Hillel House creates home for students during Passover

For some students, 9:05 p.m. Thursday will pass without a second thought, but for more than 3,800 Jewish students it will mark the end of a celebration.

For eight days, Jewish students visited the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center to eat lunches and dinners free of leavened products during the holiday.

“It’s all about keeping a good attitude, even if you are used to eating out,” said senior and former Hillel President Dena Kranzberg as she ate ravioli made from matzah meal.

She said matzah tastes like Saltine crackers without salt. She added that the foods served at Hillel come from a Jewish food company that even makes matzah waffles.

The Jewish holiday of Passover began April 8 and will end half an hour after sundown on Thursday.

During this holiday, Jews refrain from eating leavened products or anything with bread in it. Some also refrain from other foods that expand when cooked, such as rice and beans.

Hillel Executive Director Rabbi Sue Shifron said the holiday is a celebration of the Jewish people’s exodus from Egypt and freedom from slavery. She added the holiday reminds people to treat others well and remember all people have the right to be free.

Junior Mark Swick, Hillel student president, said the Jewish people fled Egypt quickly and didn’t have time to wait for their bread to rise.

Kranzberg said she could normally eat lunch at a restaurant on Kirkwood Avenue such as Noodles & Co., Qdoba or Dagwood’s, but during Passover she can’t. Hillel served meals twice a day for Passover to Jewish students who either paid when they arrived or bought the meals online.

Sophomore Gail Rosenbaum said Hillel has given her a place to gather with other students and has supported her because it’s not easy to avoid bread. Between meals, she said she eats matzah she keeps in her room and kosher candy her synagogue at home sent to her for the holiday.

She added that when she celebrates Passover at home, people don’t always eat in large groups for every meal, but eating at Hillel gives her the opportunity to see everyone who is also celebrating.

Swick said the Passover celebration is bigger when he is on campus than when he is home, where the holiday is more about family. He said he was pleasantly surprised because

sometimes it is hard to see the large amount of Hillel members on campus, but a lot of students came out to celebrate the holiday.

At the beginning of Passover, Hillel hosted both reform and conservative Seder meals. During the meal, the story of the holiday is told. Kranzberg said no matter where people are, the texts read at the meal are uniform.

“It’s the idea of passing on tradition,” she said, “We do it for the kids to pass on tradition.”

Shifron said that at home, students would celebrate the Seder with their family, but at Hillel they celebrate with hundreds of people.

Rosenbaum said the Seder at home is more creative and based on family traditions, but that is hard to do on campus because traditions vary.

“I try to make compromises to make everyone feel at home,” she said.

Swick said one of his goals is for students to feel welcome and comfortable at Hillel. He added celebrating Passover on campus is unique because the community comes to him at the center.

During Passover lunch and dinner, students visit the center, all welcomed by the sign on the outside door:

“Welcome to IU Hillel: your Jewish home away from home.”