DOIKAYT (do-i-kite). From Yiddish. Literally "hereness."
1) The quality of being present.
2) A Yiddish political philosophy premised upon the struggle for social justice in the place where one resides.

Yiddishkayt and Jewish Artists Initiative present Doikayt: a unique Community/Arts/Yiddish Passover Seder.  We invite you to participate in retelling the story of Passover using the stage of present-day Los Angeles.  The concept of Doikayt, or "hereness," guides the evening as the universal themes of slavery, and liberation are interpreted through a variety of artistic mediums, including theater, music, dance and the visual arts.

Every year at Peysakh we say “once we were slaves but now we are free.”  In the spirit of the traditional Seder, Doikayt invites you to experience these words literally as we travel from slavery towards redemption.  Los Angeles is both a place of oppression and freedom for a whole host of peoples who call this city home.  This year, LA is Egypt, LA is the Promised Land.

Doikayt will honor the tradition of secular Peysakh Seders conducted entirely in Yiddish, through music and performances that use and teach Yiddish.  The thousand-year old language of Ashkenazi Jews, Yiddish has itself traveled a long historical road of oppression and freedom.  For a millennium, Yiddish was the lingua franca of seventy-five percent of the world’s Jews: the language of the home and workplace, the kheder and yeshiva, folksongs and folktales – our collective memory.

Doikayt will be presented primarily in English. Yiddish will be accompanied with translations. One presentation is primarily in Spanish.