interfaith
The Jewish Journal – jewishjournal.org – april 7, 2011
7
Cokie and Steve Roberts’ New Interfaith Haggadah Has its Pros and Cons
Courtesy photo
Steve and Cokie Roberts
David A.M. Wilensky Jewish Telegraphic Agency
T
here are two things you need to know about “Our Haggadah: Uniting Traditions for Interfaith Families,” one of the many new Passover haggadahs hitting the shelves this spring. The first is it’s not quite a haggadah. The second is that it’s by Cokie and Steve Roberts. Yes, that Cokie Roberts — longtime senior news analyst for National Public Radio. She’s Catholic and Steve, her husband and a contributing editor at U.S. News and World Report, is Jewish. What I mean when I say that it’s not a haggadah is that I can-
not imagine any seder being conducted with nothing but copies of “Our Haggadah” for all the guests. As a resource for interfaith families who want help holding a seder that is accessible to the whole family, it’s wonderful. The book bridges the gap between ritual and logistical for an audience that may not know the rituals well, including everything from recommendations about when to begin refilling wine glasses, to some of the Roberts’ favorite recipes. But despite the authors’ claims to the contrary, it’s not really a haggadah that should be used as the main text for a seder.
“Our Haggadah” is replete with examples of little riffs that have become annual traditions in the Roberts household. In her introductory essay, Cokie writes, “Every year, Steve and I argue about where exactly in the service we first move to the book, causing hoots and hollers from our longtime seder buddies who have come to see this dispute as a Passover tradition.” That she finds this tradition worth mentioning is a testament to the extent to which she is invested in creating a seder for an interfaith audience, but not really an interfaith seder — the Roberts’ seder is a Jewish ritual through and through. Some might think that the Roberts’ focus on multiculturalism would break down the Jewish nature of the seder, but it’s more accurate to read this haggadah as an attempt to lend universal relevance to the seder’s themes of freedom. However, this haggadah demonstrates limited respect for the liturgical integrity of the occasion. That’s not to say it is because the haggadah is aimed at interfaith families — Jewish families are just as capable of glossing over the minutiae of meaning in their liturgy. A striking example is the text’s exclusion of the seder’s most famous line. Cokie writes, “The seder’s traditional ending is ‘Next year in Jerusalem,’ and if that phrase is meaningful to you, by all means, use it.” What goes unsaid is that if you do want to conclude your
Survey of Interfaith Families Participate in Easter The seventh annual PassoverEaster survey conducted by InterfaithFamily.com shows that interfaith families raising their children Jewish who participate in secular Easter activities do not compromise their children’s Jewish identity. Some observers of intermarriage have cast a skeptical eye on this behavior, and argue that interfaith families can’t impart a strong Jewish identity to their children and celebrate Christmas or Easter. The results of InterfaithFamily.com’s surveys suggest that they are doing so. Interfaith families raising Jewish children who participate in Easter celebrations are giving clear priority to Passover over Easter, as both a family celebration and a religious holiday: • Virtually all plan on hosting or attending a seder; less than a third will host or attend an Easter dinner. • Small minorities engage in “religious” Easter activities like attending church (6%) or telling the Easter story (4%). • Two-thirds see their Easter celebrations as entirely secular. • 85% of the respondents believe that their participation in Easter celebrations does not affect their children’s Jewish identity. “For seven years about half of interfaith couples raising Jewish children have told us they participate in Easter celebrations,” said Edmund Case, CEO of InterfaithFamily.com. “These families consistently and by very large measure see their Easter
celebrations as entirely secular in nature, and not confusing to their children’s Jewish identity.” “This year we did observe a general decline in the religious aspects of both holidays,” Case added. Compared to 2010, fewer plan to tell the Passover story or eat matzah, and fewer regard either their Passover or their Easter participation as religious in nature. One other noticeable trend
was that the percentage of respondents who said they are comfortable celebrating Easter declined from 47% in 2010 to 40% this year. The great majority (87%) of interfaith families raising Jewish children are comfortable celebrating Passover.
Professional services For more information or to read the full study, visit interfaithfamily.com.
seder with this sentence, you won’t be able to use their haggadah because it isn’t there. There is a case to be made for a seder that eschews messianic aspirations for the future, which the Roberts seem to imply by leaving out the traditional “next year” hope, but any pretense to a carefully considered approach to liturgy flies out the window when they describe how children at their seder open the door for Elijah. I guess no one told them Elijah is the herald of the messiah.
Despite being a beautiful volume, “Our Haggadah” has been poorly proofread. There are multiple instances of the same misspelling of the Hebrew word borei, or creates. (They end the word with a hey instead of the correct letter, alef.) Excerpts from “Our Haggadah” no doubt will be included in the homemade haggadahs that many people use, but it may not be the best choice for the sole text at the seder table.
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