Passover brings a new beginning of liberation and healing

Passover, the Jewish holiday that brings families and friends together to commemorate the ancient Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt, begins Friday evening, April 15, and lasts for eight days.

Many people may have heard of the evening meal called a seder, where Jews eat traditional foods, drink wine and enjoy themselves.

“Each year, I find a different way to connect to Passover,” said Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan, religious leader of Seaside Jewish Community in Rehoboth Beach.

“On the personal level, the Passover Seder can be a deep personal exploration,” she said. “The Hebrew word for Egypt, Mitsrayim, means a ‘narrow place.’ We all have narrow places in our lives and souls, and Passover can be a journey of liberation and healing.”

At the Passover Seder, the dining table is set in a different way for a seder than for any other meal. Included at the center is a plate with symbolic foods: a roasted egg representing, among other things, the cycle of life; celery or parsley to represent spring, which is dipped in salt water, symbolizing the slaves’ tears; horseradish and/or romaine lettuce to represent the bitterness of slavery; haroset, a mixture of apples, nuts and wine, which symbolizes the mortar used by the enslaved Israelites as they laid bricks; and a shank bone (or for vegetarians, a beet), symbolizing the pascal lamb sacrifice made in ancient times. Matzah, which is unleavened bread, is eaten at this meal and throughout the holiday instead of regular bread, as a reminder of the hasty baking done by the Israelites as they escaped to freedom.

The Passover story, found in the Book of Exodus, is read and discussed from a Passover Haggadah (book). Participants symbolically drink four glasses of wine (or grape juice) during this ceremony, which can go on for hours with songs and stories. In one part of the story, the plagues God sent upon the Egyptians are cited. Participants dip their fingers in their wine glasses and sprinkle drops of wine on the table, a drop for each plague.

“We take a little bit of our sweetness away to show we are sad because some of the Egyptians were killed in the escape,” Danan said.

The dinner itself is a hearty meal that may include matzah ball soup, gefilte fish appetizer, a main course and matzah. Desserts will feature inventive cakes and macaroons that don’t include leavened flour. The evening ends with more joyous songs and the blessing, “Next year in Jerusalem!” And while the evening is lively, it also has a message as a model of freedom and liberation.

“Once we were slaves in Egypt and refugees from Pharaoh, and today there are many people in similar situations around the world who need our help,” Danan said.

As with other Jewish holidays, discussions of how to help others take place and actions are planned.

Passover has another special meaning for Seaside Jewish Community. Some 25 years ago, Seaside was founded by a group of people who had attended a Passover dinner at a Lewes restaurant in response to an advertisement in the Cape Gazette. Passovers have been held locally ever since, except during the last two years because of the pandemic.

This year, due to ongoing COVID concerns, Danan will lead a shortened version of a Passover on Zoom, and the public is invited. Anyone interested in participating may email inquiries to seasidejewishcommunity@gmail.com, or call the synagogue at 302-226-8977 and leave a message.

Seaside members participate in extensive interfaith initiatives to improve understanding and mutual acceptance throughout southern Delaware, and their community service projects contribute to many worthwhile causes in the area. Seaside Jewish Community also sponsors the Jewish Film Festival with the Rehoboth Beach Film Society, and presents frequent educational and scholarly programs open to the public.

Seaside’s mission is to support and foster Jewish identity by sponsoring religious, cultural, social and educational activities. The congregation is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. For more information, go to seasidejewishcommunity.com.