Cape Verdean-Jewish Passover Seder

The Ninth Annual Cape Verdean-Jewish Passover Seder will take place April 10 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Hibernian Hall, located at 184 Dudley St. in Roxbury. During the Seder—the meal celebrating the Jewish holiday of Passover—Jews commemorate the biblical exodus of Jewish slaves from Egypt. At this free event, Cape Verdeans and Jews sit down to explore the values and experiences they hold in common, including their mutual search for independence.

Cape Verdean and Jewish youth are some of the Seder’s most active organizers. The young people collaborate to plan Seder events and learn about each other’s communities in the process. This year, one of the event’s two co-chairs is Aicha Tavares, a 17-year-old Cape Verdean high school student. She and the other Cape Verdean young people have prepared a dance recital, and Jewish youth will also perform for Seder attendees.

Cape Verde, a former Portuguese colony located on an archipelago off the west coast of Senegal, has experienced two waves of Jewish migration. The first group of Jewish immigrants arrived in the 15th and 16th centuries, when Jews emigrated from Spain and Portugal to escape the Inquisition. The second group came in the 19th century, when Jews from Morocco and Gibraltar were attracted by Cape Verde’s strong economy.

Although there is no practicing Jewish community in Cape Verde today, many Cape Verdeans are descended from Jewish immigrants. The country’s first democratically elected president, Carlos Alberto Wahnon de Carvalho Veiga, is the great-grandson of Jews who came to Cape Verde from Gibraltar.

The majority of Cape Verdean Americans live in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Seder in Roxbury gives the Cape Verdean community the chance to explore their Jewish roots and hear more about the Cape Verdean-Jewish connection. At the same time, Jews learn about Cape Verdean culture and customs. The program booklet for the Cape Verdean-Jewish Passover Seder is written in English, Hebrew, and Cape Verdean Creole.

This year’s sponsors include Cape Verdean Community UNIDO, the Women’s and Gender and Africana Studies Departments at UMass Boston, the Jewish, and Portuguese Studies and Anthropology Departments at Brown, Brown/RISD Hillel, the Consulate General of Cape Verde, Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Mass. Association of Portuguese Speakers, the Sunday School for Jewish Studies, and many more.

To find out more about the Cape Verdean-Jewish Passover Seder, to make a donation, or to register to attend the free event, visit www.capeverdeanjewishseder.com.