White House Passover Seder

At the Seder, participants read the Haggadah, a ritual text recounting the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt.

The reading is accompanied by visual aids in the form of the symbolic foods on the Passover Seder Plate.

The three staffers – Eric Lesser, Herbie Ziskend, and Arun Chaudhary – obtained a "Passover kit" with wine, matzo, macaroons, and Haggadahs from the Hillel House at the University of Pennsylvania and were conducting a late-night Seder in a meeting room of the Sheraton Hotel in Harrisburg when Obama walked in.

[11] About 20 guests sat around a table in the Old Family Dining Room reading the Haggadah and sampling the traditional Seder foods.

Malia and Sasha Obama, being the youngest in attendance, recited the Four Questions[13] and engaged in the search for the afikoman.

[14] Among the annual traditions for the White House Seder were Obama's imitation of Pharaoh, Chaudhary's speech on the Hillel sandwich, and the hiding of the afikoman under the watchful eye of a Secret Service member.

[16] During a visit to Israel in 2013, Obama stated that he brought the Passover Seder to the White House to acquaint his daughters with the story of the Exodus, whose themes resonated with his personal beliefs.

For me, personally, growing up in far-flung parts of the world and without firm roots, the story spoke to a yearning within every human being for a home.

[8] In 2013, Israel First Lady Sara Netanyahu gave as a gift a Seder Plate, which was used each year at the dinner.

The guest list did not include rabbinical figures, Jewish lobbyists, members of Congress, or Israeli representatives.