Susan Luciano of Deptford has only vague childhood memories of celebrating a real seder, a Jewish ritual meal commemorating Passover and the Jews' escape from Egyptian slavery.

The 42-year-old, her Catholic husband and their two children simply light a candle for Passover. They eat matzo and prepare a seder plate set with the traditional symbolic foods: parsley, hard-boiled egg, horseradish and a lamb shank bone.

But this year will be different. This year, Beth Israel Congregation, their 75-year-old Woodbury synagogue, will hold its first real community seder in recent memory. It will be open to non-Jewish friends and family.

About 55 families belong to Beth Israel Congregation, one of three synagogues in Gloucester County. On a regular Friday evening service, held just twice a month, perhaps 20 people attend.

The county's Jewish population is scattered, said synagogue president Bruce Bogdanoff of Logan Township. Many members are older and about 20 percent, like Luciano, are in interfaith marriages.

Many don't have a real seder to go to, Bogdanoff said.

"That's our reason for doing this for the first time in many, many years," he said.

Synagogue rabbi Robert Tabak will use the seder to teach about the traditions and their meanings, making it comfortable for those who have never experienced a real seder.

It's a massive undertaking for a synagogue of this size. Before the seder can begin, the synagogue's kitchen must be "kosher-ized" for Passover.

A week before the seder, volunteers began setting up tables and clearing away debris left from their Wednesday night Bingo fund-raiser.

Then, the kitchen must be cleaned of all leavening. Observant Jews abstain from eating leavened bread during the eight-day holiday. This is to commemorate their ancestors, who had no time to let their bread rise before rushing into the wilderness to escape captivity.

Cleaning the kitchen is a labor-intensive task, done under the instruction of the synagogue's rabbi.

The pots must be boiled, as well as all the dishes and silverware. The ovens must be cleaned and turned on high for five minutes. The refrigerator must be cleaned out and sectioned off for certain foods.

Any cabinets not used during Passover must be sealed with masking tape to prevent contaminating the koshered kitchen.

When the kitchen is cleaned, the cooking begins. About 60 people are expected to attend Friday's seder.

It's exciting, said Luciano's 12-year-old daughter, Dawn. This will be her first seder.

"We only had model seders, but I know what it's about," the seventh-grader said. "It means how we got away from the Egyptians and how God helped us."

The community seder is giving some members a rare chance to celebrate with a large group.

Dora Maule of Woodbury has tried to hold a little seder at home each year, but it is difficult. She and her non-Jewish husband have two daughters, ages 7 years and 7 months.

"It is truly lonely when you're supposed to have a big bunch of family to celebrate with," said the 27-year-old, whose family lives in Massachusetts.

Beth Pullaro and her 11-year-old son, Tyler Migliaccio, are bringing a friend to the community seder. Married to a non-Jew, Pullaro is raising her son in her faith.

A few weeks ago, the Gloucester Township woman attended the synagogue's first community Shabbat dinner, attended by nearly 90 people.

"It's nice to do something like this to get everybody together," said Pullaro, principal of Beth Israel's 17-student Hebrew school. "I don't know that you could do something like this at a synagogue with 500 members . . . It's just a feeling of community and a sharing that we have something in common and our tradition."

Seders can last up to four hours or, as member Murray Rosenberg described, "Dinner can be forever."

This will be a teaching seder, said Rosenberg, a 48-year-old organic farmer in South Harrison.

The rabbi will teach "all the little traditions that sometimes get left out and some of the newer traditions that get involved," Rosenberg said.

There will be ritual, yes. But, most of all, there will be friends and family.

"It's more about people getting together," said Maule, "and remembering how the Jews got out of Egypt . . . To me, it's not about the strict laws of being kosher. It's more about remembering." If you go
Beth Israel Congregation at 246 King St., Woodbury, will hold a traditional community seder at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $10 for ages 13 and up, $5 for ages 5 to 12, and free for those under age 5. For reservations, call Lisa at (856) 468-4750 by Wednesday. For information about Beth Israel Congregation, call (856) 848-7272 or visit www.bicongregation.org.