Gershman Y Seder Blends Art, Culture And Religion
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Gershman Y is celebrating Passover with a Seder that is unlike any other you've seen.
"A traditional Seder is about an order - all these different customs and rituals," says Warren Hoffman senior Director of Programming at the Gershman Y. He says Sunday's celebration will combine the traditions of Passover with the many multicultural offerings in the city.
"In a traditional Seder, there's often what's called a "haggadah" and you often read from this book, often in Hebrew, telling of the Jewish exodus from Egypt," says Hoggman. "We've taken the themes of Passover, which are community and freedom and spring and asked different artists to interpret this."
Contemporary ballet company BalletX will headline and there will be performances of singer songwriter Ross Levy and others.
"Instead of the beginning where there's the blessing over wine, we've asked a music group to perform and take us in the spirit of the holiday," he says. "Instead of telling the traditional story of Passover, we have asked African American story teller Jos Duncan to tell a story about the African American exodus from slavery and bondage."
The event kicks off at the Bellevue on Broad Street at 5pm with dinner. For more information, go to gershmany.org.
