Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the Jewish holiday of Passover, also called Pesach.
Passover
The Latest
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Community Why on this night do we sit when we could be dancing?
As I sat down for my family’s teleseder this year, the parallels between slavery and the physical confinement of quarantine were irresistible. We discussed how Pharaoh was or wasn’t like an oppressive pandemic, or how the virus is or isn’t like a plague. And while I appreciate those questions, I would also like to bring…
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The Schmooze Passover’s almost over, but it’s not too late to watch Jack Black slay ‘Chad Gadya’
The last two days of Passover are often the toughest of the holiday – you’re no longer riding the high of being with family (even virtually), and you’re so, so sick of the food. But under quarantine, the hours until the final sunset seem to drag on even slower than they usually do. Fear not:…
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Community Passover is the Jewish people’s real independence day
Standing on a mountaintop three days north of Eilat, I turned around for the first time. I looked back along the route I’d hiked, with its brown and gold hills and valleys, the shimmer of the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea in the distance. I was amazed at how far I’d come —…
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Fast Forward Netanyahu accused of breaking his own quarantine rules by having son at Passover Seder
Israel’s prime minister and president were criticized on social media Thursday for having Passover Seders with children who live outside their home – despite strict quarantine measures that banned such gatherings. The Israeli government ordered Jewish citizens to stay in their homes with no exceptions from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday morning, in order to stop…
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Archive From the archive, 1959: Passover in Castro’s Cuba, yearning for freedom
In the very first edition of the Forverts newspaper, published during Passover 1897, Cuba made headlines. “Bravo Kubaners,” read our story in support of an independent Cuba, freed of Spanish rule. A century or so later, as we celebrate Pesach 2020, Ben Weitz figured it was the perfect time to tell the tale of his…
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Culture Daily distraction: Coloring van Gogh
Welcome to your daily distraction, our recommendations for ways to stay engaged and entertained while we socially distance ourselves to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak. You can find our past recommendations here; many of the opportunities we’ve highlighted are ongoing. Chag sameach! Whether you’re off of work for Pesach, or trying to observe the holiday…
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News Share your story of how this Seder was different
In every generation, we tell the same story, sing the same songs, eat the same ritual foods. But this year, we did it while sheltering in place, with our small family units or by ourselves. Many of us connected to far-flung relatives and friends by Zoom or some other platform, or dialed into a public…
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Community This is not our first seder in isolation
Jews are no strangers to seders in isolation. The first seder which ever took place was in the ancient land of Egypt (Mitzrayim), that narrow and constrained space. “None of you shall go outside the door of their house until morning.” These are not words from the health department’s recent report; they are words from…
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Fast Forward Why neo-Nazis marched in Ohio this weekend, and almost every weekend in the US
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Opinion The group behind Project 2025 has a plan to protect Jews. It will do the opposite.
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Opinion Just about every interpretation of Trump’s narrow election victory is wrong
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News Texas schools want to add Queen Esther to the curriculum. Here’s why Jews (and many Christians) are opposed.
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Fast Forward Ursula Haverbeck, infamous German Holocaust denier known as ‘Nazi grandma,’ dies at 96
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