Ways To Celebrate Passover 2021: Synagogues Plan Zoom Seder Meals

ACROSS AMERICA — Passover, the major Jewish holiday that marks the Hebrews’ deliverance from slavery and return to Israel, begins this weekend, with opportunities to celebrate virtually from anywhere in the world.

The Seder is the traditional meal each night of Passover, which begins/began at sundown Saturday and will end at nightfall on Sunday, April 4. For the second year in a row, many families are turning to technology to help celebrate the dinner together due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Seder meal celebrations in many communities, such as Laguna Beach, California, remain small one year into the pandemic as restaurants are promoting their to-go meals. There, Gelson’s restaurants are offering the traditional Seder fare including a beef brisket, sides of matzo balls and a gefilte fish with horseradish.

The Oshman Family Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto, California is among the organizations holding an in-person Passover Seder. Theirs is planned outdoors, and without serving food, to limit the spread of the virus, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The Passover holiday is celebrated over several days to mark the time God “passed over” the Israelites during the final days of the 10 plagues. Outside of family celebrations in Jewish households across the country, many of the nation’s largest synagogues are holding Zoom Seders of their own.

Central Synagogue in New York City has a family Seder led by Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal and Jeremy Sipe set for Saturday night on Zoom. The Seder will last for about an hour and include readings from the Haggadah, the Jewish text traditionally ready at a Seder, before families log off and continue the celebration at home.

The Temple Sinai reform congregation in Reno, Nevada, is among the others that will air a livestream of their Saturday night Seder.