Hillel, Chabad Provide Local Passover Options

For the Jewish community, Friday marks the beginning of Passover, a holiday that celebrates the Jewish people’s escape from slavery in Egypt. As part of the celebration, Penn State Hillel will offer numerous opportunities for students to attend services with different themes.

All five Passover seders will be held at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center on Friday at 8 p.m. For students, tickets cost $18 in advance, and $25 at the door. For non-students, tickets cost $36 in advance and $45 at the door. This year’s themes are Traditional Seder, Freedom Seder, LGBTQA Seder, Music Seder, and Not Your Bubbe’s Seder.

Aside from the traditional seder, each of the others provides a unique perspective on the Passover service. The freedom seder focuses on social justice, and themes like freedom that coincide with the holiday. In a similar manner, the LGBTQA seder will revolve around pertinent topics in the LGBTQA community. The musical seder will integrate music into a more liberal seder, and not your bubbe’s seder will round out the bunch with what Hillel calls “a non-traditional, boisterous seder.”

Chabad of Penn State will host a community seder at 8 p.m. on Friday in the Rohr Chabad Jewish Center, 443 E. Waring Ave. in State College. Penn State students will be admitted for free, though donations are welcome. The cost for adults is $45 and children ages 3 to 12 are $18. Reservations can be made here. 

For Penn State students aiming to stay Kosher for Passover, West Halls’ Waring Commons will offer food options that fulfill the Passover diet requirements for the duration of the holiday. 

Congregation Brit Shalom in State College is also hosting a seder on Friday evening.