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On a chilly evening earlier this week in a spacious Tribeca loft, Susan Alexandra-branded Haggadahs and vibrant Seder plates lined two long tables set with glorious glassware—all flanked with extra savory pickle brine martinis accented with cherry tomatoes.
We were there to enjoy the traditional Seder dinner to celebrate Passover: the seven-day festival that marks the liberation of Jewish people from Egyptian enslavement. The event was co-hosted by the Jewish Food Society and the brand Susan Alexandra, best known for its playful beaded accessories, and more recently, groundbreaking Judaica collections. But as any of the hosts would tell you (the three female chefs who cooked, included), this was an event for anyone, religious or not.
“Each of us, Jewish or not, has a place in discerning how this story can shape how we see our own role as changemakers and creators of a world where we all can be free,” the opening page of the Haggadah read. For the uninitiated, the Haggadah is a sort of manual book that is read during the Seder dinner, telling the story of Passover and providing instructions on the more ritualistic parts of the event. The message was heard loud and clear: one of unity. And, equally as important: proverbial food for thought, offering a meditation on food as a storytelling device.
I don’t consider myself religious. I was baptized Catholic, didn’t practice beyond one year of private Catholic school as a kindergartener, and grew up with a loosely culturally Jewish mother who came from a long line of very Jewish family members. Growing up, my mom didn’t practice traditions beyond indulging in a frequent rotation of delectable Jewish deli food. I’d never been to a Seder dinner or anything close to it. But I’ve always been interested in great food and I’m fascinated by rituals.
This was the second time Susan Alexandra co-hosted a Seder dinner with the Jewish Food Society, and admittedly, I didn’t attend the first iteration of the event because I felt a little intimidated by the idea. But for Susan Korn, founder of Susan Alexandra, the intention was to make everyone in the room feel the exact opposite: “I reached out to friends, new and old, people who are involved in Jewish things and then people who are not Jewish at all,” she told me a few minutes before we all took our seats. “I just think it’s a really cool way to observe how things are done in other places, if you’re a curious, interested person.”
Over 75 people were mingling with their pickle cocktails in hand before we were all asked to take a seat wherever we wanted. “I grew up on a kibbutz in Israel, and Seder for us was a performance, like an art show,” Naama Shefi, founder of the Jewish Food Society told me briefly beforehand. “Here, everyone is welcome and we are so excited for everyone to literally have a seat at the table.”
Next, came the rituals. Rabbi Samantha Frank kicked off the evening with an introduction explaining the meaning of Passover and how it connects to Jewish values—such as the dignity of every human, the holiness of struggling with important ideas, the power of pursuing peace, and the idea of hope as a practice. While the chefs were busy cooking in the open kitchen and the scent of food wafted through the air, Frank sauntered around the room and had guests read aloud the different items featured on the Seder plate and what they each represented. An egg for the circle of life and rebirth. An olive branch for peace. An orange for inclusion. She granted us words of gratitude and explained the meaning of the different cups on the table (symbolic of Elijah and Miriam). She instructed us to take the Karpas (green vegetable) from the Seder plate and dip it into salt water—as a “reminder of the tears shed by the Israelites when they were in Egypt.”
Speaking in both English and Hebrew, Frank instructed us to break Matzah, a symbol of the memory of the quick flight from Egypt, and the unleavened bread Jewish people brought with them. More interactive readings commenced, and we removed some of the wine from our glasses with our pinkies to symbolize the 10 plagues. We sang, we sipped ritualistic sips of wine, and we listened to more readings about the various symbols of the Seder plate. There was even some dancing. “As I get older, I’m becoming much more interested in my culture and my heritage,” Korn said during the event. “So, this is me finding my way back to it” The designer grew up with Seder dinners that “felt like hours and hours until we could eat,” and purposely designed this one to feel short and sweet. “That’s the whole goal with this—to make these beautiful traditions more beautiful,” she said.
Next came the dinner, with a menu pulled straight from Shefi’s new Jewish Food Society cookbook, The Jewish Holiday Table. Chefs Sasha Shor, Rinat Tzadok, and Fany Gerson were the masterminds behind the menu. Shor created the sour pickle roasted beet salad and pomegranate braised short ribs, among other dishes. “Judaism in general really wasn’t practiced openly in so many places around the world, so I think food became the religion and it became the thing that people would pass on and sort of rally around, because you can’t be persecuted for sitting around a table and eating the way you would be persecuted for attending a synagogue or a service,” she said. Gerson created the Mexican matzo ball soup, inspired by her grandmother’s very specific recipe (not too soft, very small, with a bite to it!) and served with avocado, lime, and chili. “My father passed away in September, and even though I didn t spend holidays with him, he was with me,” she added. “To be able to share this, I think he would be so proud. Moving to New York, my friends became my family. So in a way, strangers are our family for one night in this kitchen as well.”
The room was full of people from a slew of different industries; media, food, fashion and more. Screenwriter Sascha Seinfeld and model Cory Kennedy were there, along with TikTok cool kid Griffin Maxwell Brooks and the Palestinian-Israeli design duo Gabriel Asfour and Adi Gil from the conceptual fashion house ThreeASFOUR. As the evening came to a close, a search for the missing Matzah ensued (another tradition) with the winning prize being a Susan Alexandra hat. Everyone also took home a mini Susan Alexandra matzah charm as a symbol of the event. In that moment—even if just for a few hours—food really did bring everyone together.
