The themes of social justice, struggle, and freedom were often evoked during discussion at the meal. At the point in the ritual when the prophet Elijah is welcomed to the meal, the guests recited the Emancipation Proclamation. The choice of serving pieces was also symbolic. In 2009, the group used silverware from the Truman administration, remembering Truman as the first President to recognize Israel. In 2013, Israel First Lady Sara Netanyahu gave as a gift a Seder Plate, which was used each year at the dinner. Those in attendance read from the Maxwell House Haggadah, which is widely used in Jewish homes. Menu The menu at the White House Passover Seder featured traditional American Jewish Passover cuisine such as gefilte fish, charoset, chicken soup with matzah balls, brisket, potato kugel, and macaroons. Salads and vegetable side dishes completed the menu. Lesser brought handmade shmurah matzah from the Chabad-Lubavitch center in Springfield, Massachusetts. Family recipes were emphasized: in 2015, these recipes included matzo ball soup from Ziskend's grandmother, carrot soufflé from Lesser's mother, and Raspberry Ganache Marjolaine from Chaudhary's mother. Recipes covered foods from both the Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions. The food was not strictly kosher, but kosher style. In 2014, the White House Passover Seder began inviting a guest chef to coordinate the menu with the White House executive chef. Guest list Unlike the White House Hanukkah Party, Obama's White House Passover Seder was not a political event. The guest list did not include rabbinical figures, Jewish lobbyists, members of Congress, or Israeli representatives. The guest list of approximately 20 remained basically the same each year. Attendees included the president and his family, members of the president's and first lady's staff and their families, and friends of the Obamas, with a mix of Jews and non-Jews. Other White House Seders In April 1993 staffers of President Clinton conducted a Passover Seder in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, in the absence of the President. On April 10, 2017, the first night of Passover, several Trump Administration staffers conducted a Seder in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, but unlike during the Obama Administration, neither President Trump nor his family members attended the ritual. See also White House Hanukkah Party References External links "Remember the Toddler Who Threw a Tantrum in Front of the President? That was my kid." Slate, November 18, 2015 Jewish-American history Jews and Judaism