What happens to Passover 2020 now that the world is struggling with the coronavirus pandemic?
The public life has been paralyzed. People are asked to stay at home, and social activities have been banned. Several significant events and gatherings have already been cancelled.
"The plagues are a central part of the Seder experience," Rabbi Elana Friedman, the chaplain of Jewish life at Duke University told CNN. "This year it feels like we have an 11th plague circling us."
Passover is a celebration for many Jews. During this time of the year, families and friends gather in houses, eat together, and enjoy conversations. Passover is considered the most-celebrated holiday of American Jewish life, with 70% of them saying they join in Seders annually.
Passover is also known as Hebrew Pesaḥ or Pesach. In Judaism, Passover is held to commemorate the Hebrews’ liberation from slavery in Egypt. According to Britannica, the “'passing over' of the forces of destruction or the sparing of the firstborn of the Israelites, when the Lord 'smote the land of Egypt' on the eve of the Exodus" are also remembered.
Passover usually starts with the 15th and ends with the 21st day of the month of Nisan (March or April). On these seven or eight days, people are only allowed to eat unleavened bread, called matzo. This symbolizes the suffering of Hebrews and "the haste with which they left Egypt in the course of the Exodus." This is why Passover is also referred to as the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
However, Passover 2020 will look different this year.
No pre-Passover gatherings at synagogues have been held. Going to the supermarket to buy horseradish and bitter herbs are not allowed too.
"The inability to spend Passover with their grandparents has been really difficult for a lot of students, and they are mourning the loss of that," says Friedman. "At the same time, they realize the risks and that it's not safe for us all to celebrate the holiday together."
Daniel Burke of CNN says rabbis are sending messages of encouragement and tips over text to young couples celebrating. "Some elderly Jews may spend Passover alone, their first without family in decades."
Virtual Seders are likely to be held by Jews from more liberal traditions. They plan to host it on websites like OneTable, which becomes the platform for Jews for communal gatherings on Shabbat and holy days.
The website expects online 800 seders this year compared to 200 last year, according to OneTable Chief Executive Officer and founder Aliza Kline.
"My dad taught me how to make matzoh. Now thousands of people are going to learn to make matzoh on their own," Kline told CNN. "There's something really beautiful about that."
Meanwhile, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, shares that this will be the first year his family is not together for Passover.
Jacobs says he will use Zoom to host a Seder on Wednesday, when he expects 35 or so people to log on.
"We've had all kinds of Passovers over the years, but we haven't had a Passover without our kids," Jacobs says. "I already miss having everyone around the table."
