Lubavitch distributes Passover Seders-to-go to students

Students craving matzoh on the move can turn to a new development in fast food service over the Passover holiday. Lubavitch House and the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity have teamed up to offer Jewish University students Seders-to-Go. The project, which is sponsored nationally by the Hasidic Chabad Lubavitch movement, will give those students staying on campus the opportunity to celebrate Passover Seders, according to Lubavitch House Director Ephraim Levin. "We recognize there are a lot of students who don't go anywhere [for the holiday]," he added. "There is pizza to go, now there are seders to go. This is Jewish fast food." The free packages -- which include matzoh, a bottle of kosher wine, a Passover prayer book and most of the holiday's other traditional symbols -- were put together at the ZBT fraternity house. College senior Matt Ingber said the program helps to promote a more widespread observance of the holiday. "I think people who don't go home assume they can't observe the Seder," he commented. "Having these packages at their disposal makes celebrating the Passover Seders that much easier." And Levin said the packages constitute a cheap way for Jewish students to celebrate the holiday. "It's very effective because it's convenient and it's also for free," he said. "It's appropriate in a sense because the Passover Seder is something familiar to Jewish students." Levin said the program has been received enthusiastically by students both in the University and on a national scale. He noted that 150 Seders-to-Go packages were delivered at the University and added that over 1,000 packages were given out nationwide. Levin said Seders-to-Go will reinforce the religious identity of the students who receive them. "It'll help strengthen their identity [by observing] the holiday," he said. "Plus, it's good for the waist." Ingber agreed that the program serves as an effective way of perpetuating Jewish tradition at the University. "I think it helps to promote the Jewish heritage around campus," he said. "It's a nice gesture." The first night of Passover is tonight.

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