Submitted by Rabbi Arthur Waskow on
Sponsored by The Shalom Center
A treasury of materials from this event is available at https://theshalomcenter.org/freedomseder50
Sunday April 7, 2019
Dinner - 5pm, Seder - 7pm
Masjidullah
7401 Limekiln Pike, Philadelphia 19138
Pre-registration required. It will start mid-January at
https://tinyurl.com/freedomseder50
Come co-create an interfaith pre-Passover Seder that transforms the ancient struggle of Israelites from slavery to Pharaoh to confronting the Pharaohs of today:
- Racism – in official policies of white nationalism, religious bigotry, and immigration injustice
- Materialism – in the form of extreme economic inequality and devastation of the Earth
- Militarism – overseas and at home
- Sexism – the subjugation of women and LGBTQ people
This Seder’s central symbol is the Globe reframed as matzah, the unleavened bread of fierce urgency for freedom. It symbolizes our sense of the urgent need for global liberation.
Seder leaders include:
- Reverends William Barber and Liz Theoharis, co-chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign
- Ana Maria Archila, director of the Center for Popular Democracy, who confronted Senator Flake in the US Capitol elevator during Kavanaugh nomination hearing
- Debbie Almontaser, founder of the Khalil Gibran School, survivor and “transcender” of bitter Islamophobic attacks, and founder / director of Bridging Cultures
- Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director of The Shalom Center and author of the original Freedom Seder
The original Freedom Seder was held in 1969 on the first anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King. It was the first Seder in 3,000 years to weave together the Jewish liberation struggle with other struggles for freedom, especially Black America’s struggle against racism.
On this 50th anniversary, we will move forward again – taking Dr. King’s clarity, his courage, his commitment into new worlds of freedom, to birth the Beloved Community we all call for.
Organizations and congregations can co-sponsor. Email Seder@theshalomcenter.org to learn about co-sponsoring, live streaming to distant communities, or when registration opens.
