Washington – The traditional Passover Seder started early on Capitol Hill Wednesday, as half a dozen members of Congress drank grape juice and broke matzo at the sixth annual Hunger Seder to raise awareness about seniors struggling with hunger.
A Passover Seder is a service that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover and uses food to symbolize and retell the story of the exodus from Egypt.
For the Hunger Seder, rather than tell the story of the Jews fleeing Egypt, the service addressed the millions of American seniors who go hungry every year. Participants delivered readings and short comments on the issue through the structure of the traditional Jewish service. The National Foundation to End Senior Hunger and several other groups compiled data showing that there are about 5 million seniors threatened with hunger.
Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern, who is co-chair of the House Hunger Caucus, was the only representative in attendance that was not Jewish. “He’s a Roman Catholic who is always up for a good Seder,” said spokesman Michael Mershon.
The traditional Jewish Seder includes dipping a finger in wine for each of the 10 plagues. In the hunger program, participants dipped a finger for modern plagues that affect seniors.
In place of traditional plagues like boils or frogs, attendees chanted “the childless widower who doesn’t know how to shop or cook” and “Apathy – the failure to make ending senior hunger a national priority.”
“Let us give modern meaning to these ancient words,” said Susan Turnbull, chairwoman of the Jewish Council on Public Affairs, one of the organizations that sponsored the event.
The service included officials from the White House, the Department of Agriculture and representatives from associations and nonprofits that support seniors and aid in senior hunger issues.
“With the collective will of the people in this room,” said James Firman of the National Council on Aging, “we can actually solve this problem.”