Make this Seder night Y^÷ZgZci [gdb Vaa ndjg di]Zg HZYZg c^\]ih
SEDER NIGHT is a night of questions. It is also a night of tradition, when we often do as we have always done. Have you ever wondered how you could make your Seder different to all your other Seder nights? Juliet and Cedric Solomon believe they have the answer to this question and that in this answer could be one of life’s greatest free gifts.
Together with their teenage children, Juliet and Cedric will, for the first time, be leading the Seder service for Cedric’s father Benjamin and the 44 other people he lives with in Jewish Care’s Princess Alexandra Home in Stanmore.
“We are really looking forward to leading the Seder at the home for the first time; it feels like we’ve been practising all our lives,” says Juliet. “We’ll be including as many traditional tunes and songs as we can and ensuring that we keep it meaningful, interactive and tuneful, as well as abridged. A full Seder is too much for many of the residents, so we’ll start the Seder at 5pm, with a break for the Seder meal at 5.45, before finishing off with the final songs and well-known tunes of the Seder.
“We’ll sing the songs with the popular tunes that many people remember off by heart from repeating them every year. Many of the residents are visually impaired, so wouldn’t be able to follow the less well-known parts. Other residents are living with dementia and the familiar tunes of the Seder will help to trigger memories so they can join in and connect with everyone there and with Pesachs gone by.”
Cedric’s father, Benjamin, moved into the home last November.
“We encouraged Benjamin to consider Princess Alexandra Home,” says Juliet, “as we knew how good the care is from volunteering at the home. It is also close to our home in Bushey, so it’s easy to walk over to be with Dad on Shabbat and Yomtov.”
However, the family connection to Jewish Care goes back several years, as Juliet explains: “My great aunt, Margaret Sylvester, was one of the first residents at Jewish Care’s Lady Sarah Cohen House in Friern Barnet and was followed by my other great aunt, Annie Pell, who was from the East End. My children Ruby and Solly grew up enjoying our visits to see them.
“After my great aunts passed away, there was a gap in our lives as we had no great grandparents or relatives from the older generation to visit any more. Three years later, I jumped at the opportunity when I saw Jewish Care were looking for local volunteers to take the Shabbat services.
“Since then, Cedric and I have enjoyed taking the Shabbat morning service at the home in Stanmore every few weeks. Ruby, 17 and Solly,16 come along and Cedric’s son James will sometimes fill in when we can’t get there. Ruby gives a short explanation of the sidrah every week. Cedric, who has a lovely voice, recites the prayers, while I hand out the siddurs and help the residents turn the pages. The service only lasts an hour, perhaps that’s a format that should be introduced in more shuls!”
The Shabbat services are led by members of Bushey United Synagogue and Radlett Reform synagogues, who alternate the running of the services.
“At the end of the Shabbat service we make kiddush with the residents,” says Juliet. “I love visiting the older people in the home. The home manager and staff are wonderful; the respect and love is overwhelming. My Dad, Irvine Creme, recently celebrated his 80th birthday and requested friends and family give donations towards Jewish Care, rather than buy any gifts. This bought a defibrillator for the new Anita Dorfman House and we are delighted to do as much as we can to support the home.
“We are very much looking forward to our Seder with the residents. I love that engagement and seeing their faces light up with delight when we arrive. We get so much from volunteering. Sometimes the greatest gifts in life are free and can be so rewarding.”
It is not just in Jewish Care’s Princess Alexandra House that volunteers lead Seder services. More than 400 Seder meals will be served across Jewish Care at 30 communal Seder nights, led by individuals and families from across the community. Many of these same families are involved in the weekly Shabbat services.
Daniel Carmel Brown, Jewish Care’s chief executive, pays tribute to these volunteers: “It’s thanks to wonderful individuals and families from across our community that people living in care homes and visiting our community centres can remain connected to their Jewish life, the traditions and celebrations”.
Sometimes the greatest gifts in life are free’