This is not your typical Seder, but it’s oh so Washington.
Jewish lawmakers, including Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Ben Cardin, D-Md., will gather at the Capitol Visitors Center on Thursday for the second annual National Capital Childhood Nutrition Seder. The Seder is one part religious ceremony and one part legislative push.
“It’s fairly unusual,” said Rabbi Steve Gutow, president of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Gutow will lead the Seder.
The Haggadah, or prayer guide, has been written to include the history of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act, the piece of legislation organizers are pushing.
“The Seder is a ceremony in which Jews speak about not only their freedom, but they also speak about how it applies in their lives in today’s world,” Gutow explained. And in today’s America, no child should go hungry, he continued.
Susan Sher, Michelle Obama’s chief of staff, also is slated to attend. The first lady has made it a top priority that kids are eating and eating healthily.
“I think Michelle Obama’s work has inspired a lot of us to work on this issue,” Gutow said. “I also think it’s always an important issue.”
Thirty communities across the country will hold similar Seders, including one in Ohio, to be attended by Sen. Sherrod Brown.
