An unprecedented Passover — via Zoom or Google Hangouts.
“I know we’re all waiting for the time when we can go outside again. But just like the Israelites, we have to be patient. It’s coming.”
— Keren Smith, education director for Congregation B’nai Tikvah in Walnut
On Wednesday night, Jews around the Bay Area will observe Passover in an unprecedented way: telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt and eating the symbolic foods of the Seder via Zoom or Google Hangouts.
Yes, it will be challenging to feel connection over a laptop instead of around the table.
But families, educators and religious leaders are facing the challenge with intention, finding meaning by rewriting the Haggadah, the text used during Passover, to reflect on COVID-19 and drawing parallels between the Israelites’ captivity and our own quarantine.
It is the ultimate story of freedom, filled with plagues and blessings to repair the world — and right now, perhaps for the first time, we truly get it.
“Typically, it is hard for us to relate to something that happened to other people a long, long time ago,” said Keren Smith, education director for Congregation B’nai Tikvah in Walnut Creek.
“But this year, it has been made so easy
to tap into those feelings of trauma. We feel like prisoners in our homes, and we are trying to find the courage that is required of us.”
Allan Berkowitz, a rabbi in San Jose, and his wife, Mindy, typically host 18 family members at their Willow Glen home. This year, the couple sent e-invitations to join them via Zoom and scanned the Haggadah into a PDF. Another first: assignments.
“I decided one of the ways to help break down the electronic wall was to give people time to reflect on a reading portion,” the rabbi said.
Berkowitz also posed this question, to be answered during the Seder: “If you were going to add one object to the Seder plate this year that symbolizes the current situation, what would it be and why?”
His added item would be a magnet, something that is strong by itself but naturally attracts.
“In these days, we each need to find the strength within ourselves while still being in relationship with others,” he said.
And to bring levity to these strange times, he’s encouraging guests to skip cooking a big meal. “If you want to have a cheese omelet for your main dish, go ahead. No one will know,” he said.
Overall, Berkowitz said, we have a choice: to lead a Seder that dwells on what’s wrong with the picture this year, or one that’s engaging and offers respite from what is happening.
“We’re mindful that the situation we’re in has a degree of suffering for us, but we also have to think about those who have contracted the virus, lost loved ones or don’t even have a warm shelter in which to shelter in place,” he said. “It’s about perspective.”
For Smith, it’s not Passover without a big traditional Seder meal. She usually spends two days braising brisket and simmering matzo ball soup for her 30 to 40 guests, who crowd “like sardines” into her Clayton dining room. For that reason, she said, it is imperative to cook this year, filling the home with the familiar smells of the holiday.
In creating a virtual training for congregants, Smith found that the biggest challenge with conferencing technology is being able to see everybody but not hear everybody because they are either muted or talking all at once.
“Singing along is not a viable option when you’re not in the same room,” Smith said, laughing. Instead, she suggests taking turns: “Have each person sing their part while everyone else is muted.”
But during the discussions, and especially when the youngest is reciting the four questions that provide the impetus for telling why this night is different from all other nights, Smith encourages an unmuted Seder.
“It will create a more organic feeling,” she said. “If you want to say ‘good job’ to someone, you can say it in the moment.”
One would think the hardest element of the Seder to do online is the afikoman, the piece of matzo that is hidden in the house for the children to hunt down. Smith’s plan is to take her laptop from room to room and let the kids tell her where to go.
“I can give clues and they can tell me if they think I’m hot or cold,” she said. “Doing afikoman this way can elevate the experience.”
Ellen Warner’s entire Seder will be elevated. Stuck at home, the retired Lafayette architect had time to learn how to type in Hebrew on her Mac keyboard.
“That is something I never would’ve learned otherwise,” she said. “It’ll be nice to read the blessings in Hebrew for the first time.”
Warner also is writing her own Haggadah, with added blessings for health care workers, scientists and people living with COVID-19.
Another first: When drinking the obligatory four cups of wine required during Seder, Warner will skip Manischewitz in favor of a more pleasing fine wine.
“I think we deserve an extra treat this year,” she said. “This is the first Seder in my life where the concept of freedom is meaningful in a whole other way.”
For that reason, Smith believes this Passover will be remembered for generations to come.
“I know we’re all waiting for the time when we can go outside again,” she said. “But just like the Israelites, we have to be patient. It’s coming.”
E-seder resources
Need help navigating your first online Seder? Several organizations across Northern California are offering free resources, from downloadable haggadot to Zoom sing-alongs and to-go Seder kits.
• The Chabad House: A page dedicated to Passover during the pandemic features online matzo ordering, Seder kits and tips on how to cook for the holiday with no specialty ingredients. chabad.org
• JCC East Bay, Contra Costa JCC: Downloadable DIY Seder crafting workshop, Broadway-themed Passover sing-alongs, printable haggadot, caterers and more. jcceastbay.org.
• Oshman Family JCC, Palo Alto: Choose from 20 haggadot from the Jewish Learning Center, including children’s haggadot, and borrow a set of up to 10 for free. To order, email library@jewishlearningworks.org or call 415-5673327, ext. 705. Available on a first come, first served basis.
• JCCSF: Seder in Place with Rabbi Batshir Torchio and song leader Jonathan Bayer via Zoom at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Space is limited so that organizers can include interactive sessions with small breakout groups. Donations are appreciated. Reserve your spot at jccsf.org.
For Keren Smith, it’s not Passover without a big traditional Seder meal. She usually spends two days braising brisket and simmering matzo ball soup for her 30 to 40 guests, who crowd “like sardines” into her Clayton dining room. For that reason, she said, it is imperative to cook this year, filling the home with the familiar smells of the holiday.