Passover in a Pandemic

Emma Goodman-Fish / Contributor / The USD Vista

Mismatched chairs from the kitchen and dining room paired around the big wooden table, dressed with our classic blue and yellow table cloth. The doorbell rings and with it, the faces of loved ones pile into our home that smells like Judith’s chicken matzo ball soup and my Mom’s charoset. For hours, friends and family sit around the table reading through the Haggadah, smiling, connecting, and sharing stories and food. No generation is forgotten, from my grandma all the way to my little sister. Gathered together, we ask the age-old question. 

Why is tonight different from all other nights?

Tonight is Seder, the ceremonial dinner and ritual that begins the Jewish holiday of Passover, or Pesach. Passover celebrates freedom and honors the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. It is one of the most widely celebrated Jewish holidays.  

But this year’s Seder looks particularly different. In the past couple of months, the world has been hit with a global pandemic that has forced us inside our homes and away from the ones we love. This has changed our daily routines and noramalicies, and now changed the special holiday of Passover for Jewish people. Or has it? 

Passover, along with many Jewish holidays, is all about being surrounded by the ones we love. In particular, Passover represents Jews’ escape from enslavement, the freedom to do as we wish, proudly celebrate, and open up our doors and welcome people in. 

While this part of celebration has been taken away this year, a big part of Passover is to retell the times when our people were enslaved by Pharaoh in Egypt. We reflect on the past tyrannies and how they connect to the present, one of those being illness and disease. This passover, I can appreciate not only my freedom but hopeful health, and though we may be stuck indoors, at least we are lucky enough to have this privilege, as many before us have often not been so lucky. 

In our constantly busy lives, Passover gives us the chance to sit down and remember, to connect and to honor the freedom and comfort that we have today. COVID-19 has begun to do this for everyone. It has made the world slow down, caused us to think of all the small things we take for granted, and truly appreciate human connection and love. This is what Passover means to me. 

Despite the plague in our midst, the true power of Passover remains, and maybe even a bit stronger. Usually we feel the hardships of our ancestors by eating bitter herbs in salt water and sacrificing leavened bread for the holiday. This year, we face our own modern hardships. It reminds us of the tough times in history, the countless acts of persecution, and how the Jewish people have always managed to persevere and come out stronger. Because of this, we continue to persevere. It is who we are as a people and a culture.  

Last night, my lonely chair sat against the table in my apartment in San Diego. I made my own “charoset” with the apples I bought at the store a week ago and a bottle of honey. I used the leftover-blueberry grape juice I had to serve as my Manichevitz. Then I took to Facetime and set my camera up to join my family via camera, from over 1,000 miles away. The moment is bittersweet. I wish more than anything that I could be with the ones I love. But tonight, I try to take the lessons my ancestors have taught me, and remember this is not the most difficult time we have endured. 

Just as the 10th plague passed over the Jewish people’s homes in Egypt oh so long ago, I take this Passover to hope that this plague will too pass-over us all, and instead of “Next year in Jerusalem” it can simply be, “Next year together.”