>>> PASSOVER BEGINS AT SUNDOWN THIS EVENING AND CELEBRATES THE
EXODUS OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE FROM EGYPT.
THE SEDER DINNER IS HELD ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY EVENING AND
INCLUDES READINGS, SPECIAL FOOD SONGS, AND OTHER PASSOVER
TRADITIONS.
TONIGHT, STATE SENATOR ERIC LESSER SHARES A VERY SPECIAL
STORY ABOUT HE CAME TO CELEBRATE THE SEDER WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA
FIRST ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL, AND THEN IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
CAROLEE MCGRATH HAS MORE.
>> IT WAS REALLY JUST A PERSONAL REFLECTION FOR ME.
IT'S ACTUALLY 10 YEARS SINCE THE FIRST SEDER WAS CELEBRATED BY
PRESIDENT OBAMA AND MRS.
OBAMA IN THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2009 SO IT
JUST TRIGGERED A LOT OF THOUGHTS, A LOT OF MEMORIES FOR
ME OF THAT PERIOD OF MY LIFE AND WHAT THAT MOMENT, WHAT THOSE
EVENTS REALLY MEANT FOR ME SO WROTE IT FOR HAMPSHIRE LIFE
MAGAZINE, WHICH IS THE SUNDAY MAGAZINE, PEOPLE CAN CHECK IT
OUT ONLINE IF THEY'RE INTERESTED, BUT FOR ME, IT WAS A
PERSONAL CHANCE TO THINK ABOUT THOSE YEARS AND WHAT THEY REALLY
MEANT.
>> JUST REWIND A LITTLE BIT AND TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE
AND HOW YOU WERE EVEN CONNECTED WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA AND THE
FIRST LADY WITH YOUR WORK.
>> IT WAS BACK IN 2007, I STARTED OUT AS A VOLUNTEER IN
NEW HAMPSHIRE DURING THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY.
IT WAS ACTUALLY AROUND THIS TIME IN THE CYCLE, WE'RE SEEING OF
2020, IT WAS VERY, VERY EARLY ON IN THE CYCLE AND I WAS FRESH OUT
OF COLLEGE AND I WAS HELPING OUT THEN-SENATOR OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN.
EVENTUALLY, THE JOB THEY GAVE ME WAS TO BE IN CHARGE OF ALL THE
LUGGAGE AND LOGISTICS FOR HIM AND FOR THE TRAVELING STAFF THAT
TRAVEL WITH HIM AND FOR THE 30 OR SO REPORTERS THAT TRAVELED
EVERYWHERE HE WENT SO I JOKE I WAS KIND OF LIKE THE MOM ON A
FAMILY VACATION KEEPING CHECK OF EVERYONE'S BLACKBERRY CHARGER,
SUITCASES, MAKING SURE THINGS WENT SMOOTHLY.
IT WAS REALLY A BREAKNECK PACE, THOUGH, BECAUSE HE WAS, OF
COURSE, RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT SO WE WOULD OFTEN BE IN THREE OR
FOUR STATES IN A DAY AND I REMEMBER, YOU KNOW, PASSOVER WAS
ALWAYS A TIME I WOULD TRY TO COME HOME HERE TO WESTERN
MASSACHUSETTS TO CELEBRATE WITH MY FAMILY AND I LOOKED AT THE
CALENDAR AND IT WAS BASICALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO GET HOME
WITH THE TRAVEL SCHEDULE WE HAD.
I REMEMBER WE WERE IN PENNSYLVANIA DURING THE
PENNSYLVANIA PRIMARY, IT WAS APRIL, 2008.
THEN-SENATOR OBAMA WAS GOING TO START HIS MORNING IN
PHILADELPHIA AND DO A WHISTLE STOP TOUR ALL THE WAY TO
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ON THE FIRST NIGHT OF PASSOVER SO
MYSELF AND SEVERAL FRIENDS OF MINE WHO WORKED ON THE CAMPAIGN
WITH ME, WE DECIDED WE WERE GOING TO DO A SEDER TO MARK THE
HOLIDAY JUST AS A GROUP OF FRIENDS.
SO I MENTIONED THIS TO SENATOR OBAMA AND HE ACTUALLY TOLD ME HE
WANTED TO COME, BUT I THOUGHT HE WAS KIND OF BEING POLITE WHEN HE
SAID THAT AND MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT, WE FOUND A WINDOW-LESS
ROOM IN THE BASEMENT OF THE SHERIDAN IN HARRISBURG,
PENNSYLVANIA, WHERE WE PUT TOGETHER A LITTLE IMPROMPTU
SADE, MYSELF AND SEVERAL OTHER CAMPAIGN STAFF.
AT 10:00 AT NIGHT AFTER THE WHISTLE STOP TOUR WAS DONE JUST
AS WE WERE ABOUT TO BEGIN, SENATOR OBAMA POPPED HIS HEAD IN
AND HE SAID HEY, IS THIS WHERE YOU GUYS ARE DOING THE SEDER?
AND WE SAID, YEAH, OF COURSE.
SO WE CELEBRATED WHAT WAS REALLY AT THE TIME A COMPLETELY
PRIVATE, REALLY INTIMATE MOMENT.
THIS WAS A VERY HARD PERIOD OF THE CAMPAIGN IN 2008.
THE PENNSYLVANIA PRIMARY WAS A VERY TOUGH PRIMARY FOR SENATOR
OBAMA AND IT WAS JUST A REALLY TOUGH PERIOD OF THE CAMPAIGN AND
EVERYONE KIND OF STOPPED, WE TOLD THE STORY OF EXODUS AND AT
THE END OF THE READING OF THE TRADITIONAL TEXT YOU READ ON
PASSOVER THAT TELLS THE STORY OF THE JEWISH EXODUS FROM EGYPT, AT
THE VERY LAST LINE THERE'S A LINE, A TRADITIONAL LINE WHERE
EVERYONE RAISES THEIR GLASS AND THEY SAY NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM
SO WE ALL RAISED OUR GLASS AND SAID IT AND PUT OUR GLASSES
DOWN, AND THEN SENATOR OBAMA RAISED HIS GLASS AND SAID NEXT
YEAR IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND WE ALL LAUGHED AND CLINKED GLASSES
AND SAID GREAT.
FAST FORWARD A YEAR LATER, I'M WORKING IN THE WEST WING, NEXT
DOOR TO THE OVAL OFFICE AS THE ASSISTANT TO DAVID AXELROD, AND
THEN PRESIDENT OBAMA POKES HIS HEAD IN AND HE SAID HEY, LESSER,
ARE WE DOING THE SEDER THIS YEAR?
AND I KIND OF HESITATED FOR A SECOND, AND HE KIND OF JOKINGLY
SAID LAST YEAR, I SAID NEXT YEAR IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND HERE WE
ARE IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
SO HE AND MRS.
OBAMA HOSTED WHAT BECAME AT THAT POINT THE VERY
FIRST SEDER HOSTED BY AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT IN THE WHITE
HOUSE IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
>> WERE YOU SURPRISED WHEN HE POPPED HIS HEAD IN AND
REMEMBERED THAT?
DUNK MAYBE -- DID YOU THINK HE WAS BEING POLITE?
>> I WASN'T SURPRISED AS I KNOW HIM AND THE KIND OF PERSON HE IS
AND THE KIND OF LEADER HE IS.
OF COURSE, I WAS IMPRESSED.
HE'S A BUSY GUY WITH QUITE A LOT OF SCHEDULING CONFLICTS, I DON'T
THINK ANYBODY WOULD HAVE MINDED IF HE WASN'T ABLE TO DO IT.
BUT HE WAS SOMEONE WHO IS AND WAS VERY LOYAL TO HIS TEAM, VERY
LOYAL TO HIS STAFF AND SOMEONE WHO REALLY INSPIRED QUITE A LOT
OF, YOU KNOW, AFFECTION AND LOYALTY AND HE DOES WHAT HE
SAYS.
HE SAID HE WAS GOING TO HOLD THE COMMITMENT AND HOLD THE SEDER
AND FOR HIM IT MEANT A LOT, TOO.
HE WAS VERY FLUENT IN THE STORY OF EXODUS.
IN FACT, THE FIRST NIGHT BACK IN 2008 ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL HE
NOTED TO US THAT HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTERS WERE AT A SEDER, A
FAMILY FRIEND OF THEIRS IN CHICAGO THAT VERY SAME NIGHT
WHILE HE WAS IN PENNSYLVANIA WITH US.
>> AS A PERSON OF FAITH, WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT TO YOU TO
SHARE THIS STORY?
>> WELL, I THINK IT REALLY REFLECTS FIRST ON HIM, BUT I
ALSO THINK YOU KNOW, WE LIVE IN A TIME OF SUCH INCREDIBLE
DIVISION.
IT'S BECOME FRANKLY, TRENDY TO SORT OF FOCUS ON WHAT DIVIDES
GROUPS OF PEOPLE, GROUPS OF DIFFERENT RELIGIONS, DIFFERENT
ETHNICITIES AND HERE YOU HAD THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESIDENT
IN AMERICAN HISTORY CELEBRATING AND OFFICIATING REALLY OVER, YOU
KNOW, THE STORY OF THE BIBLICAL STORY OF THE JEWISH EXODUS FROM
SLAVERY IN EGYPT IN A HOUSE BUILT BY SLAVES.
IT DOESN'T GET MORE AMERICAN THAN THAT WITH ALL OF OUR
CONTRADICTIONS AND CHALLENGES AND ALSO THE OPTIMISM THAT'S AT
THE HEART OF OUR NATIONAL STORY.
AND FOR ME, THE STORY OF EXODUS REALLY ISN'T A STORY OF HOPE.
IT'S A STORY OF REDEMPTION, IT'S A STORY OF A PEOPLE SEARCHING
FOR BELONGING AND A LOT OF GROUPS AND A LOT OF PEOPLE IN
MODERN TIMES REGARDLESS OF YOUR RELIGION, REGARDLESS OF YOUR
PLACE OR STATUS IN SOCIETY CAN FIND IDENTITY WITH THAT STORY
AND THAT WAS REALLY AT THE HEART OF WHAT THOSE SEDERS WERE ALL
ABOUT.
THEY WERE NOT PUBLIC, YOU KNOW.
THEY WERE NOT MEANT FOR GRAND EXPOSITION, THERE WERE NO
REPORTERS IN THE ROOM.
IT WAS REALLY JUST A PRIVATE MOMENT FOR A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO
HAD REALLY BEEN FORGED THROUGH THIS COMMON EXPERIENCE OF A VERY
TOUGH POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.
>> AND HOW MANY YEARS DID YOU CELEBRATE WITH HIM?
>> WE CELEBRATED IN 2008, OF COURSE, WHICH WAS A LITTLE AD
HOC, YOU KNOW, IN THE SHERIDAN IN HARRISBURG, AND THEN WE
CELEBRATED IN 2009 AND EVERY SINGLE YEAR OF HIS PRESIDENCY SO
NINE YEARS IN TOTAL, EIGHT YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND I'LL TELL
YOU HE WENT TO GREAT LENGTHS PERSONALLY TO HOLD THE
COMMITMENT.
ONE YEAR HE FLEW OVERNIGHT FROM AFGHANISTAN.
HE HAD MET WITH PRESIDENT KARZAI AND HAD SPOKEN TO 2,000 AMERICAN
SOLDIERS AND SAILORS, AIRMEN AND MARINES AT THE AIR FORCE BASE
AND FLEW ALL NIGHT, LANDED AT THE WHITE HOUSE SHORTLY BEFORE
9:00 A.M. AND THEN CELEBRATED THE SEDER WITH US THAT EVENING.
SO HE ALWAYS WENT TO GREAT LENGTHS TO MARK THE HOLIDAY AND
ONE ELEMENT THAT WE ADDED AT THE SUGGESTION OF A FRIEND OF
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S ERIC WHITTAKER WHO WOULD ATTEND EVERY YEAR IS
WE ALSO WOULD RETELL AND RESHARE THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION,
WE WOULD DO A SHARED READING OF THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
AFTER THE READING OF THE BIBLICAL STORY, TO FUSE PAST AND
PRESENT TOGETHER AND TO REALLY FORGE COMMONALITY AMONG PEOPLE
AND GROUPS THAT AGAIN CAN REALLY FIND COMMON INSPIRATION IN THE
EXODUS STORY.
>> AND YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT UNITY AND HOW WE ALL MAY
BE DIFFERENT, BUT WE ALL HAVE THIS COMMON BOND.
I REALLY THINK THE BASIS OF HUMANITY IS THAT WE REALLY DO
LOVE EACH OTHER, PASSOVER IS UPON US, EASTER IS UPON US, AS
WELL.
IF YOU WERE TO TALK TO MIDDLE SCHOOL KIDS, HIGH SCHOOL KIDS,
WHO MIGHT BE WATCHING THIS, YOU KNOW, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, HOW
ARE WE TO TREAT EACH OTHER?
>> I THINK YOU TREAT EACH OTHER WITH RESPECT.
TREAT EACH PERSON WITH DIGNITY, EACH PERSON IS A BLESSING.
AND EACH PERSON HAS AN INNATE GOODNESS, I THINK ONLY THROUGH A
MEAL, THE WHOLE IDEA OF PASSOVER IS YOU CELEBRATE A FESTIVE MEAL
BECAUSE MEALS BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER.
YOU'RE LESS GUARDED, YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO SHARE WITH SOMEONE
OVER A MEAL BECAUSE IT'S A COMMUNAL EXERCISE OF SHARING
DISHES AND SHARING EACH OTHER'S EXPERIENCES.
I'LL JUST LEAVE YOU KELLY WITH JUST A STORY.
THE FIRST YEAR WE DID IT IN 2009, THERE WAS A PHOTO OF ALL
OF US CELEBRATING THE SEDER TOGETHER AND MY YOU WANT A
BROUGHT THE PHOTO TO MY GRANDMOTHER WHO AT THE TIME WAS
LIVING IN AN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY IN SHEEPSHEAD BAY,
BROOKLYN, OVERWHELMINGLY JEWISH ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY.
MANY OF HER CONTEMPORARIES HAD ESCAPED THE HOLOCAUST AND
VIOLENT ANTI-SEMITISM.
FOR THEM IT WAS REALLY NEVER DONE TO SEE SO PUBLIC ABOUT YOUR
JUDEISM AND MY AUNT SHOOK HER HEAD AND SAID ONLY IN AMERICA
COULD SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN.
THE MELTING POT THAT IS AMERICA, THE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES THAT
WE ALL BRING LITERALLY TO THE TABLE IS ACTUALLY A SOURCE OF
STRENGTH AND SO WHAT I WOULD JUST CHALLENGE EVERYONE TO DO IN
THIS SEASON OF EASTER AND THIS SEASON OF PASSOVER IS TRY TO BE
SOMEONE WHO'S MENDING FENCES AND BUILDING BRIDGES WITH OTHER
TYPES OF PEOPLE AND OTHER GROUPS OF PEOPLE RATHER THAN SOMEONE
WHO'S PUTTING UP GUARDS AND I THINK THAT'S A LESSON ALL OF US
CAN TAKE TO HEART.