By Gary Rotto
SAN DIEGO–I picked up my brisket for my Seder and little didn’t realize that I would be in good company. While the White House chef was not in the Kosher section at Ralphs, apparently the First Cook had a brisket ordered for the first night of Passover. According to the White House, brisket will be the main course for the now annual Seder.
This is the third year in a row that the Obamas have hosted or participated in a seder. As widely reported, the tradition began in 2008 in the basement of a Pennsylvania hotel, during the time of the Democratic Primary election. As the story goes, after the “Next Year in Jerusalem” phrase was said, Senator Obama added, “Next Year in the White House!” And while not a true promise, now President Obama kept this wish by hosting the first White House Seder on record.
The tradition continues this year with what the New York Times calls, “one of the newest, most intimate and least likely of White House traditions”. According to Shin Inouye with the White House Press Office, the President and the First Lady hosted the event for key staffers. And the official menu included:
Gelfilte Fish
Charoses
Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls
Braised Beef Brisket
Chicken Roast
Sweet Potato-Carrot Tzimmes
Carrot Soufflé
Kugel
Spring Asparagus
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Golden Apricot Cake
Brown Sugar Macaroons
It is impressive that heads of state, machers of the Jewish community or even Jewish congressional representatives were not on the guest list. Rather, an intimate collection of the First Family and close staff – Jews and Gentiles, Anglos and African-Americans participated. Other than the fact that the Maxwell House Haggadah was the guide of choice and that the Seder took place in the Old Family Dining Room, the White House did not release very much information. And that is because this was a private and very intimate function. As much as a President’s life is very public, this private event has to have a public component – that being the confirmation of the event by the White House and the official photo. Do the guests bring a special tradition from their own past Seders? What about a unique prayer for freedom like those added during the age of the Soviet Refusnik movement? We do not know.
There have been a few conservative critics who question Obama’s motives because the seder is not kosher. But as I checked around town, I found many seders, such as the Urban Seder at the Urban Solace Restaurant that are kosher “style” rather than kosher. Some have said that this insensitive, not serving a kosher meal. But I don’t know that any of the guests kept kosher or wanted to do so. Rather, they were delighted to continue their legitimate practice with close colleagues as a way to celebrate freedom as Jews and as Americans.
Inasmuch as I do keep kosher, I guess I can wait until I’m invited to the seder at some future date to worry about the level of kashrut in the White House. Oh, Mr. President, can you save one of those brown sugar macaroons for me?
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Rotto is a freelance writer and political activist in San Diego.