women's seder 
in your community, start now to organize one for next year (as with any event 
of these proportions, it takes months of planning). What a magnificent way to 
usher in the "season of our freedom" for those of us who typically are 
relegated to kitchen duty this time of year! 

B'shalom,
Linda Salvay
(still buzzing from the musical and emotional high -- it was almost like 
being at HN!)

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