 "Photo: Will Sehneeklotn/Staff Photographer")
Diversity "doesn't have to be a clash of different cultures," according to Rabbi Shmulie Greene, Education Director of the Rutgers Hillel.
Greene's message was delivered at "From Baghdad to Bombay: Jewish Weddings Around the World," an event hosted by Rutgers Hillel Monday night.
The event featured exhibits of weddings in Jewish culture from Iran, Italy, Brazil and Afghanistan, including reprints of marriage contracts, or ketubot. One of the reprints dated back to the 17th century.
"[It] reminds all of us," Greene said. "Beauty comes from knowing where you came from."
Greene pointed to the fact that while the exhibits were from different parts of the world, there were still common threads, like the chuppah, or wedding canopy.
Haggadot, or prayer books, were displayed at the event. In Judaism, these are retellings of the Exodus of the Hebrews and are read in the first two nights of Passover.
A Braille Haggadah was among the haggadot displayed.
Megillot scrolls were also put on display. In Judaism, these scrolls are read on Purim and tell the story of Jews in Persia.
Displays were exhibited showing the wedding garb of Indian, Bukharian - an ethnicity from Central Asia - and Yemenite Jewish cultures. Accompanying each was video footage showing excerpts from weddings that were in accordance with these cultures.
The Barefoot Dance Troupe - a Yemenite dance troupe started by Anat Zohar to present Yemenite culture - put on the night's performances. Among its goals is a need to "educate other people" and other communities about their culture.
The first performance was by renowned folk singer Miriam Tzafri, who is part of the troupe and whose singing accompanied the other performances.
Tzafri was born in Yemen and has been singing since age seven. She was part of the popular Israeli group, the Inbal Theatre Group, before joining Barefoot.
Eight years ago, Tzafri represented Israeli in a folklore contest in Turkey, in which she won first place.
Among the dances performed was "A Day in the Life of a Yemenite Woman." A Yemenite woman's daily chores were her "service to God," and she "served as an inspiration" for the program, said Maya Behar, the emcee of the event. Behar performed as well, and travels with Barefoot.
The organizers of the event emphasized how it fit into the greater goal of taking education beyond the "textual" that has been typical of Rutgers Hillel.
"[They] wanted to show that Jewish education could be out of the box," said Aviva Cohen, a Rutgers College junior and internal vice president of Rutgers Hillel. "[They wanted to] open it to the whole Rutgers community, not just the Hillel community."
Allison Schechter, a Douglass College junior, was the driving force behind the event. She was recently appointed student education director of Rutgers Hillel, and saw the event as the first time-ever educational event where the Hillel branched out.
The event was co-sponsored by the Cook and Rutgers College governing associations, the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, The Bildner Center and the Rutgers College Program Council.
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