My First Passover Seder

Even though I've learned about Passover, I had never been to a Seder. This week, I attended one for the first time with Jessica’s family. Unfortunately, we had to do a virtual Seder, but I definitely feel blessed to have technologies that keep us connected to people during these tough times.

Chag Sameach

Passover observance includes “post trauma rituals”. They began at some point following the initial traumatic experience of slavery, and predate many of the modern struggles of the Jewish people. I find myself barely able to articulate the “warm and fuzzy” feeling I have when thinking about the the words of the Seder and also my own family/people’s history with slavery, discrimination, persecution and displacement. My first Seder experience left me feeling very Haitian - but I discovered a side of my "Haitian-ness" that I was not aware of - what it means to be Haitian, enslaved, discriminated against, persecuted and displaced IN THE PAST. Passover Seder is a religious and cultural ritual, but it is also a way to deal with trauma that allows that trauma to become a foundational part of a positive identity for another generation of Jews. The Passover Seder tradition demands that each generation of Jews be taught and to remember that: “we used to be slaves, but now we are free”. The simple acknowledgement, affirmation and remembrance of freedom is empowering and carries the mind through present difficulties and prepares it for whats to come.

I personally am not directly impacted by a military conflict nor am I enslaved today for my ethnicity or race, like past generations before me had been, but:

1. discrimination and ethnic/racial bias still runs rampant in the world and because of this,
2. there is a “war / conflict" still being waged in my mind that carries with it the emotional pain and suffering of war and conflict.

As a Haitian American, it is helpful to see cultural tradition that helps an entire community view a past trauma as past and brings them together, even in the face of current and future struggles.

Listen to Ambitionz Az a Ridah by Tupac.
To me (and I assume many) this is poetry describing
the duality of "living in peace" while "feeling at war"

I’ve learned that how well or poorly one deals with emotional pain and suffering can have a generational impact and I think my family has suffered from this. During the Seder, for the first time, I felt an emotion that seems to frame my people's enslavement as a past experience. The Seder ritual recalled an historical period that was one of the many traumatic experiences in Jewish history, but allowed for remembrance and dialogue to be done in an intimate and safe place of peace, love, community and family.

Jess had a similar experience, when she visited Haiti with me in January 2019 and we went to Citadelle Laferrière. We were there on Haitian Independence Day and she indicated to me that she feels very connected to her Jewish history through the story of Haiti's experience with slavery, freedom and eventual fight for independence - also the mountain top fortress reminded her of going to Masada and she's a huge fan of Soup Joumou (Haitian squash soup traditionally prepared to celebrate independence). Passover showed me peace and healing and Haiti reminded Jess of the Jewish people's fighting spirit. While being of different ethnic backgrounds and having different histories and cultures, we are doing a great job of finding commonalities in difference - these bonds are just some of the many reasons I love her.

Living with the threat of invasion aiming to re-enslave Haitians, self proclaimed Haitian King Henri Christophe began construction of the fort near Cap-Haitian in the north of what we know as the Republic of Haiti today, in 1805

Jessica and me

The Haitians seized Napoleon's naval vessels docked in the harbors of Cap-Haitian and carried the cannons up the mountain

Cannon balls were cast in the fort. They are still there as an invasion never happened and while Haitians weren't re enslaved, war was still waged against Haiti in ways Haitians could not defend against - via diplomacy and economics. The country never became politically stable, constantly endures natural disasters and does not have a functioning government to effectively manage institutions that should address these issues.