Over 100 of Maidenhead Synagogue’s members and friends came together for an enriching evening led by Rabbi Romain and special guest, BBC religion correspondent, Harry Farley.

The communal Passover festivities didn’t disappoint – noisy, joyous and foodie with the Rabbi keeping us entertained, as he trotted through the Haggadah* with enthusiasm and compassion.
But, what made this year different from all other years? The heart-wrenching similarity of Moses’s plight in Egypt and the modern-day version for Ukrainian President Zelensky.

The Seder night – a key part of the Passover celebration – is where Jews reflect on Moses’ struggle to free the Jews from slavery in Egypt. Hence, as soon as the night began, Rabbi Romain highlighted comparisons of Zelensky and his fight to win a war over the 2022 Pharoah Putin.

The Rabbi shone a spotlight on the uncomfortable similarities of the two worlds, even looking at the 10 plagues and asking us for our take on which ones could stop the suffering in Ukraine today. Our brains started to crank, warmed up by the four cups of wine and full bellies courtesy of catering maestra Sari Kear and her team.

But the hard-hitting moment came when we were asked to reimagine the Seder plate in light of the war on our doorsteps.

Rabbi Romain put us to work: what are current symbols for the Seder meal depicting Ukraine’s plight, and how can we represent the outstretched hand of the Maidenhead community?

Each table brainstormed fervently as a team, a few discussing their own Ukrainian heritage, others telling stories of collecting donations, and some chatting about their imminent role of hosting refugees.

Then after a few minutes, the results were in! Representatives from each table stood up and read out their suggestions for a reinvented Seder plate.

Here are just some of the ideas put forward:

• Star of David –Zelensky’s Jewish heritage
• A child’s shoe – The children suffering and their lost childhood
• Paddington Bear toy – As Zelensky was the voice of Paddington Bear, but also because the character was a displaced refugee
• A key – To open the welcoming door of their new host’s home
• Wheat or sunflower oil – Ukrainian food production catastrophically hindered
• A plastic bag – The flimsy everyday object now used to hold refugees’ belongings as they fled.
• A UK Visa – The golden ticket to enable so many to restart their life
• Beetroot – The blood shed from over the 50+ days of conflict

The room was filled with applause at each idea, but also caused quite a few of us to dab our eyes.
Then it was time for music. Ben Bar-Lev, the synagogue’s choirmaster revved up the crowd for after-dinner songs ­– including a show-stopping version of Chad Gadya ­– and helped bring the evening to a triumphant close.

Like many I’m sure, my family and I left the evening with spirited discussion in the car. We all agreed that the Rabbi has created an atmosphere at the Synagogue that feels a privilege to be part of – a welcoming hub of Jewish belonging, learning, social awareness and fun.

Items found on a traditional seder plate:

* Egg (Beitzah) – Passover sacrifice from biblical times and the spring season
* Bitter herbs (Maror) representing bitterness of the Egyptian slavery
* Shank bone (Zeroa) symbolising lamb offered as a sacrifice
* Fruit & nuts (Charoset) illustrating the mortar used to build Egyptian structures
* Parsley dipped in salt water (Karpas) representing tears shed by the Jews in slavery.

*Seder text read at Passover