Detroiter Carol Weintraub Fogel, center, at the Ethiopian booth at the Women's Seder in the Central Galilee, Michigan's Partnership 2000 region

More than 600 women in Israel's Central Galilee region and Detroit transcended their cultural and geographical boundaries to participate in innovative women's seders in both locations.

On March 21, more than 400 Detroit area women attended the fourth annual Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit Women's Campaign and Education Department Women's Seder, at Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills.

The seder provided women of each generation an opportunity to celebrate together the spirituality of Passover. A special Haggadah with additional readings for women was prepared for the seder. The readings included the aliyah stories of five women from the Central Galilee region.

And this year for the first time, more than 200 women in Federation's Partnership 2000 region in the Central Galilee also celebrated a women's seder March 13. The seder materials were provided to the Israelis, and Sharon Lipton and Carol Weintraub Fogel from the Federation Women's Department joined them at the event.

The theme of the Israeli seder was based on the notion of ethnicity and multi-culturalism. Many of the women who attended the seder in Migdal HaEmek, Israel, dressed in clothing from their cultural backgrounds.

Four women from Detroit had written autobiographical excerpts on the meaning and spirituality of the Passover festival, which were read at the women's seder in Israel. The aliyah stories and the writings of the Detroit women were included in the Haggadah that Israeli volunteers prepared for the Central Galilee Women's Seder.

  Nisan 5761 - April 2001