“May these candles renew our courage to act for dignity, fairness and justice for working people wherever they labor,” recited the 80 guests at the UFT Jewish Heritage Committee’s annual Passover Seder on April 9. The dinner at UFT headquarters in Manhattan included a traditional ceremony with candle-lighting, singing and quotes connecting the themes of Passover — liberation and redemption — with modern-day labor rights issues. The Seder also included a tribute to Denise Koster-Lombardo, a UFT staff member who died in February. “Every year, Denise would magically show up and help keep this event running,” said David Kazansky, the chair of the heritage committee and the Jewish Labor Committee Educators’ Chapter, who welcomed Koster-Lombardo’s family to the gathering. Before guests sang the Passover song “Dayenu,” Kazansky explained that it counts out the ancient Israelites’ blessings and translates to “it would have been enough,” meaning each blessing on its own would have sufficed. “Those of us who knew Denise would say we lost her too soon,” said Kazansky, “but if we had just one day with her, it would have been enough.”

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