Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the Jewish holiday of Passover, also called Pesach.
Passover
The Latest
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Fast Forward Some Orthodox rabbis permit phone use on holidays, citing pandemic’s mental health risks
Some Orthodox Jewish rabbis have issued rulings allowing technology usage on Shabbat and holidays to assist those dealing with mental health issues in quarantine. Orthodox Judaism bans the use of electricity, including modern technology like phones, on Shabbat and on the first two and last two days of Passover. But it also allows for an…
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Life I can lead the seder. I just need someone to teach the 90-year-olds Zoom.
Of course we’re going to have a seder. Our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents all had seders despite world wars and pogroms. A pandemic won’t stop us. Because we have Zoom. We’re all Zooming, right? Zoom work meetings. Zoom cocktails with friends. Zoom gym sessions. Zoom meditation. Our family favorite is our new tradition of…
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Culture Passover in the time of the plague
My daughter just saw her first rainbow. We stood between the sun and the drizzle and I pronounced the words of the blessing: “Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who remembers the covenant, and is faithful to His covenant, and keeps His promise.” I’d always been puzzled by the language —…
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Fast Forward Orthodox groups now say no shared Passover seders should take place
NEW YORK (JTA) — Leading Orthodox Jewish groups have come out firmly against shared Passover meals, two days before the holiday begins and two weeks after the groups left open the possibility of communal seders under narrow circumstances. “Everyone must plan to celebrate Pesach where they are currently,” reads the guidance issued Monday by a…
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News Orthodox family ‘fallen through cracks’ in fight to get experimental drug
Michael Goldsmith, 34, is the person everyone always called to shlep something heavy, like a piece of furniture. An IT consultant, he’s always been robustly healthy, but on March 11, he started showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus. He had no underlying conditions, and his family has no idea how he caught it. Yet he’s…
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Fast Forward How Jewish communities are deploying Passover aid amid coronavirus lockdowns
(JTA) — In the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Passover will be like no other in living memory. With families kept apart by lockdown orders and millions struggling with uncertain financial futures, the needs are great and the logistics of coordinating Passover aid are daunting. Across America, Jewish federations are finding unconventional ways…
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Life Video: A very quarantined Four Questions
To help get you in the mood for your virtual Seders, the Forward has created a video with a very special reading of the Four Questions. In “A Very Different Night,”actors from television, film and Broadway, two comics and one dog puppet with an excellent Hebrew accent join to recite the traditional Four Question liturgy…
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Culture Why seders could be more meaningful this year
In a normal year, right about now, Jews worldwide would be boarding planes and finalizing plans to host our extended families and friends for Passover seders where we come together to retell the biblical story of our ancestors’ exodus from slavery in Egypt to freedom. In the era of COVID-19, however, such gatherings are a…
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