• "Thank you very much for the invitation. I am really looking forward to coming out to Nobles. I am intrigued by the idea of taking part in a multi-cultural seder. I have actually done a multi-cultural seder once before at a church and one of the things we talked about was 'what is the essence of Passover' -- how it has moved beyond being just a Jewiish event and how it has moved to a whole range of groups."
• "What we talked about was how the Passover essence is about freedom. One of the things that I asked everyone at this church to do -- and there people with all sorts of Christian backgrounds there -- was to tell me what symbols of freedom each person had. Someone brought out the keys to their home and said this was this was 'my symbol of freedom.' Someone brought out a credit card and said this was this was 'my symbol of freedom.' The discussion was quite interesting."
• "It was a really interesting experience to see what people felt was the essence of freedom. The holiday of Passover is really about trying to figure out what it means to be free --how you can inspire others to work for others to create that sense of freedom in their lives. It might be something spiritual. It might be something material. Are there people who need help in having the freedom to have something to eat, the freedom to wear clothes? It might be something more spiritual like not being caught in depressions. I am looking forward to exploring some of these themes with others at the Nobles Multi-cultural seder."
• "It is a pleasure to have been invited to Nobles."

• "Lenny felt that if we could sit at the passover seder and share our histories, then perhaps we could share our futures."
• end of seder tradition for Lenny Zakim: "Lenny insisted on ending the Black/Jewish seder with everyone singing: we shall overcome. Anyone who overcomes pain or suffering or injustice is a hero and should sing this song, said Lenny."

Paragraphs on Freedom:
Each of us attending this seder was asked to write a few thoughts on "freedom"

Sheila McElwee (Science Teacher) writes:
In March of 1985, before I had my own children, I traveled to Argentina to march with the "Mothers of the Missing." My idea of freedom is knowing that your children are physically and morally safe, allowed to think and imagine without restriction, allowed to act on desires that do not compromise the freedom of others. having just finished Walter Mosley's Working on the Chain Gang, I'd say we are a long way from that, as individuals and as a society. I asked my four year old daughter what freedom means, she said, "it is when you can run where ever you want and say your feelings and when poachers don't break the windows at your new house." (Our house was recently vandalized).

Amy Shorey (Nobles parent) writes:
To me, freedom is the ability to resist the temptation to make differences which enrich into differences which enslave. About 20 years ago, when we traveled to Israel, it was an experience of freedom to realize that Old and New Testaments were equally good as tour guides to that "holy land."

Lois Mirsky (Development Office) writes:
My name is Lois Mirsky. I work in the Development Office at Nobles and have been at the School for almost 8 years. I'm looking forward to the Seder on Monday. Passover has always been a favorite holiday. I grew up in a conservative Jewish home and we observed Passover at two seders, both hosted by my grandparents. My memories are vivid about how much fun my brother, sister and I and my cousins had together. My great grandfather (who lived to be 108) was the patriarch and he sat at the head of the table. My mother would rid the house of all traces of bread and anything associated with leavening. She would change dishes and work hard to prepare our home for the Passover week. When we were young she would hide small pieces of bread throughout the house and we would have to find them on window sills and other surfaces. After my grandparents died, my mother and father held the seders and now my home is the place where our blended family (a few intermarriages) gather. It's always a little hectic, but the tradition goes on. It is good to think of the freedoms we have in this country. Whenever I participate in voting on the local, state or national levels, I become emotional about the fact that I can go to the polls, flanked by placards promoting different candidates, and freely exercise my choices. I believe that the Seder and the story of Passover serve as a model of a people who removed the shackles of slavery. I hope that all peoples who are enslaved can some day know freedom and how to responsibly exercise the duties and obligations that being free entail.

Audree Dyson (Development Office) writes:
Freedom, among many other things, is symbolized by the ability to go to a multicultural Seder at a school that probably at one time was not accepting of Jews at all, led by a rabbi who was active with a gay and lesbian congregation. It doesn't get much freer than that. Audree Dyson, Database Manager

Mark Sheeran (French Teacher, Head of Mod Lang Dept) writes:
For me, freedom is having enough time to do things for others. One's self-worth and self-esteem is inextricably linked to doing unconditional acts of love for others and when those unconditional acts of love are done, then I know I have attained freedom.

Karen (student) writes:
Freedom in my opinion is doing what each of us have chosen to do right now- express our feelings and opinions openly, without being judged or condemned for it. It's a simple thing that we as a country take advantage of every day, probably because for us it seems such a simple thing to be able to do.

Steve Toubman (math teacher) writes:
Our daughter Sarah likes to wear her special necklace, on which there is a Hebrew symbol called a chai. This visible sign of Judaism brings her youthful, unabashed pleasure. I hope that she is free to enjoy both her necklace and her religion for many years to come, without the interference of prejudice or anti-semitism.

Alyssa (student) writes:
I value my freedom to travel within and outside of the US without governmental restrictions. After learning about many countries where the military enforces strict curfews, I feel very fortunate to be able to walk in public at any hour.

Bill Bussey (Nobles faculty member) writes:
For me it's the right "to choose, think and act voluntarily...to be the author of my own actions."

Stacey Zuckermansuki@dellnet.com writes:
I'm Stacey the OT at the Boston Home.. To me freedom is being able to make ones own decisions, yet still being held accountable for ones actions.

Jenny Carlson (Head of Middle School) writes:
As a lesbian I am very often aware of the freedoms I am fortunate enough to have and the freedoms which I am, as yet, denied. My partner and I were married three years ago. We were married in a church by a wonderful minister, we celebrated our union with our families and close friends, and April 27, 1997 definitely marks our spiritual and social marriage. For the love we share with each other and the love and support we enjoy from our friends and families, we are incredibly fortunate. Despite our commitment to each other and our relationship and despite our lives as individuals in a married couple -- shared expenses, shared home and car, shared care for pets and each other, etc. -- we are not recognized by law as a married couple. We are denied over 1000 specific rights afforded to legally married couples. Some of these rights we can attain by hiring the services of lawyers and drawing up legal documents . . . but this costs a good deal of money that not all people have, and most of these types of documents have been successfully contested in courts of law and are therefore not reliably effective. I am confident that in the not-too-distant future American laws will change to recognize the marriage of same sex couples. I will do what I can to work toward equal rights, equal freedoms for all people, and I will remain thankful for all the freedoms I currently enjoy. Life is good.

Robin Feuer Miller (Nobles parent) writes:
One example of freedom in our own lives. . . .well, when I was four years old I was sent to a day camp. Every morning the first activity in the camp was to pledge allegiance to the flag. For some reason I simply refused to do this, and no amount of cajoling could get me to participate with the group. Finally I was allowed to sit by myself on a nearby hill and watch the morning ceremony. And that was the end of that. But in the ensuing decades and years this fractured memory has become quite precious to me, because it is indicative of freedoms that are so ingrained in us that we almost take them for granted.

Wilda Perez (student) writes:
Freedom to me is feeling comfortable with who you are no matter where you are. Not having to worry about what others think of you and what stereotypes they have of you means to be free. Being able to look at yourself and at others and only see the heart and not the skin color, background, etc. is the most free anyone can get.”

Sarah Klein (French teacher) writes:
I have been thinking recently about the freedom I have in this country and at this time in history to live as a single woman and to pursue the things I want without society and/or family making these choices impossible.

Steve Bergen (computer coordinator) writes:
My symbol of freedom that I would like to highlight for this coming Monday involves the legs with which most of us walk with. Back in 1992, I had a ruptured disk and could not stand up or move for about 30 days. The feelings of emotional stress during this month affected me in so many ways that I resolved to help others with physical disabilities if in fact I were to get healthy again. My involvement with my friends at the Boston Home is directly related to this lack of freedom that I had during September 92 when I could not stand up. Pushing people in their wheelchairs on marathon day each year makes me think again about how much we all take for granted the freedom of using our own legs for daily tasks.

Alden Mauck (Head of Eng Dept) writes:
My awareness of freedom comes in those moments when I am forced to think about it and this enables me to realize how much freedom I have and how it is more the water that I swim in daily than any specific rights or privileges. The rights to vote, to buy a home wherever I choose, the right to live where I choose, the ability to send my children to Nobles or keep them in Newton, the right to pursue the career of my choice, the ability to attend college, the circumstances of birth that keep me from racism and anti-Semitism, homophobia and other catagorizing distinctions made by others. Ultimately, I have the freedom to hope that others in this country and in others will come to enjoy those "freedoms" that I take for granted every day.

Claudia Keller (computer and music teacher) writes:
My symbol of freedom is my saxophone. It represents the courage to go left when everyone else is going right, knowing it is the right thing to do.

Zack (student) writes:
One example of freedom for me is that I can walk around as a Jew without feeling resentment from anyone for my beliefs. I've taken this freedom for granted, but I understand that there have been times when Jews have not had this freedom and have been persecuted for their beliefs.

Colleen Powers (marathoner from the Boston Home) writes:
One thing that I am thankful for is this dragon program, because I can't type, and this program does it for me. I am thankful for the many things that technology provides for me -- and I realize that I am thanking another person for having the intelligence required to make this program a reality. Technology is responsible for so many things that I have come to depend on the myriad of things that are possible now.

Edwin (student) writes:
The primary example of freedom in my life is the freedom have opinions and voice them. I understand that certain opinions are unpopular and unwanted but nonetheless I feel that I always express my feelings.

Ali (student) writes:
For me freedom is being able to express my thoughts, emotions and opinions to my community. Freedom is living in a place where people of all backgrounds are able to come together in religious celebration. Freedom is the ability to be yourself under all circumstances. Freedom is unlimited.

Moira (student) writes:
Freedom is not being labeled or judged by your outward appearence, race, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, religion, etc. Freedom is being to express yourself in whatever way you like. Freedom is being able to love whomever you chose without being shamed, to speak your mind without being silenced, to be youself without being stereotyped. Freedom is following your dreams without poverty or hunger to hinder you. Freedom is running through tall grass barefoot.

Rachel (student) writes:
"we who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes" ... this line comes from "ella's song" by sweet honey in the rock, an all female, all black a capella group. it is about a young girl who helped martin luther king jr. organize students and other young people. i think freedom is that we all have a chance to fight for what we believe in, no matter our race, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender, or anything else.

Diane Lemay (marathoner from Boston Home) writes:
MY NAME IS: DIANE LEMAY. MY SYMBOL OF FREEDOM ARE TWOFOLD: THE FIRST WAS WHEN I HAD TO PLACE MY SON IN FOSTER CARE BECAUSE OF MY HEALTH: THE SECOND WAS WHEN I CAME HERE, THANKS TO EVERYONE HERE AND MR. STEVE BERGEN, I DON'T BELIEVE I WOULD HAVE FOUND ANOTHER CALLING IN MY LIFE, ALSO, THE "SPIRIT OF GOD", GAVE ME MY STRENGTH TO NOT ALLOW (MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS) TO EVER GET THE BEST OF ME... BECAUSE, NOW I HAVE THE "POWER OF THE COMPUTER" WHICH IS HELPING MY MIND/MOUTH BECOME A TEACHER FROM WHEN I WAS A STUDENT IN SCHOOL...

Meredith (student) writes:
along with all the other things mentioned.... freedom is the ability to wear whatever you want and to express yourself through your clothing.

Jen (student) writes:
"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose." -Janis Joplin One aspect of freedom for me is this quote from Janis Joplin. Freedom is when you have to look only to yourself for approval. It's the power of not being pressured or threatened by anyone else for you to act how you want to act.

Amy (student) writes:
My sense of freedom is when you have the right to speak up when you see that something is wrong. Also, I have recently had my bat mitzvah, and that has made me feel as though I have a greater right to tell those older than me when they are morally incorrect when I feel the need arises.

Meredith (student) writes:
Freedom for me is being able to give up bread etc. for a week by choice, not by necessity; to be able to step back and look at my life and everything I take for granted and realize that not everyone has a life as good as mine and to be thankful for that, that I am not suffering. --B'ahava (with love)

Elisa Goldsmith (French teacher) writes:
For me, freedom is the safety and well-being of my baby. There are dangers for children in every society and therefore no complete freedom. Having heard Gerda Weissman Klein, for the second time 2 weeks ago, I realize that my son Jason is free by comparison to so many other children in the world. For that, I'm so grateful. In addition, I realize what an incredible luxury it is for me to live in a country where I could "adopt" Judaism ("convert") 5 years ago without fear of persecution. That is freedom. Freedom to choose a religion and to express it openly.

Lyman (student) writes:
Freedom is to be able to openly advocate your beliefs without fear of opposition from others.

Katie (student) writes:
my freedom is my pen and papper, to be able to live in a country where I can write how i feel, what I believe, that I can say what is on my mind and fight for the freedoms not yet granted to me.

Linda Hurley (faculty member) writes:
Wow.....freedom...not such a big word.....such an incredible range of definition. I have been thinking about it since we got the assignment and I feel I could write pages about it. When I try to begin to write, I can't find a starting point. So much of who we are depends on how much of it we have or think we have. So much of our history involves the quest for freedom from so many things. Freedom to me is my life......my family,my friends, my home, my job,my choices and the ability to have them.