The clock neared 6 p.m. Wednesday. Sundown was approaching – and the students started to pour into Hillel. The count had already reached 293 when a dozen more stragglers walked through the door.

‘We’re not turning anybody away,’ one organizer shouted to his cohorts.

More than 300 students swelled into Syracuse University’s Winnick Hillel Center to celebrate the first night of Passover. The Jewish holiday, which commemorates Moses leading the Jews out of ancient Egypt and away from the bonds of slavery, began Wednesday night.

To honor the Exodus, the holiday asks followers to not eat leavened bread for eight days. Products that contain yeast, or a similar substance, are forbidden.

Students packed the upstairs and downstairs dining room at Hillel, so they turned the library into a third dining hall. The students marveled at the Seder tables, lined with matzah (the traditional flatbread eaten on Passover), Gefilte (the traditional fish) and Manischewitz (the traditional, ahem, wine). The students relaxed in their chairs. They chatted. They joked.

Four students stepped to the microphone to lead the night’s service. They stumbled. They mumbled through an introduction. Forgive them: It was their first time in front of such a large crowd. Then Kara Landsman, a sophomore magazine journalism major, announced it was time to open the service with the Kiddush (the traditional blessing over the wine).

Hundreds of students prayed together. They prayed as one.

Despite being away from home, in college and nearing the end of the semester, students crowded the Hillel center for one of Judaism’s most sacred holidays.

‘I’m a little surprised that there are so many people,’ Landsman said. ‘But when we have things like this, a lot of people come for big holidays.’

Still, it’s a sacrifice, and it can be a struggle to maintain the Passover diet away from home.

Passover-approved food is not always easily accessible on campus. Plus, the holiday often comes during the stressful time of the year right before exams. Then there’s always the temptation of beer, and while some students admit that they don’t keep the holiday as strictly as they should, many want to prove they can survive these eight days, even away from home.

‘I grew up going to Passover meals – for the last 18 years,’ said Michael Smith, a freshman advertising and entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises major. ‘I figured it’s something I should continue to do now. I have friends at Hillel. They encouraged me to do it. If I didn’t want to, they would encourage me. It’s a good thing to experience. It’s a meal. It’s not going to kill you to be a little religious sometimes.’

That’s the type of attitude Lowell Lustig enjoys hearing. The executive director for Hillel said he is always impressed by the level of commitment that Syracuse students show toward the holiday.

Hillel does its best to make up for what the dining halls lack, Lustig said. The center will offer two Passover meals a day. Each will cost as much as one swipe of a meal plan card. A second service will take place tonight at Hillel. Lustig said they expect 100 to 170 students for the second night of the holiday tonight.

‘It takes a huge commitment,’ Lustig said. ‘You can’t eat pizza and no beer, because that is made with wheat. The interesting part is when students are here for the first time, and they make it a tradition.’

The dining halls usually offer the cracker-like matzah to students, and fruits and vegetables are always available. But that’s hardly enough to satisfy the cravings many college students feel.

Sheina Levine, a sophomore advertising design major, said she can’t go a week without yearning for some cookies. So this year she stashed some boxes of Passover cookies into her cabinets. And she’s prepared herself for the worst.

‘I feel like they’re not going to taste very good, so I got milk to dip them in,’ Levine said. ‘To hide the taste.’

Levine journeyed to Israel last winter for her Birthright trip. She said the trip inspired her to get more involved with the holiday. She arrived Wednesday with Natalie Levy, a senior graphics design major, who joined Levine on the trip to Israel.

Both were impressed by the massive turnout of students at Hillel. Some of the students like Lydia Shahmoon, an undecided freshman in the College of Arts and Science, came to the service because it’s a tradition that’s been ingrained in her.

‘I would probably be fine not going to the Seder,’ said Shahmoon. ‘But I would feel guilty.’

A large amount of Jewish students will go home this weekend to celebrate with their families. But those who won’t call Hillel their home away from home.

Landsman could have headed home to Potomac, Md. She chose to stay because she went home her freshman year and will study abroad next year. This year, she wanted the Hillel experience. The student dedication appeared everywhere. The student-led Seder encouraged everyone to participate.

They laughed. They sang. They celebrated. Together.

Said Landsman: ‘We’re trying to give people who didn’t have the opportunity or didn’t want to go home to feel like they’re getting to celebrate the holiday with their own Syracuse family,’

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Published on April 8, 2009 at 12:00 pm