Russian Jewish Seder

South Georgia has been home to persons of Jewish faith since the 1860s, when German Jews fought for the Confederacy. By the early 1900s, those first German Jews had moved on. They were replaced by refugees from the Pales of Russia and Eastern Europe, where countless Orthodox Jews fled violence and persecution. Today, their legacy survives in traditions like the Passover Seder, which has been celebrated in Valdosta for over a century. Special thanks to Rabbi Moshe Elbaz, members of Temple Israel, Louis Schmier, and Norman and Frances Golivesky for their contributions to this program. The Sounds of South Georgia is made possible with support from Valdosta State University, and from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

Seder table in the Valdosta home of Norman and Frances Golivesky, with silver candlesticks brought from Russia by Norman’s grandmother, Bayle.

Photo by Laurie Kay Sommers, 2005.