Recognized student organization Hillel hosted a showing of DreamWorks’ The Prince of Egypt with a panel discussion yesterday in the classroom building. Hillel is UW’s largest Jewish student organization whose purpose of this showing was to recognize this year’s upcoming Passover.
Since the 8-day long Passover begins on Monday, April 14, Hillel member Michaela Rubenstein felt this was a good opportunity to recognize the Jewish holiday.
“We felt that it would be a really good idea to have some instructional education time so other people can learn what Passover really is,” said Rubenstein.
Many people are unaware of what Passover really is and Hillel thought that by showing a well-known movie, they could easily understand what Passover is and its significance to the Jewish faith.
“We figured that by showing a movie people have seen before and like that they would be a little more receptive to the message,” Rubenstein said.
Just as the Jews first left Egypt, Hillel leaders stopped the movie and presented other visual aids to the audience, which included Matzah and Charoset. Matzah is unleavened bread eaten by Jews during Passover. Although the reasons for this was not told in the movie, Rubenstein explained the tradition.
“They (the Jews) had an eight day period for escaping when they didn’t have time for making bread rise while they were cooking in the desert,” Rubenstein said. “So for those eight days they didn’t have leavened bread so in remembrance of that, we have eight days of Passover in which we don’t eat leavened bread.”
Another food presented was Charoset, which is a mix of apples, nuts, wine, and cinnamon. Its muddy texture symbolizes the mortar used to construct bricks during the Jews’ days as slaves but its sweet taste symbolizes redemption and freedom for the Jewish people.
Hillel strives to promote involvement in Jewish traditions on campus. They run events during periods of relevance to the Jewish faith and during Holocaust remembrance week in the fall. UW religious studies professor Seth Ward is an advisor for Hillel and he said the RSO becomes whatever the students involved want it to be.
“Hillel at the University of Wyoming has really been reflective of the interests of students,” Dr. Ward said.
The Prince of Egypt tells the story of Moses going from a powerful prince to a humble Jew. Moses is a significant figure in Judaism notably for freeing enslaved Jews from the Pharaoh’s oppression. Highlighted in the movie was the Passover, which gave the Jews their first chance at freedom.
