THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 12, 1995 TAG: 9504120469
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
``Why is this night different from all other nights?''
That ritual question, typically asked by the youngest child at the Jewish Passover meal, starts the annual retelling of the ancient Jews' exodus from slavery in Egypt to a new beginning as a free nation.
On Tuesday night, when the question was asked at Ohef Sholom Temple in Norfolk, the difference of the night lay in the 50 people gathered around the tables.
About 30 professors and students from Regent University, the evangelical Christian graduate school founded by Pat Robertson, joined local Jews to learn more about the Jewish holiday of Passover. The interfaith event, sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League's Virginia-North Carolina chapter, was an effort to create understanding by sharing traditions.
``This is the first time we've done anything like this, and it's particularly timely,'' said Sam Kaplan, director of the league's regional office. ``There are times when we have disagreed about some issues, so that's why we think it's important to keep the channels of communication open.''
The teaching Passover ``seder'' - performed in advance of the Passover season, which begins at sundown on Friday - comes during a period of turbulent relations between the national leaders of the Anti-Defamation League and Robertson.
The disagreement has its political roots in differences over the role of religion in public settings, but it has recently spilled into personal accusations of religious intolerance.
Last summer, Robertson and the league's president, Abraham H. Foxman, exchanged vehement letters about a report prepared by the league that accused Robertson and other religious conservatives of promoting religious bigotry.
In March, the two men clashed over the meaning of statements in Robertson's 1991 book ``The New World Order'' that Foxman said could be interpreted as anti-Semitic innuendo. Robertson responded with a lengthy defense.
Some bridge-building has begun. Last week, Ralph Reed, director of Robertson's Christian Coalition, took a strong step toward conciliation with a speech acknowledging that ``some religious conservatives have been insensitive and have lacked understanding of the horrors that you as a people have experienced.''
Locally, the league and Regent University plan to continue building stronger bonds. In the fall, Regent will offer a course jointly taught by a Regent professor and Rabbi Leon Klenicki, the league's director of interfaith relations.
Tuesday's Passover meal, which was attended by the university's president, Terry Lindvall, but not by Robertson, got the bridge-building off to a strong start.
Rabbi Lawrence A. Forman led the group through the Passover ceremony, connecting the story of the Jewish exodus to fights for freedom throughout history. He referred at various points to the struggle of American blacks, the women's movement for equal rights and the persecution of Muslims in Bosnia.
The group recited in unison the 10 plagues that God sent to afflict the Egyptian pharaoh for his refusal to release the Jews from slavery, and spilled out 10 drops of wine from their cups.
``We know that our cup can't be full as long as there is suffering and oppression of people,'' Forman said. ``So we lose 10 drops from our cup because we know people are still suffering from plagues, perhaps not these particular plagues, but other ones, like hatred and warfare.''
The Passover meal, which is central to Jewish observance, also has significance for Christians.
According to the Gospels, Jesus ate a last supper with his disciples on the night before his death, and that meal appears to be identified with the Passover feast.
J. Lyle Story, associate dean of Regent's Divinity School, said Christians understand the Passover meal in light of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ but often fail to appreciate its Jewish roots.
``Far too often, Christians bypass the Jewish origin of the Gospel,'' he said. ``The life of Jesus originated in a Jewish setting. . . . The original significance of the Passover meal had to do with the redemption from Egypt.''
Vinson Synan, the dean of the Divinity School, said he has taught courses about how the Christian communion service has its roots in the Passover seder, but had never taken part in one.
``Almost everything that Christianity holds to, you can see it in the seder,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photo by Richard L. Dunston
Regent Univesity and Anti-Defamation League members hold a model
Passover seder at Norfolk's Ohef Sholom Temple.
by CNB