Before the Quarantimes, the members of the East Side Jews Activist Collective had gotten together to fill a need. Many of us belong to Jewish spaces of some sort, and many of us are also in activist and leftist spaces, yet all of us felt that we didn’t have a space that was really ours. We all felt the need for a secular, but distinctly Jewish, leftist space. We met over pizza, a risky proposition given the rate of lactose intolerance common in our people, and started to discuss what we wanted this space to be. As is also common of our people, we asked ten people and got ten different answers. We landed on a few early stage projects, a secular Seder, a mixer that may or may not include BINGO, and we all agreed that as we increased our membership, we wanted new members to have the space to help define the DNA of the group as well. 

When the Quarantimes hit, the lack of a secular, Jewish, leftist community became more acute. Working on this Haggadah together, looking at what did and did not inspire us in other groups' Haggadot, allowed us to pull strength from our ancestors, to laugh together, and was a way to mark time. 

We are honored to share what we wrote with you, and hope that in these incredibly isolating times this Seder, and this group, can provide you with community if that is something you too are seeking.


 


haggadah Section: Introduction