This is really one of the things I actually enjoy about our city. I mean, I know Harrisburg has crime and other such problems, but it seems like it also really tries to be all-inclusive vis-à-vis the different religions its citizens practice. For example, I just learned about a pre-Passover “freedom seder” that is being organized by Penn State Harrisburg which aims to “celebrate the shared commitment of blacks and Jews to freedom from slavery and oppression.”
I know that Passover is really celebrated by the Jewish people, but I think this freedom seder is a great way to increase tolerance and understanding of different religions. While the actual festival for the Jews is a retelling of the story of how the Jews escaped slavery from Egypt, it seems all of us somehow have our own type of slavery that we must try and escape from. No matter what it is – from alcoholism, to other addictive behavior – everyone should really be on a journey from slavery to freedom.
So I read a bit more about it and learned that the first one that was organized took place in 1969, marking the Jews’ festival as well as the first anniversary of Martin Luther King’s death. This occurred in Washington DC.
