Radlett's Radical Seder
Radlett United Synagogue broke with tradition this year by having a radical second night seder. Keen to attract younger congregants, the community did away with a number of traditions in order to update the service. By re-writing the haggadah, they hoped to make it more accessible to today's jewish youth. The synagogue secretary said 'we need to show younger jews that we're ready to change and adapt', adding 'I think we even surprised ourselves with just how radical we were'. Although some members are thought to have boycotted the event, the shul has hailed the night as a 'huge success'.Keen to show how the anglo-jewish community is still 'enslaved' in exile, the community had a list of plagues which represented their concerns. They branded their list, the ten plagues afflicting Radlett jews. 'Blood' was modernised as the high cost of private healthcare, 'locusts' became the Guardian newspaper, 'hail' was expanded to the difficulty of finding a parking space near shul when its raining and 'the slaying of the firstborn' for when a child marries out.
They exhibited particular creativity with regard to the four children-hauling the tradition into the twenty first century. The wise child became an IDF soldier (this element was sponsored by the Zionist Federation), the simple child a Jew from the East End , and the one who does not know how to ask, a local goy. There was a heated debate over the updating of the wicked child, with suggestions ranging from Ken Livingstone to Daniel Baranboim to Clive Lawton. They eventually settled on the rabbi of Radlett Reform.
The community was astonished at how much contemporary relevance the seder proved to contain. "We begin with degradation and end in glory" demonstrated the progression from the scabby east end to the promised land of Hertfordshire, while the passage 'our ancestors were idol worshippers' aptly described the embarrassment Radlett jews felt about having communist grandparents. A few small changes were necessary to bring texts up to date; it was felt that the number of plagues suffered by the Egyptians was insufficient and should be multiplied by four, while in the popular song 'dayenu', participants were adamant that 'had he not brought us semi detached properties, 2 family cars and 3 holidays a year it most certainly wouldn’t have been enough'. The suggestion, allegedly emanating from the chief rabbi's office, that the hallel section could be rewritten to include less praise for god and more for the leaders of anglo jewry was unfortunately received too late, but will be implemented next year.
The meal consisted of non traditional food, described by the caterers as 'goy style cuisine' How far they departed from typical Ashkenazi fare was demonstrated by the fact the guests were hungry 16 hours later. Amongst the sushi, roast vegetables and soya based 'prawns' old favourites such as fruit compote and almond pudding were not abandoned. This was explained by David Shmuck, a radical 6 bedroom house owner in Stanmore: What do you think we are, Masorti?Of course, some of the traditional seder was deemed too important to change. The section calling on God to pour out his wrath on the goyim was kept and indeed the community elaborated by suggesting names of people who God might like to start with. As a part of the radical nature of the night, even some Jews were on the list. Noam Chomsky was first.
A few young hotheads questioned the final benediction 'next year in Jerusalem '. This could be, they pointed out, rather inconvenient, due to the lack of management consultancy work in the holy city. It was less important, argued these dynamic young professionals that the Jews returned to Jerusalem , far more crucial was that the Arabs were expelled from it. This resulted in much agreement, laughter, and drinking of Palwins No.10. It had been a great night.
