Studying Passover to ready the seder

Michelle Browning wants to know more about Judaism, in part because of her son Noah Coleman. She said she wanted to find Jewish community as her son grows. (Dominic Chavez/Globe Staff)

Ask Michelle Browning why she wants to know more about Judaism, and the lapsed Methodist reels off several reasons, including a desire to learn more about her Jewish husband's heritage and wanting to avoid making "too huge a fool of myself at family gatherings."

But the best reason arrived 10 months ago, when Noah entered the world.

Browning herself chooses not to convert, and her husband is not religiously observant, but the Dorchester couple wanted to find Jewish community with which to become involved as their son grows. Which is why she found herself seated with four other women around an oval conference table last week, studying Passover 101.

The celebration of the Exodus story of Israel's emancipation from Egypt begins April 19, and the women on this day wanted a crash course on aspects of the holiday from its theological background to preparing the seder, or Passover meal.

The Passover class is part of The Mother's Circle, 16 weeks of instruction in Judaism for non-Jewish mothers raising Jewish children. The class, hosted by Jewish Family and Children's Service in Waltham, was in the sixth week of the course.

"It's essential to the holiday not to just tell [the Exodus story], but experience it," teacher Elana Kling Perkins told the women. The liberation tale, she said, is a metaphor for freeing oneself from enslaving personal flaws.

When talk turns to the seder, it turns out that some of the women have attended one and that others haven't. "It takes forever," said Hiromi Lusthaus, of Brookline, a convert to Judaism who attends the Circle as part of an internship with Perkins. "I was invited to a Conservative rabbi's home. . . . We were still eating at 2 a.m."

Browning mentions that she has been attending seders for a decade, prompting Carolyn Hastings of Stow to exclaim: "Wow, you're the group expert. . . . Do you have any good recipes?"

"I'll definitely bring some recipes next week," Browning promises.

While emphasizing holiday fun and food, Perkins also ran through the potentially confounding ritual requirements. Exodus forbids the owning of chametz, or fermented food made from the primary grains, during the weeklong holy period. This is where Perkins emphasizes the child-friendly aspects of the holiday. The night before Passover begins, families hide some chametz for the children to find, she says. On the table are books about the holiday, including "Where is the Afikomen?," a children's tale about the ritual search for missing matzo that engages youngest Jews at seders.

Interfaith marriage is a dicey subject among Jews worried about diluting their already small community, but there's no getting away from the numbers. A report released last month by Combined Jewish Philanthropies, a Boston group, found that there were 30,000 households with a Jewish partner married to a non-Jew in Greater Boston in 2005. The figure had nearly doubled from a decade earlier, and those households were raising 26,600 children. Nationally, almost one-third of married Jews in America have a non-Jewish spouse, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Mixed marriages may require sacrifices for both partners.

Nathalia Goodman of Newton said she missed some aspects of the Christian holidays that were part of her childhood.

"I really did like Easter, so it makes me sad that we don't color Easter eggs," she said. But, she said, "I really like Passover, too." She recalled that her priest had advised Christians to familiarize themselves with Passover, since Jesus was Jewish.

Much of the learning that went on around that oval table happened through personal chitchat rather than lecture. The Mothers Circle, which originated in Atlanta and spread to other cities, comes with a curriculum, but it allows for flexibility, said Perkins. She has tailored her course to knit its education in Jewish living with the wisdom that comes from social interactions.

"It gives women a chance to share with other people who are going through the same experience," she said.

In previous classes, Perkins and her students discussed key Jewish feasts, the role of Jewish Scripture in life, and their goals as parents and traditional Jewish teachings on parental responsibilities. A class about the Jewish holiday of Purim turned very hands-on. "We baked and we sang songs and we did a Purim skit," Perkins said. For the next class, the women plan to make and bring traditional seder dishes.

Sixteen weeks of instruction are an eye blink, considering the challenge of studying four millennia of this ancient religion's history. But it's been time well spent for Browning. Studying Judaism, she said, has coaxed her and her husband "to think more about what we want for Noah and what our goals would be for him in terms of Jewish identity and religion."

Those interested in attending the remaining sessions may contact Perkins at eperkins@jfcsboston.org.

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