At Syracuse University, Passover 5784 Marked the Return of “Passover in the Dome”
The JMA Wireless Dome is a fixture of the Syracuse University campus. The Dome has been the site of some of the most memorable concerts, championships and events in the Syracuse region — and, most recently, hosted more than 700 Syracuse University students for an unforgettable Passover Seder.
“It was more successful than we could have imagined,” said senior Peter Stein, one of the event’s two co-chairs. “We had 760 signups, and 38 student clubs represented. It was an amazing turnout.”
“Passover in the Dome” was once a fairly regular Syracuse event — in fact, for Peter, it was one of the reasons he picked the school — but between COVID-19 restrictions and scheduling conflicts, it’s been more than four years since the stadium played host to Jewish students and their communities. But this year, the stars aligned, and Peter and his event co-chair, senior Kayla Kriegel, were able to put together an evening that surpassed their wildest expectations.
“I remember that during our first meeting, the rabbi told us not to be too disappointed if we couldn’t get 700 people,” Peter recalled. “And we said, sure, sure, we won’t be disappointed, but of course secretly we would have been. And so to get more than 750, when we only had capacity for 800 — we couldn’t have gone much higher. We were really happy.”
For Kayla, who was in charge of the content for the Seder, having such a full house made her last Passover at Syracuse even more special.
“Usually we use the Goldstein Auditorium, which can only hold about 450 people. To be able to celebrate Passover in the Dome, which is already such a celebratory place, was really, really cool for all of our students and staff,” she said.
The haggadah for the event included some traditional passages and songs, as well as special new readings and activities to get students talking and participating. There were also guest speakers, including a representative from Challah for Hunger, who discussed food insecurity in Syracuse and collected donations for the Food Bank of Central New York, and a student who shared her experience with the community as a Jewish lesbian at Syracuse. Another student, the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, spoke about her recent visit to Berlin over spring break.
“In some ways, it was a Seder that was very unique to this moment,” said Hillel Rabbi Ethan Bair, who worked with Kayla on the haggadah and spoke at the beginning of the event, giving a framing for this unique moment and offering prayers for both Israelis and Palestinians. “But in others, it was just like any other Seder — just with the Syracuse spirit.”
“Something I always look forward to in my family’s Seder is the four children, because it’s always different every year,” Kayla said. “For the event we did it like a screenplay, with students from different organizations and grades acting out the different children. It was really cool to see everybody come together and kind of put a different spin on that classic part of the Seder.”
Speaking of classic elements of the Seder: No Passover would be complete without an afikomen hunt! With so many students in attendance, hiding one afikomen just wouldn’t do — instead, the planning committee hid nine of them across the stadium. Students and staff alike searched the stands, the tables, and even the stage, with gift cards to a local coffee shop for the lucky seekers.
“It was really fun,” Peter said. “Everyone got a chance to be a kid again.”
Students came away from the event in high spirits, with many sharing this was the largest Jewish event they’d ever attended, on campus or off. Plenty of non-Jewish students were also in attendance — some, like Kayla’s sorority sisters, were there to support their Jewish friends, while others attended as part of organizations like the Student Alliance of Interfaith Leaders, the Jewish Muslim Fellowship, and the Campus Christian Center. A number of Syracuse administrators also joined the celebration, including the university chancellor, as well as the vice chancellor and her wife.
“It was great to see members of the administration there, jumping up and clapping along to Chad Gadya,” said Rabbi Bair. “And that solidarity really meant a lot to me. We’ve had so much support from the administration, and I don’t take that for granted.”
Peter agreed.
“Having the event in the Dome really showed just how much the university wants to support Jewish students on campus,” he said. “We didn’t have to turn anyone away. Everyone was able to come and practice and show their Judaism, at a time when I think that’s more important than ever.”