Faith During War

Faith During War. A Jewish Seder in the Wilds. , At the top of the hill here a community came together to help Jewish soldiers keep their faith in the midst of war. In early April 1862, Pvt. Joseph A. Joel and 20 other Jewish soldiers in the 23rd Ohio Infantry asked Col. Rutherford B. Hayes, a future president, for relief from duty to observe the upcoming holiday of Passover. The request was granted, but they still had the arduous task of preparing for the week-long holiday. , Many of the items needed to observe Passover were not readily available in West Virginia or in a military camp. The regimental sutler, possibly G.W. Forbes, was also Jewish and was able to retrieve the soldiers' order of Matzos from Ohio. The soldiers were surprised to find the sutler had slipped prayer books and Haggadahs into the boxes of unleavened bread. With these gifts in hand, the soldiers decided to build a log hut and forage for the symbolic foods and supplies to hold their Seder, a ceremonial dinner that marks the beginning of the Passover holiday. , The dinner occurred on April 14, and Joel recounted his experience in the March 3, 1866, issue of the Jewish Messenger, saying, “there is no occasion in my life that gives me more pleasure and satisfaction than when I remember the celebration of Passover of 1862.” , “There, in the wild woods of West Virginia, away from home and friends, we consecrated and offered up to the ever-loving G-d of Israel our prayers and sacrifice.” -Private Joseph A. Joel , (sidebar) , A Proper Plateful. Each Seder dinner items symbolizes a part of the story recounting the Hebrews liberation from Egypt. For example, Charoset, a sweet relish meant to symbolize the clay the enslaved Hebrews were forced to make into bricks. Here is the soldiers menu. , Traditional Menu , , Adaptations , Matzos , , Matzos , 4 cups of wine , , Cider , Shulchan Orech (Passover feast) , , Cooked Chicken , Beitza (roasted eggs) , , Roasted Eggs , Zeroa (lamb shank bone) , , Whole Lamb , Maror/Chazeret (horseradish) , , Ramps (assumed) , Karpas (parsley) , , Ramps , Charoset (sweet relish) , , A brick