Enhancing Meaning of the Seder

Mary Rourke asserts in her article “The Rites of Spring” (April 1) that the sacred holidays of Easter and Passover have lost much of their religious meaning. She provides valuable insight into the secularization of most religious holidays in our contemporary world.

However, my main point was not that “some families’ Seders are becoming just a Passover dinner.” The critical point I made in our 45-minute discussion was that Passover has seen an infusion of religious creativity and many Jews, by contemporizing the Seder, are in fact striving to enhance its meaning.

RABBI LEE T. BYCEL

Los Angeles

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Before Christmas was soured by commercialism, it already had been co-opted by Victorian idealists who reshaped it as a season of peace and goodwill. Remember, Scrooge was assailed for a lack of humanistic charity, not for disbelief in God made human.

And as for celebrating Easter “the way we used to,” for Catholics Easter has only become more meaningful. The Easter Vigil, the greatest celebration of the church year, was for centuries a forgotten event. Only in 1951 were many of the ancient rituals restored, and it was Vatican II that in 1970 completed the liturgical reformation of Easter.

For Catholics who in this season attend three days of celebrations culminating with the Easter Vigil on Saturday night, there is no time more moving or anticipated. I only wish my parents, or great-grandparents, had been able to grow up with Easters as rich as the ones we celebrate today.

GERARD WICKLIN

Los Angeles