Peretz Community Seder

Light is life. Winter passes and the day grows longer. Spring is here and hope is born. The light of Passover (Peysakh) is the light of the struggle for freedom.

"Whoever enlarges upon the telling of the story of the exodus from Egypt, that person is praiseworthy." It is in this spirit that we gather at our annual Peretz Community Seder, where we return to our Hagode/Haggadah using traditional texts and our own interpretations. We tell this story over and over, all of us together, to witness the bondage of others, past and presence, and to renew our commitment to the liberation of all people, everywhere.

Join us at the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture on Sunday, April 6th (4-8pm) in the Ben Chud Auditorium for a secular humanist Passover seder, Holocaust memorial service, and traditional Peysakh meal (with vegan options) for all ages!

Alongside readings and songs from our community Haggadah, the Vancouver Jewish Folk Choir will perform their Passover repertoire with (traditional and non-traditional) songs in Yiddish, Hebrew, Ladino, and English.

Schedule

3:30pm Doors Open

4:00pm Seder Starts

5:30pm Dinner

If we cannot accomodate your dietary needs, you are welcome to bring your own food (email admin@peretz-centre.org).

Afikomen and children's activities will be organized by the Peretz Child Activities Committee (which you can join here).

Building Access

Parking is available on the street or in the underground parkade (limited spots).

Please note that the building elevator is now working again!

Sign up for the Peretz Passover Prep Party!

On Saturday, April 5th (2-5pm), we're hosting a creative and fun afternoon of freedom-themed arts and crafts to welcome our friends and family to the Ben Chud auditorium for the seder the following day. Register here to join us in learning about historical Passover art (some of which is very strange and wonderful), painting and making things, setting up the space, and enjoying the company of friends.

Take Part in the Peretz Community Seder

Farvos iz di nakht fun Peysakh andersh fun alle nekht fun a gantz yor? Why is this night different from all other nights of the year?

Our secular humanist seder includes both traditional and progressive cultural practices emphasizing our collective power to create a better world. Through readings, songs, and food, we highlight the struggles for gender, economic, social, and climate justice. We acknowledge that this seder takes place on the unceded, traditional territory of the (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

Let the annual recounting of our own quest for freedom remind us of the struggles of other oppressed peoples, including Indigenous peoples on whose stolen lands we reside. Passover -- our beloved Peysakh -- is not just a celebration of our own freedom. So long as any person is enslaved, politically or economically, none of us is free. Sit with us in comradeship and let people everywhere be free to do the same -- with us and with one another.

Next year, may we all live in harmony, and in a world at peace.

Zog nit keyn mol az du gayst dem letstn veg,

Ven himlen blayneh farshteln bloyeh teg.

Kumen vet nokh unzer oysgebenkteh sho,

S'vet ah poykton unzer trot mir zaynen do.

Never say you're on the last road, though

leaden skies hide days of blue --

Our longed-for hour will come; our steps will

be a drumbeat: WE ARE HERE!

-- "Vilna Ghetto" by Hirsh Glik (translated by Sheila Delany)

Image credit: Chad Gadya by Eliezer Lissitzky, 1919 (Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University)