Facebook/Temple Israel of Boston
Rabbi Suzie Jacobson leading the virtual Seder.
- Passover is traditionally marked by a more individual celebration than many Jewish holidays; it's generally celebrated at home, and not with a full congregation.
- But in the midst of the pandemic, my hometown temple, Temple Israel of Boston, decided to hold what it called a "Virtual Grand Communal Seder."
- The Seder had over 600 virtual attendees from around the world.
- My rabbi, Suzie Jacobson, described to Business Insider how the Seder worked and what the experience was like.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Jews around the world found their Seder plans in disarray last week.
Seders traditionally mark the first and second nights of Passover - they're a ceremonial meal commemorating the Passover story. Seders are unique in that they're a ritual practiced at home, generally amongst loved ones. Every Seder is a little bit different, often marked by family traditions or unique additions to the Seder plate, like an orange or a pine cone.
But the coronavirus pandemic upended Seders around the world. Families couldn't gather or travel to homes where they usually celebrated. Instead of sitting around a table, many celebrants clustered in front of a laptop, Zooming in their loved ones. My family conducted a Zoom Seder with my grandparents, who are a state away instead of making our typical Passover pilgrimage to them.
I also noticed that my hometown temple, Temple Israel of Boston, found itself getting creative and hosted a "Virtual Grand Communal Seder." A Zoom link was sent to congregants, as was a link to a Haggadah - a Seder text that guides the meal - and the Seder was livestreamed on Facebook.
I had never seen my temple do this before for Passover, so I reached out to my rabbi, Suzie Jacobson, to learn more about the efforts.
The virtual Seder was an unusual step for the temple and for the holiday, Jacobson told Business Insider, but she added that it seemed fitting for the circumstances.
"I had been dreading Passover when I realized we were going to be going into this situation ... it's such an intimate holiday. It's in our homes," Jacobson said. She added that the first night of Passover is generally "the one holiday" for which Temple Israel doesn't have a large communal celebration. "We usually don't do a big one, because there hasn't felt like a huge need. Usually, we'll help people find a Seder. But in this situation, we wanted the grand communal Seder, because we really felt like it was a time to gather."
Here's how the temple used the unprecedented circumstances to conduct a massive virtual Seder.
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