Another Section - Change | Passover haggadah by AJC Westhester / Fairfield

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4 cups of wine

At the Seder, we drink four cups of wine to symbolize four expressions of redemption in describing the Exodus from Egypt and the birth of a nation: (10 "I will take you out"; (2) "I will save you"; (3) "I will redeem you"; and (4) "I will take you as a nation". There are a number of explanations as to the significance of the various stages of redemption conveyed through each of these expressions. Here is one:

At this Seder, we are going to have each cup of wine take on a different meaning. Here, each cup of wine will pay tribute to the yearnings for freedom of four immigrant communities: Latino; African, Muslim and Jewish

Latino Immigrants

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African Immigrants

The first Africans came to America as slaves and helped build this nation. Europeans could not have settled and developed this land without slave labor. Africans had to endure the inhumanity of slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, housing discrimination, civil-rights violations and bias that continues today. Yet it was their hope and perseverance that contributed to this country.

The story of Abdulai Bundu

Abdulai’s Muslim parents won an immigration lottery and left a warring and unstable Sierra Leone for the United States before his first birthday in hopes of building a better life in America. They left Abdulai and his brothers with grandparents, aunts, and uncles; he lived in refugee camps and was held at gunpoint as a toddler as part of a civil war which killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions more. Abdulai’s father washed dishes and later enlisted in the Army; his mother worked as a nurse’s assistant. They saved what they could and sent money across the Atlantic. Finally, the family reunited in Maryland when Abdulai was age seven As a tall eighth-grader, a middle school teacher suggested he take up basketball. He hated it at first but worked hard and eventually got so good he won a full scholarship to Quinnipiac College, a Division I school, where as a junior he averages 5.5 points and 5.7 rebounds while playing through various injuries. His coach, Baker Dunleavy, calls him invaluable.

Muslim Immigrants

The earliest Muslim immigrants came as slaves from Africa beginning perhaps as early as 1501. The first free Muslim immigrants may date back to the later 16th century, when captured Muslim soldiers were deposited on the coast of North Carolina and elsewhere in the South. The modern history of Muslim immigration began a decade or so after the Civil War, consisting mostly of Levantines but also a few from Yemen, South Asia, Indonesia, and elsewhere. Until the 1960s the few Muslim immigrants tended to be refugees from the former Ottomon Empire and Russia-block countries. Landmark legislation in 1965 initiated the present wave of immigration. motivated by ethnic and c persecution, autocratic regimes, and the dream of better education and a better life.

9/11, terrorism and extremist in the name of Islam has ignited an atmosphere of suspicion of Muslims, which leads us into the present climate and litigation over Executive Orders regulating immigration from certain mostly-Muslim countries and a climate of generalization and stereotyping.

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Jewish Immigrants.

After Jews from arrived from Brazil in 1654, Jews started to immigrate in earnest to escape discrimination, poverty, hate crimes and laws that restricted what professions they could engage in. Immigration was accelerated by pogroms (massacres) and severe anti-Semitic policies during the time of the Russian Revolution. Before, during and after World War II Jews were desperate to escape from the Nazi empire. The SS St. Louis sailed from Germany in May 1939 carrying 936 Jewish refugees, but was refused entry into the U.S. When it returned to Europe. 620 of the passengers were eventually accepted in continental Europe; of these only 365 survived the Holocaust.

The story of Seymour Rechtzeit

Seymour Rechtzeit was born in Lódz, Poland, in 1912. By the time he was 4, he was a talented singer. After World War I, it was a bad time in Europe. An uncle living in America, sent two tickets for his father and Seymour to sail across the Atlantic Ocean. The plan was that 8-year-old Seymour and his father would earn enough money to eventually bring them to America, too. The two-week boat trip was rain-soaked, crowded and miserable. By the time they sailed into New York Harbor, past the Statue of Liberty, Seymour got sick. At Ellis Island, his father stood in long lines as part of the entry process. Seymour was not allowed to enter the U.S. for days until he got better. When his cold subsided and his father and uncle picked him up, he felt a rush of joy stepping foot in Manhattan. All around him were hundreds of families greeting their relatives, welcoming them to America. Right away, he started singing in concerts and earning money to help bring the rest of my family to America, although they were still were not granted permission to emigrate. A U.S. congressman, who had heard Semour, sing arranged for him to perform for leaders at Congress. They then arranged for him sing for President Calvin Coolidge in the White House. After the performance, the President told him he'd help get his mother, brothers, and sisters to America.

haggadah Section: Introduction