Our cars mostly sit idle in the garage.
We venture out mainly for medicine and groceries. I have visited my congregational building every few days when I need something from the office.
My office lap computer sits at home, always ready to be pressed into service.
I lead classes on Zoom and services on the Temple facebook page from my dining room table or from our den. Our Religious School meets together for a Zoom assembly once a week as we near the end of our current year of learning.
In Judaism, a home is called a Mikdash M’at, a small sanctuary, at most any time. That term describes the many home ceremonies for the Sabbath, for festivals, and for daily life that can be observed at home, individually or with others.
This year, in our “stay at home” time, one of the greatest challenges throughout the Jewish world was organizing a Passover seder, the meal that is usually held around a table (or tables) with family and friends, reading from the Passover Haggadah, the book that guides participants through the prayers and rituals that recall the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Haggadah is a Hebrew word that means “telling.”
Perhaps we will need a supplement for future Passover celebrations, remembering how we used technology in 2020 to be together on this Festival of Freedom.
The Seder is held on the first two nights of Passover. Congregations may choose to host a Seder on one of those nights for those who want to take part with the community.
Temple Beth-El Sisterhood has customarily hosted a second night Seder meal every year. This year, that plan could not materialize. By the time I watched the internet buzz with articles about “how to enliven your online Seder,” I had already realized what I needed to do to approximate our in-person Seder on the Zoom platform on April 9.
Having already become somewhat adept at Zoom, I asked congregants to pre-register. Several friends from our previous congregations asked to join us. Everyone received a special Haggadah I had prepared for this year’s experience
Before that night, I took part in three other Seder experiences. I joined Rabbis Scott Rosenberg and Ben Zeidman of El Paso to record a Seder that was posted to YouTube, which people could use at home to direct them through the Passover rituals.
My wife Rhonda and I joined in two family Zoom seders on the first night of Passover, April 8. One was with our son Adam and daughter-in-law Juli, and our grandchildren (and Juli’s family). The other was with our niece Samantha and her husband Rob (including other family members). Ironically, this year’s challenges maximized the number of loved ones with whom we could celebrate the holiday.
When April 9 arrived, I noticed that people were still registering that afternoon. Our Temple Seder began at 5:30 pm. I had assigned reading parts to particular registrants. We could hear them all and see them all clearly. It was special to see everyone’s faces all together on our computer screens. We were a community!
The zoom seders demonstrated for us that, even when we are somewhat confined to our homes, we are not captive at all. We have ways of reaching out, connecting, and tasting the freedom that the Israelites gained so long ago. Even now, may we find ways to maintain ties that can bind our hearts together.
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