West Coast to East Coast Virtual Passover Seder with MJE
Wednesday, April 8 @ 7 PM
Dear Friends,
We have been hard at work developing creative ideas to help the members of our community feel less lonely this Pesach. I’m pleased to share with you one idea that we hope will be helpful to those celebrating Pesach alone or for beginners anxious about leading their own Seder for the first time.
In consultation with Rav Hershel Schachter of Yeshiva University, my friend Rabbi Yossi Levine and I have arranged a virtual Seder on the first night of Pesach. The Seder will be run by my other close friend and colleague, Rabbi Yonah Bookstein in Los Angeles. By conducting the Seder before the onset of Yom Tov on the West Coast, we are able to sidestep the halakhic challenges that attach to a live Zoom seder. Participants will tune in before Yom Tov begins (7:10pm) and will use one-way audio and video, (ie- pressing “ stop” to your video and “mute to your audio). Remember please to not move or adjust your computer/phone in any way once the holiday has begun. You will be able to see and hear the Seder leader live and in real-time. Rabbi Bookstein is an awesome teacher and great talent. It won’t be the same as being a guest in someone’s home, but we hope it will be the next best thing.
This remedy will not help connect family members to one another but will allow individuals alone to participate in a larger Seder and feel a sense of community at a time when such a feeling is not easy to achieve. And if this makes staying home more viable for even one more person, we will have contributed, too, to slowing the spread of the virus - a huge Mitzvah.
It should be understood that this dispensation applies uniquely to the circumstances created by the current pandemic. It is my fervent hope that, come next year, discussions of a virtual Seder will be a distant memory as we will be celebrating Passover together with our families and friends.
Below, please find the information you will need to join by Zoom or by phone. Please be sure to join early to guarantee your participation.
Rabbi Mark Wildes
Meeting ID: 125 354 951
Password: 448280
