c. 2003 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) At the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom, concerned Jewish family members wondered via a listserv about celebrating their traditional Passover Seder without their loved ones serving in the military.

The online discussion led to a special ritual those military members can use to celebrate whenever they come home: “Seder of Safe Return.”

“We eat our matzah now, combined with a bitter herb, symbolizing the loss of life, the injuries, the separation from family, the fears and nightmares that are a necessary part of our struggle to bring freedom wherever it has been denied,” the Seder says.

The text connects the story of Passover with similar themes in the mission and outcome of the work of the military forces, the text explains.

“It is an account of freedom gained through sacrifice, of plagues rained down on an entire nation because of the stubbornness and cruelty of their ruler, and finally a story of people who went through fire and water and had to cross a desert to reach their goal,” the opening section of the four-page document reads.

The Seder includes a blessing to be recited by the member of the military, an opportunity to share memories of the war and the pouring of drops of wine to recall the suffering and death among Iraqi people.

“I want to give all these families who are just so grateful that their kids came home safely, that their husbands came home safely … a structure to express in a religious idiom what they’re feeling,” said Rabbi Harold Kushner, a popular author who quickly developed the Seder after discussions with a U.S. Navy chaplain and members of a Conservative synagogue in Sharon, Mass.

Debbie Astor, executive director of the synagogue, Temple Israel, and co-founder of TheBrave listserv, said the idea was sparked by discussions in the weeks preceding Passover.

Most of those on the listserv still await the arrival of their spouses, sons and daughters, but look forward to using the ritual when the time is right.

“I suspect it will be used very heavily because it is very touching and centers the returnee and gives that person an opportunity to say something about the war experience,” said Astor, the mother of a Marine serving south of Baghdad. “There’s a lot of good stuff in here psychologically and religiously.”

The ritual is drawn from the ancient tradition of “Pesach Sheni,” or Second Passover, which was used when a person was considered unfit for the observance at the specific time of the holiday _ due to, perhaps, skin lesions or a time of mourning _ and was permitted to observe it later.

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the association of Conservative synagogues in North America, is promoting the Seder on its Web site, http://www.uscj.org.

Rabbi Jerome Epstein, executive vice president of the New York-based association, said the Seder will include food and meaningful words, just as the traditional Seder does. But some of the foods may be slightly different. The matzo, the unleavened bread, doesn’t have to be appropriate for Passover and the green vegetable might be parsley, spinach or another food that is growing at the time of the service member’s return.

“We thought this was an appropriate way to provide a spiritual connection between the holiday that they missed and a religious response to welcoming them home,” he said of those returning from military service.

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