Every year at Passover, Jews tell the biblical tale of the Exodus. They remember the time when, some 3,000 years ago, Moses led the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt and into the Promised Land. For centuries, this story has been a model, echoing in the hearts of people searching for liberation from many forms of oppression and inequality. An African-American rabbi and a feminist Catholic explain how the Exodus resonates for them.
Web Extra: Full Interview
Rabbi Capers C. Funnye, Rabbi of Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in Chicago
Diann Neu, co-director of the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual
Rev. Roy Bourgeois, Giving It All To Support Women Priests
Begins at 22 min 30 sec
Rev. Roy Bourgeois believes women should be allowed to be ordained as priests - a practice strictly prohibited by the Catholic hierarchy. This March, he was told to recant his support for women priests, or face total dismissal from the priesthood and his religious community, Maryknoll. He refused.
Rev. Roy Bourgeois, Catholic priest
We often romanticize life in biblical times, but Scott Korb wants you to know it wasn’t all that pretty for the Jewish peasants in first-century Palestine – around the time Jesus lived. Spiritual cleanliness was much more important than actual cleanliness, homes were made of mud and animal dung, and many people didn’t own soap. Lauren Talley speaks with the author about the nitty-gritty of the daily life of Jesus’ neighbors.
Scott Korb, author of "Life In Year One: What the World Was Like in First-Century Palestine"
Life in Year One
Begins at 32 min 16 sec
We often romanticize life in biblical times, but Scott Korb wants you to know it wasn’t all that pretty for the Jewish peasants in first-century Palestine – around the time Jesus lived. Spiritual cleanliness was much more important than actual cleanliness, homes were made of mud and animal dung, and many people didn’t own soap. Lauren Talley speaks with the author about the nitty-gritty of the daily life of Jesus’ neighbors.
Scott Korb, author of "Life In Year One: What the World Was Like in First-Century Palestine"
In the Kitchen With the 'Jewish Martha Stewart'
Begins at 42 min
For Jews, every Passover begins with a sumptuous, ritualized meal called a seder. It celebrates the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt with stories, songs, and most importantly, food. The dinner can last anywhere from half an hour to three hours, and needless to say there's a lot of cooking to do. Laura Kwerel dropped by the home of Meredith Jacobs, also known as "the Jewish Martha Stewart," to find out what it takes to make it all happen. Our story first aired in April 2009.
Meredith Jacobs, author of "The Modern Jewish Mom's Guide to Shabbat"
Commentary: Googling 'Passover Script'
Begins at 47 min 40 sec
Bonnie Auslander’s first seder was tricky. Even though her husband assumed she knew what she was doing, as a Jew, she'd been raised in such a secular household that she didn’t know a Haggadah from a hamantaschen. These days she feels more comfortable hosting the service, but it took a long time to get there.
Pictured: Matzoh, unleavened bread eaten on Passover. It symbolizes the Israelites' haste to flee Egypt: they left so quickly that they couldn't wait for their bread dough to rise.
Bonnie Auslander, writer from Bethesda, Md.
