The Times of Israel caught wind of an annual event at BYU — the school’s simulated experience of the traditional Passover meal, which looks to blend and bind Judaism and Christianity together.
BYU students, most of whom are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spend the week before Passover learning about the holiday.
Students are then exposed to the Jewish culture, behaviors and customs through a Passover meal. Two meals were held on March 10 and 24, and another will be held Friday at the Wilkinson Student Center.
“The best word is ‘simulation’ of a Jewish Passover seder for members of the community in Utah, which has an admittedly small Jewish presence,” BYU professor Jeffrey Chadwick, who runs the event, told The Times of Israel. “We expose our own community and student body to Jewish traditions and the richness of the Passover experience.”
The BYU Passover dinners include unleavened bread, bitter herbs and other foods.
Chadwick told the Times of Israel that Christians have a lot to learn from the Jewish holiday, and enlighten them on Jesus’ Jewish behaviors.
“Most Christians, including Latter-day Saints, are very surprised to learn that Jesus was a practicing, for his time rather normative, Jewish teacher, attending Jewish festivals named in the four Gospels — Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Hanukkah and Passover annually,” Chadwick told The Times of Israel. “His arrest and death occurred at Passover. He dies after he himself (held an) early Seder with his 12 apostles.”
Read more about the seder and its goals at The Times of Israel.
BYU’s event drew attention back in 2011, too. The Jewish Daily Forward wrote about it. Prominent Catholic insights website First Things also mentioned in 2011, highlighting how the “interfaith embrace” helped students foster better learning,.
In 2011, the event included a wilderness gathering and retreat. Students camped, hiked and biked for the event in Moab, where they snacked on kosher Passover meals, according to the Deseret News.