Freedom Seder Revisited Program March 20, 2023
Seder means “order.” The order of the ritual Passover meal is outlined in a guide called a haggadah. The agenda that follows contains the order for this evening’s program and will serve as our guide.
Avadim Hayinu (We Were Slaves) by Aly Halpert, Kohenet Avra Shapiro, Elliot Beck
Welcome
Dr. Joshua Perelman, Chief Curator, Director of Exhibitions and Interpretation, Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History
Daniel Samuels, Director of Public Programs, Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History
Story Betty Smithsonian, comic, creator, performer, entertainer and award winning goof
Reflection Yosef Zarnighian, Associate Rabbi, Congregation Mikveh Israel
Story Geoff Jackson, Philadelphia based comedian and storyteller; Host of the Schooled! and Nitty Gritty storytelling shows
Remarks Emily August, Chief Public Engagement Officer, Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History
Story Ximena Violante, Mexican violinist, jarana player, singer, teacher, actor and organizer creating spaces for people to celebrate their roots, reimagine their futures, and expand their communities
Reflection Reverend Mark Kelly Tyler, Ph.D, Pastor, Mother Bethel AME Church
Story Elaine S. Holton, Queer, Jewish, Black-Chinese American community-centered Philadelphia artist, Creative Director and Teaching Artist at PHonk!Philly.
Remarks Jared Jackson, Executive Director, Jews in ALL Hues
Dinner and Table Conversations
Loosen by Aly Halpert, Kohenet Avra Shapiro, Elliot Beck
Remarks Elaine Lindy, Board of Directors, First Person of Arts
Story Pauli Reese, storyteller, teaching artist, queer spiritual and theological thinker, musical improviser and producer
Reflection Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Leader and Author of the original 1969 Freedom Seder; Founder and Director, The Shalom Center Philadelphia
Economics of Exodus
Earth and Justice Seder
Closing Remarks
Sing-a-long: She is On Her Way by Aly Halpert, Kohenet Avra Shapiro, Elliot Beck
Elaine S. Holton (she/her) is a Queer Jewish Black-Chinese American community-centered artist based in Philadelphia and the Creative Director and resident Teaching Artist at PHonk!Philly, a free music festival she founded in 2021 utilizing the power of music, art, activism, and cultural preservation to move all people closer to collective liberation. Under her leadership PHonk!Philly has grown rapidly, expanding both its reach and impact to communities throughout the mid-Atlantic region.
Geoff Jackson (he/him) is a comedian, host, podcaster and storyteller. He was born on the shores of the Red Sea. As a child he was ranked among the top ten skiers in the United States. He was forcibly ejected from one of the oldest schools in the country on his 16th birthday. He is a decorated haiku champion. Geoff Jackson has told jokes and stories in coffee shops, bookstores, nightclubs, tiki bars, and punk-rock basements across the US, UK, and Canada.
Pauli Reese (they/them) is a spiritually minded broadcaster, storyteller, and comedian whose most recent work includes creating the podcast (un)common good with pauli reese and founding the media company uncommon good media, whose mission is to amplify voices committed to peacemaking, restorative justice, and uncovering our common humanity. They are committed to abolition, collective liberation, and spiritual curiosity in all their forms. Subscribe to their work at www.youtube.com/@uncommongoodpod.
Betty Smithsonian (she/her), Best of Philly Up and Coming Comedian 2019*. She is a comic, creator, performer, entertainer and award winning goof. She can be found telling jokes, parading in the streets, confidently speaking on topics she barely understands, and creating stages and spaces for lots of people all over the land. She was once named in the New York Times as a ‘free lance clown.’ She’s on stage regularly at Punchline and throughout the Philadelphia area. She can host your fundraiser, corporate event and/or seder. Her comedy has been described as high energy, life changing, authentic, and lacking any hot takes on boring current events.
Reverend Mark Kelly Tyler, Ph.d (he/him) currently serves as the 52nd pastor of Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. Mother Bethel, the first congregation founded by Bishop Richard Allen, has been a spiritual, social, and community force since the late 1700s. The church occupies the oldest piece of ground in America continuously owned by African Americans, and is an international destination for AME pilgrims and tourists alike.
Dr. Tyler’s ministry has also led him into the work of activism and organizing for social justice. Mother Bethel is one of the founding congregations of POWER (Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower, and Rebuild). POWER, a part of Faith in Action formerly known as PICO, is the region’s largest faith based organizing effort. His work with POWER involves serving as one of the directors of the LIVE FREE campaign which centers on criminal justice reform, ending mass incarceration, and police accountability.
Ximena Violante (he/they) is a Mexican violinist, jarana player, singer, teacher, actor, and organizer creating spaces for people to celebrate their roots, re-imagine their futures, and expand their communities. Ximena is the bandleader and songwriter for Interminable, a futuristic fusion project that brings together son jarocho, jazz, rock and funk. Ximena has been a featured guest musician with Las Cafeteras, Jarana Beat, Renee Goust, Vivir Quintana, Moor Mother, Latin-Grammy-winners Mariachi Flor de Toloache, and on the soundtrack for Disney’s The Last of the Chupacabras. In 2015, Ximena co-founded Son Revoltura, a Philly-based weekly community workshop of son jarocho, an afromestizo musical tradition from Mexico. Onstage, Ximena has acted in NYC’s Quince as a violin-playing ancestor, and as Feste in Delaware Shakespeare’s Community Tour. As a teaching artist, Ximena has toured the US with NYC-based performing arts education group Mexico Beyond Mariachi, has worked with families to write original bilingual lullabies for their children with Carnegie Hall’s Philly and Boston chapters of The Lullaby Project, as well as teaching workshops at University of Pennsylvania, Haverford College, University of Texas San Antonio, Girls Rock Camp Alliance’s annual international conference, and community gatherings. They will be Musical Director of the original play Nichos, alongside director Tanaquil Márquez and Mexican band Ampersan, which will be presented in Fall of 2024 thanks to funding from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
Rabbi Arthur Waskow (he/him) is a prophetic rabbi who has for fifty years worked to promote a progressive spirit of renewal that connects Jews, Christians, Muslims, and people of other faiths. Rabbi Waskow wrote the original Freedom Seder in 1969, an idea he conceived in the wake of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He founded (1983) and directs The Shalom Center, a prophetic voice in Jewish, multireligious, and American life. He co-founded ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal with Reb Zalman Schachter- Shalomi and was also a co-founder of the National Havurah Committee and Rabbis for Human Rights/ North America (now T’ruah). Among his 28 books have been the original Freedom Seder, Seasons of Our Joy, Godwrestling – Round 2, Liberating Your Passover Seder (ed. with Rabbi Phyllis Berman of 30 essays by diverse Seder-creators, Ben Yehuda Press, 2021) and Dancing in God’s Earthquake(Orbis, 2020).
Rabbi Yosef Zarnighian was raised in a community of mostly first generation Iranian American Jews in Great Neck, New York. Zarnighian studied at Yeshiva University in New York City, he was ordained at the Shehebar Sephardic Center in Jerusalem and is a first lieutenant and chaplain in the Air Force Reserve. Rabbi Yosef is now the Associate Rabbi at Congregation Mikveh Israel, the oldest synagogue in Philadelphia and the longest running synagogue in the United States. Zarnighian is the congregation’s first Associate Rabbi in over 40 years, and is proud to serve a diverse group of congregants with diverse heritages spanning across the world from Morocco, to Yemen, Syria and beyond.
MUSICIANS
Aly Halpert (she/her) is a queer Jewish musician, educator, and activist living on Lenni Lenape land in Philadelphia, PA, USA. A singer, pianist, drummer, and guitar player, Aly writes songs for building community, working for collective liberation, and visioning different worlds. Aly leads music and prayer for Jewish community, including Kol Tzedek Synagogue, Eden Village Camp, Let My People Sing, and Linke Fligl. Her songs have been sung in national gatherings, song circles, and quiet moments of personal prayer, and have moved people all over the world. Her first album, Nipple Confusion, has made fans of young people and adults alike. Her first full-band album Loosen was just released in April 2022 with Rising Song Records. Whether her songs are serious or seriously goofy, Aly believes deeply in the power of music to awaken us to the loss and hope we carry, expand our sense of possibility, and connect us to each other and our collective strength. For more info, go to www.alyhalpert.com.
Kohenet Avra Shapiro (they/them) is a freelance Jewish educator, ritualist, and musician. They received ordination from the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute in July 2020. They have worked as a community organizer, political educator, Jewish spirituality specialist, and more. They are currently working towards their master’s in social work from Bryn Mawr College.
Elliot Beck (he/him) is percussionist, teacher, and organizer. He plays drums with West Philadelphia Orchestra, a Balkan and klezmer-inspired brass band, and the country outfit Robert M Davidson and the Broken Hearts Band. A dedicated teacher, he leads young percussionists at Play on, Philly! and Germantown Friends School.
Before moving to Philadelphia, Elliot spent much of the 2010s in the orchestral world, playing timpani and percussion with the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. While in Israel, he discovered the power of street bands to unite and energize his communities to seek social change. He continues to perform with orchestras around Philadelphia and organizes American Jews to stand for liberation and justice locally and in Israel.
STORY COACH
Marjorie Winther recently performed at the Kennedy Center for Performing arts as part of the Story District “Real Hot Girl Sh*t” show. She has won the title “Best Storytelling in Philly” four times after winning four First Person Arts Grand Slam competitions. She has performed at the Act II Playhouse, Catch a Rising Star, the WHYY Connections Festival, The Women in Comedy Festival at Plays and Players and at the Risk! Show. Her humorous stories have been featured on the NPR show Commonspace. Off stage, Marjorie has been fired from dozens of corporate and academic jobs.
STORYTELLING CONSULTANT
Neil Bardhan comes to storytelling through an interest in science communication and how the arts can influence professional cultures. In addition to his work with First Person Arts, he can be seen performing comedy with The N Crowd, writing in Broad Street Review and appearing in other local performances. This is his seventh Freedom Seder.
EVENT CONSULTANT
Jared Jackson, MAJNM, is the Founder and Executive Director of Jews in ALL Hues. Jared is an internationally renowned Jewish diversity leader, consultant, facilitatory, speaker, writer, musician entrepreneur, and was named one of the “Jews That Will Change the World” by periodical, Ma’ariv.
