Hillel at Brandeis, the Brandeis Pluralism Alliance, the Interfaith Chaplaincy and the Graduate Student Association hosted a Multicultural Freedom Seder in the South Campus Commons on Tuesday, April 12 to celebrate freedom and diversity while retelling the story of the Jewish exodus from Egypt. The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Passover holiday. The Seder revolves primarily around the retelling of the story of the Jewish exodus from Egypt and also focuses on educating younger generations about the history of the exodus.

Participants included the Brandeis Interfaith Group, the Brandeis Sephardic Initiative, Jewish Voice for Peace, Mitzvah Corps, MLK and Friends, the Muslim Student Association and Triskelion.

The program's haggadah, the traditional book used to recount the story of the exodus, highlighted the goals and underlying themes of the evening, as "tonight is a unique opportunity to explore religious and cultural diversity while sharing our own history, traditions, and experiences."

According to the haggadah used that evening, "Everyone at the table tonight comes from a different background and offers a different perspective. However, we have all experienced pain and joy, we have all felt oppressed and freedom."

While maintaining the traditional style of a seder, following the format presented in most haggadot, participants from various organizations read sections of the haggadah aloud, recited poetry or told stories that represented their particular struggle for freedom or equality, and sang songs that were part of the actual seder itself.

About 60 to 70 students were in attendance from various organizations on campus, as well as parents and professors.

Erica Shaps '13, a Hillel Campus Relations coordinator, a coordinator of the Brandeis Interfaith Group and a member of the Multicultural Seder planning committee said in an interview with the Justice, "The event was designed to use the structure of a traditional Jewish Passover seder to not only retell the Jewish Exodus leaving Egypt, but all stories of freedom, redemption and oppression throughout all time," she said. "It's an opportunity to ask questions about our world today, look back and celebrate our progress, and see how far we have to go with diversity on campus.