Rabbi Larry Kaplan gathered the children of the group and asked what they would bring if they had to leave their homes for a long trip.
Nine-year-old Avery Lantz answered, “Food and water,” at the Community Seder at the Friedman Jewish Community Center in Kingston, while other young people made some other suggestions.
The rabbi invited the children to imagine they were carrying “food and water and money, with all your stuffed animals and the books you love,” helping them get into the spirit of the Jewish people who escaped from slavery in ancient Egypt.
He suggested the children walk hunched over as they paraded around tables filled with older guests and then start to straighten up when they saw the Promised Land.
This little exercise was part of an evening rich in symbolism as about 100 members and friends of Wyoming Valley’s Jewish community gathered to observe the first day of Passover on Monday, which began before sundown on April 22.
The 8-day celebration marks the freedom the Jewish people experienced when they were released from bondage after years of slavery in ancient Egypt. They left the country quickly, hoping the Egyptian leader, Pharaoh, wouldn’t change his mind, and they ate quickly, without waiting for bread to rise.
That’s why traditional seder meals include an unleavened bread called matzah.
“It was the original fast food,” Rabbi Kaplan joked.
Among the prayers of the evening, the group read from the Haggadah, “We praise You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine … Who creates the fruit of the earth …Who has kept us alive and well so that we can celebrate this special time …”
Also part of the ritual is the traditional asking of four questions, often by the youngest person at the seder.
In an attempt to urge children forward, Rabbi Kaplan tried to get someone to stand up and sing the questions, but no one seemed willing until Jane Messinger, the wife of Temple Israel president Daniel Messinger, stepped forward and did the honors.
“You did great,” the rabbi told her.
Children came forward and jumped like frogs to commemorate one of the Plagues of Egypt, or problems that convinced Pharaoh to release the Jewish slaves.
The 10 plagues include blood, lice, beasts, cattle disease, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and death of the firstborn, in addition to frogs.
As Cantor Ahron Abraham sang out the names of each plague, each guest sitting a table was invited to remove 10 drops of wine or grape juice from his or her glass, using fingers or a utensil. The custom is meant to show that Jewish people are not gloating over the misfortunes of their enemies, but “our joy is reduced” to know that someone else is suffering.
Nevertheless, the joy of this Passover seemed to be subdued.
“It’s sadder this year,” Cindy Levinson of Edwardsville said early in the evening, as guests began to arrive at the Friedman JCC. “Because of the hostages and because of the anti-Semitism in America. I have to shut off the news.”
Rabbi Larry Kaplan urged for the release of the hostages, displaying a picture of a very young hostage, red-headed Kfir Bibas, who was taken captive on Oct. 7 with his family and has not yet been set free. He turned 1 in January.
He stated that freeing the hostages should be the primary demand at every campus protest. Once the hostages are released, there are plenty of other things to discuss.
To acknowledge the struggle of hostages taken in October who are still not free, the JCC Passover celebration featured a table with empty chairs. The reservation card in the center of the table indicated it was reserved for them.
